Page 16 of Two Steps Ahead

“I am soaked!” He lined up the tools in their proper place as he shook his head, flinging water everywhere. “That was better than a shower.”

His smile faded as he turned toward Kayleigh. She definitely wasn’t laughing. She was pale, her arms wrapped around hermiddle, blinking rapidly at the sound of the rain beating on the overhang above them.

He cupped her shoulder as gently as he could. “Hey, are you okay? Did you get hurt?”

Another bolt of thunder. A huge flinch from her. “No. I...no.” But her voice was barely more than a whisper.

He cupped her other shoulder, rubbing his fingers over her tense muscles gently. “How can I help?”

“You can’t. I’m fine. I...” She pulled back and he dropped his hands. “I’m fine. But you know, I don’t think I’m up for dinner. I’m going to make a sandwich and go on to bed.”

“Kayleigh...”

Thunder crashed and she jerked, tendons standing out on her neck. “I have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Without another word, she dashed the short distance over to her cabin and went inside.

Weston didn’t know exactly what had just happened, but he knew for sure things were not all right.

Chapter Five

Weston sat straight up in bed, sleep gone in an instant. Something was wrong. He immediately reached for his weapon on the nightstand next to him.

Waking up this way—with a knowledge something wasn’t right—was a habit his brain had developed as a child. It had saved him more than once when his abusive dad had been coming for him, allowing Weston to escape and hide. It had helped him in other foster care situations when bigger kids had decided to sneak up on him when he was sleeping.

It had taken almost a year after living with the Pattersons’ constant affection and patience before that defense mechanism had learned to stand down.

But now it was back.

He moved out of bed in his gym shorts, slipping on the shoes lined up at the side of the bed, but not stopping to put on a shirt. He headed out the door and toward the main house, staying in the shadows, eyes searching for anything that was amiss.

The storm had burned itself out hours ago. None of the sensors had gone off to alert him of an intruder, and a quick search of the property also resulted in nothing. But Weston knew something wasn’t right—his instincts were still going wild.

The door to Kayleigh’s cabin was locked, so he used his key and began searching the front rooms first. No sign of forced entry.

Then he heard Kayleigh cry out from her bedroom.

He bolted back to her room, weapon raised, ready to defend her from an attacker. But there was no attacker. There was only Kayleigh, thrashing in her bed in the dimness of the night.

It only took a second to realize she was caught in the grips of a nightmare. A bad one.

Realizing there was no immediate threat, he lowered his weapon and slowly approached the bed so not to suddenly startle her. She cried out again as he knelt by her side, placing his gun on the floor before speaking to her in a soft, soothing voice.

“Kayleigh, can you wake up for me, sweetheart?”

“No. Please don’t hurt me. Please. Please. It’s too dark.”

Her voice was odd. Not at all the way it normally sounded. It was higher pitched, softer.

“Daddy will come for me. I won’t die like Mommy.” She wrapped her arms around herself and rocked back and forth. “Please come get me, Daddy.”

Weston’s spine straightened. This wasn’t a nightmare at all. This was amemory.

She had kicked off the sheet with her thrashing around, so he reached out and laid a gentle hand on her bare arm. “Kayleigh, you’re safe. It’s okay to open your eyes.”

“No! I’ll be good. Please don’t put me back in the dark.”

He looked over at the bathroom. The light had gone out. He’d noticed she’d kept it on at night, but tonight it was dark. He rushed out to turn on the switch in the hallway to at least give her some light when she woke.

“No, I’ll be good. Don’t hurt me. Please. Please. I want my daddy.”

---