Page 78 of The Replacement Wife

One more.

Chapter Forty-One

The morning routine ran fine so long as everything and everyone followed the plan. If one of them woke up late—mess. If Nathan threw a fit—mess. If Harris had an emergency—mess. This morning when Elisa came downstairs Harris still lingered in the kitchen, sipping from his coffee mug on a day when he should be at the clinic early. That meant she should expect unforeseen incoming mess.

She wanted to stand at the sink and look out over the backyard as she did every morning to find balance and focus before moving through the day. She needed to get her hands on some coffee. He stood in the way of both, but she greeted him with a kiss anyway.

“Why are you still home?” She tried to sound interested rather than begrudging about him being in the way.

“My mistake.” He glanced at his watch. “I forgot to tell you about the appointment I set for this morning.”

She also had one a little later and since she scheduled most household appointments the comment got her attention. “With . . . ?”

“An alarm company.”

“Really?” She gently shoved him to the side and reached into the cabinet behind him for a mug. She thought about tapping him with the door as a sign that he should move but decided to be nice.

“That thing the other night with the back door?” He shook his head. “I still don’t get what happened, and I hate that.”

Someone had opened the door and wandered through their house. She blamed Josh because she blamed him for everything, big or small, that went wrong these days. She had no idea why he’d run the risk of terrorizing them and getting caught by Harris, but it all related to him. That was Elisa’s theory. The one she kept to herself.

Harris finally pushed away from the counter and headed for a seat at the breakfast bar. “I mean, this neighborhood isn’t exactly known for break-ins.”

“Especially by perfumed thieves who don’t actually take anything.” She still hadn’t worked that part out. She didn’t associate the scent with Rachel. She wore a fragrance that smelled like ginger.

“And we’re sure about that, right?” he asked.

Elisa hadn’t really been listening, so... “Which part?”

“I don’t have every plate and piece of silver mentally inventoried and committed to memory, but I didn’t notice anything obvious missing.” He nodded toward the family room. “The television is still on the wall. I think my laptop was out and available for the taking, and the person ignored it.”

Elisa poured her coffee and welcomed a sip before answering. “Maybe the visit wasn’t about taking anything.”

“I have no idea what that means.”

Of course he didn’t because she’d gotten into the habit of hiding things from him. Her feelings. Her uneasiness with certain people walking in the house without calling first. And the big one. “A few nights before the problem in the kitchen something else happened.”

He slowly lowered his mug to the counter. “What?”

Before she could come up with a coherent way to talk about the open-window incident, Nathan bounded down the stairs and scrambled onto the stool next to Harris. “You’re still here.”

Harris grabbed for the box of granola and held it. “I had to quickly eat all the food before you got any.”

“Really?” Nathan asked, clearly missing his father’s wink.

She loved them but she needed more caffeine for this. “Daddy’s kidding.”

Nathan slipped the box out of Harris’s grasp and poured some granola on the counter. He started eating it dry, like a snack. “Why are you home?”

“You know how to make your dad feel welcome.” When Nathan smiled, Harris continued, “Someone is coming to do some house stuff.”

Nathan screwed up his lips. “Boring.”

“Very,” Harris said in a faux serious voice.

Elisa felt a morning derailment coming and tried to head it off. “Nathan, feed the cats then get dressed, please.”

“I want to eat with Daddy.”

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