Page 8 of Under The Christmas Lights 5

Wendy raised an eyebrow as she lifted up the tote bag full of take-home containers of spaghetti Bolognese, cheesy garlic bread, and tiramisu.

“You mean a week off.” She laughed. “You made way too much. You should have kept more for yourself!”

“No, I’m good,” he replied calmly, shaking his head. “This is for you. I wrote freezing and thawing directions on the top of one of the lids if you want to save them for later.”

“You’re too kind,” Wendy countered. “You’ll have to let me know how I can make it up to you.” She sat her tote bag down, rifled through her purse, and pulled out a small tube.

“Rectal thermometer?” She offered with a laugh. “You’ll never have to wonder if you’re getting sick ever again!”

Erik let out a belly-shaking laugh and accepted the ridiculous present.

“Thank heavens,” he laughed, “that thought was really keeping me up at night.”

“Well, now it doesn’t have to.” Wendy giggled back, feeling at ease with their banter.

“Seriously, though, what can I do?” she asked, letting the humorous moment pass. “This was incredibly nice and you deserve something.”

“You already returned the favor,” Erik admitted. “You’re helping me keep an eye on things tomorrow and that means a lot. The sooner we can catch the culprit, the sooner all of this foolishness will stop.”

“I can’t argue with you there,” Wendy agreed, nodding. “So, I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Erik nodded, then picked up the tote bag. “You certainly will. Come on, I’ll help you to your car.”

They exchanged pleasantries once more, then Wendy began to head home. She had been surprised earlier when her GPS alerted her that she and Erik only lived twenty minutes apart, and after two small turns, she was back on a familiar road. Because it was late, there wasn’t much traffic. So, when she turned onto her street, she found it a little suspicious that the vehicle behind her turned as well.

For a moment she thought of calling Erik, but she quickly decided against the idea. She had dealt with problems on her own most of her adult life and wasn’t about to hoist that responsibility onto a man she just met. Gathering herself, she turned into her driveway and got out of the car as the black Escalade pulled up directly behind her. The moment she saw the symbol on the front of the car, she knew it was Anita, and felt herself relax. She wasn’t intimidated by the woman. Not for one second.

“Out for an evening drive?” Wendy asked as Anita hopped out of her car.

“Well, it’s a beautiful night for it,” Anita agreed, walking toward her. “What about you?”

“Dinner with a friend,” Wendy replied in a short but pleasant tone. “What can I help you with, Anita? It’s late, and if you’re in need of medical help, you really should be at the hospital and not here.”

“No, I’m perfectly fine,” Anita stated, flashing her a wide smile. “I came here for your concern, not mine.”

This threw Wendy off a bit. She’d only ever seen Anita as a patient in the ER. They’d never talked before or after that day, and they were in no way friends.

“Is that one of the new roles as President of the Chamber of Commerce?” Wendy asked. “Checking on people you don’t know?”

“I just heard that you’ve been spending a lot of time with the Strauss sisters lately,” Anita replied.

“And?” Wendy asked quickly.

“And I don’t think it’s the best idea,” Anita replied. “They’ve run into some trouble, poor things, and everyone who comes into contact with them seems to get pulled into it, too. You seem like a nice woman, and from what I’ve heard from a few close friends, you’re also about to be very affluent. I just want to make sure you’re not falling into the wrong crowd.”

Wendy was so thrown off she wasn’t sure what to say at first. Had someone at her late father’s bank or law firm told Anita about the inheritance?

“That’s private information,” Wendy replied, feeling her body grow rigid. “No one should have told you about that.”

“Yes, that’s true,” Anita agreed, “we really do need to protect our private information. Like my medical information, for example. It’s illegal, isn’t it? To share any patient information outside of hospital personnel?”

“What are you getting at, Anita?” Wendy sighed.

“I guess what I’m getting at is that it’s always unfortunate when private information is shared with the public. You don’t want it, and neither do I. So I will keep my mouth shut about yours if you keep your mouth shut about mine.”

It was already too late for that, but Wendy wasn’t going to let Anita know that. She wanted this interaction over, and quickly. No patient hadeverfollowed her home from anywhere before, and she felt extremely uncomfortable that Anita had broken that streak.

“Whatever you say, Anita,” Wendy replied, pushing the lock button on her car. She picked up her bags and started walking toward her front door.

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