Home Before Dark (Christian Romantic Suspense) (Carolina Moon Book 1) Read online

  Until Hannah decided to ruin it.

  “So Daleigh, talked to Vince lately?” Hannah looked at her sister with wide, childlike eyes. The eyes of a faker, Daleigh thought.

  Her throat constricted. Why did her sister pull this stuff? “As a matter of fact, yes. I talked to him today.”

  “When’s he coming out?”

  “As soon as music ceases to make money, I suppose.” She clamped her mouth shut, wishing she could take back the words. They were immature. True, but immature.

  “That’s not very nice, Daleigh.”

  “No, I suppose it wasn’t,” she conceded, hoping to veer off the discussion.

  Hannah fluffed her hair, probably trying to appear casual. Daleigh knew the truth—her sister was as nosy as they come. “So, what were you guys doing staring at the guest house like that?”

  “I think someone broke into the cottage.” Daleigh hadn’t made a decision about whether to tell Hannah. But now she decided it would distract her sister from Vince and Ryan and Daleigh’s life in general.

  Hannah froze on the stone sidewalk. “Why do you think that?”

  “My window was up. You weren’t over there messing around, were you?”

  “Oh, is that all?” Hannah laughed and started her prance to the house again. “No, I wasn’t over there. But maybe the window wasn’t latched. Sometimes they can pop open if they’re not. I wouldn’t worry about it.”

  Maybe, Daleigh thought. It was a plausible theory. But her gut told her it was wrong.

  Or maybe it was her paranoia.

  “I checked it out and everything appears untouched,” Ryan said. “Maybe it was just a kid who got curious about the celebrity in town.”

  “Or maybe Daleigh really did leave the window up,” Hannah chided. “She always has been a little forgetful.”

  Daleigh brushed off her sister’s remark as they climbed the steps to the massive, plantation-style porch.

  “Daleigh lives in Nashville.” Daleigh’s heart rate quickened at the sound of Ryan’s voice. “I’m sure she never leaves home without putting her windows down. It wouldn’t be smart in the city. You don’t forget habits like that in one weekend.”

  Hannah harrumphed and pulled the front door open. Hannah was actually speechless. Daleigh fought a grin and instead mouthed “thank you” to Ryan as they stepped inside. The wink he gave her in return made her heart flip-flop.

  Her two nieces, ages two and four, bombarded her with hugs as soon as she closed the door behind her. For the next hour, they all ate apple pie so tasty it melted in their mouths, and sipped coffee—the regular kind this time.

  She learned that Ryan loved boating. He could fix anything he put his hands on. He lived out in the country two miles from town, and he worked with a guy named Frank, whom everyone chuckled over as soon as his name was mentioned.

  The conversation felt surprisingly normal and at ease. It was especially unusual considering that Daleigh and Hannah were in the same room. Their relationship had been strained for years now. Hannah had taken on a maternal role after their mother died. She’d tried to boss Daleigh around, and Daleigh had pushed back. While Hannah had been doing laundry, Daleigh had been writing songs and dreaming about a career in music. Her dad, who was more like Daleigh, had always told Hannah to loosen up and have some fun. But her sister had constantly muttered something about someone having to be the responsible one in the family.

  Then Daleigh had graduated. She’d talked about her dreams of making it big, and Hannah had insisted Daleigh get a real career and that she should kill her crazy music aspirations. Her words had pushed Daleigh even harder to make something of herself and to not settle for a life where she simply got what was handed to her. It seemed their resentment toward each other continued to build and build until finally a huge rift stretched between them.

  Ryan finished his pie. “Thanks for having me over. It’s been nice getting to know you, but I promised my sister I’d stop by and help her with something. I don’t want to keep her waiting.” He looked at Daleigh, and she could have sworn a light blush covered his cheeks. “Good to see you again, Daleigh.”

  He stood.

  “Let me walk you to the door.” She rose and fell into step beside him. Their footsteps clinked against the hardwood floor, echoed by the high ceilings and classic decorations Hannah paid a fortune for.

  “Make sure someone walks you back to your house, okay? Just to be safe,” Ryan said at the door.

  “I will.”

  He opened the door and the spring breeze floated inside, mixed with the scent of motor oil. From now on, a scent she’d always associated with her father would also remind her of Ryan.

  “You take care now, okay?”

  It sounded like goodbye. Forever. Her heart fell. Of course Ryan was saying goodbye. She wouldn’t be in town much longer. She shouldn’t even be here now, not if what her manager and Vince said were true. Even so, what were the chances of her and Ryan running into each other again before she did leave?

  “Thanks for everything. I mean it. If you’re ever in Nashville, give me a call. I’ll show you around Music City.”

  “I’ll do that.” It almost seemed he didn’t want to let go of the handle and step outside. He looked at her a moment too long. Then, turning away, he said over his shoulder, “Bye, Daleigh.”

  She leaned against the door, watching until he disappeared down the dimly-lit street. Slowly, she closed the door and joined Hannah and family.

  “Oh, he’s got it bad for you,” Hannah said as soon as Daleigh entered the room.

  Daleigh stopped in her tracks. “Excuse me?”

  Her eyebrows tugged up toward her hairline. “Ryan. Ryan Shields. The guy who was just here. I’ve never seen him like that before.”

  Daleigh shrugged. “Like what?”

  “Falling all over himself. Blushing. Bashful. That is not the Ryan Shields I know.”

  “What’s the difference?”

  “Ryan is usually funny, in a laid-back sort of way. Very confident. At ease. But whenever he looked at you, he acted like he was going to fumble his coffee cup. Anyway, that’s silly to ever imagine the two of you together.” Her sister laughed. “I mean, can you imagine yourself with a mechanic?”

  “What’s so funny about that?”

  “Oh come on, Daleigh. Don’t even make it sound like you’d consider it. You’re dating a record producer. Why would you ever see yourself with a blue-collar worker, even if it’s a blue collar worker who looks like Ryan?”

  Daleigh forced herself to swallow before responding. “There’s nothing wrong with blue-collar workers, Hannah.”

  Hannah rolled her eyes. “Oh, of course you’re right. But I still can’t see the two of you together.” Her sister stood, balancing her coffee cup easily as if the conversation was just another lighthearted gab session. “Well, it’s time for me to get my beauty rest. Bruce just went up to put the girls to bed. Are you coming to church with us in the morning?”

  “I’d love to.” It had been too long since she had been to church. Her soul cried out for comfort right now, comfort that she could only find while focusing on the eternal and spiritual. Her life had been consumed too long now with the things of this world.

  “We go to a little community congregation down the street. Of course, Bruce and I are thinking about looking for some place new. It’s a little down-home and simple, if you know what I mean. We don’t really relate to most of the people who go there.”

  “Hannah, this is a down-home and simple kind of town. What do you expect?”

  Bruce called for Hannah from the balcony.

  “Listen, sis, I’ve got to run. So 9:00? Meet me out front? And wear a dress. We like to look pretty for church down here in Hertford.”

  Before Daleigh could say anything, her sister hurried away.

  Daleigh let herself out and, as she moseyed back to her house, she wished she’d taken Ryan’s advice and had someone walk with her. Chills went up her spine.
>
  Whoo-hoo.

  She jumped and clutched her heart, only to realize it was an owl. She let out a self-conscious laugh. “What’s wrong with me?” As soon as the question left her lips, she remembered the answer. “My house was broken into, that’s what.”

  Her muscles tightened as she got closer to the door.

  Whoo-hoo.

  If only that stupid owl would be quiet.

  Whoo-hoo.

  She pulled her keys from her pocket and jangled them in her hands.

  That pesky window was still cracked open, she noticed, stepping onto the porch. Hannah had interrupted them before Daleigh had a chance to put it back down.

  The boards underneath her creaked and groaned.

  Whoo-hoo.

  The sound wouldn’t have been so noticeable, if the night weren’t otherwise so quiet. Earlier the chimes had added their song to the air. The wind must have died.

  A sudden gust brushed like fingers across Daleigh’s face. The wind hadn’t died!

  Daleigh froze. With baited breath, she pivoted and saw an empty space where the wind chimes had dangled only an hour earlier.

  Chapter Six

  Daleigh’s gaze darted over the front porch. The chimes were gone. She hadn’t taken them down, although she’d thought of it. But why would anyone else take down those noisemakers?

  Unless they wanted to hear if someone was approaching so they could make a quick getaway before getting caught.

  Pushing aside a chill of fear, Daleigh peered over the railing, searching the flowerbed for the chimes. Shadows hit at just the right angles so she couldn’t see anything.

  She’d get a flashlight later and check. Right now, she just wanted to get inside.

  Or should she run away? Was someone inside her house?

  Her hands shook with such force that she barely got her key into the lock. She flung the door open, scrambled inside, slammed it, and fumbled with the locks before pressing herself against its wood. She stared at the once-inviting home.

  Ryan said he checked everything out and no one was here. Still, her eyes darted around, waiting for an unexpected movement. “I have no reason to be alarmed,” she whispered.

  Then why are my wind chimes missing?

  She played with the idea of calling Ryan. But she didn’t have his phone number, and she’d already bothered the poor guy enough. The last thing she wanted was for him to think of her as a damsel constantly in distress. No, she was stronger and more capable than that.

  A loud jangle cut through the silence. Daleigh covered a screech as she jumped.

  “The phone.” She let out a shaky laugh, feeling foolish. “Just the phone.” She propelled herself from the door and snatched the cordless receiver from its stand on the breakfast bar.

  “Hi, darling.”

  Her heart sank with disappointment. Vince. Was he calling to apologize? Even so, she had no desire to speak with him. “I wasn’t expecting to hear from you.”

  “Are you okay? You sound a little breathless.”

  “I think someone broke into the house where I’m staying.”

  “Why would you think that?”

  “The window was cracked open when I got home and the wind chimes are missing from outside.” She paused, remembering with sour disdain what their relationship had been like lately, and fought off the urge to say, Like you care.

  His voice took on the fatherly tone he always used when telling her what to do, which was most of the time. “Here’s what you’re going to do, Daleigh. First, go find a flashlight. I’m going to stay on the phone with you while you search for your chimes. I’m sure they just fell off. Maybe the hook was bad or something.”

  Right, the hook. That was probably it. She wanted to rebel, to tell him that he wasn’t her boss. But his advice was good. She could easily put her fears at ease and gain some peace of mind.

  She searched beneath the sink for a flashlight and found one. After rolling the batteries a few times, it flickered on. “Okay, I’ve got my light.”

  “Turn the porch light on.”

  “It is.”

  “Okay, now go outside and shine the beam in the flowerbed.”

  She froze. “I’m scared.”

  Vince sighed. “Oh, come on, Daleigh. You’re in a little hick town. It’s not East Harlem. I’m sure the crime rate is nonexistent.”

  “Fine.” Gripping the phone like a lifeline, she stepped outside. She looked to both sides before tiptoeing to the railing and pointing the flashlight into the shadows below. “I don’t see anything.”

  “Look more closely.”

  Looking more closely required leaving the safe confines of the porch, and she didn’t want to. But she didn’t want to hear Vince mock her either. Her gaze darted around as she crept down the stairs.

  “Daleigh? You still with me?”

  She scowled. “I’m still looking.”

  She nudged the branches of an azalea bush with her foot. Nothing happened. Carefully, she pushed some branches back and shone her light on the ground. Something shiny reflected the light.

  Could it be . . . ?

  She leaned in closer. It sure was. Relief filled her—along with a touch of embarrassment.

  “Well?”

  “I found them.” As she picked them up, they jangled, the sound at once comforting.

  “They fell off, right? Just like I told you.”

  “I guess so. My imagination is in high gear tonight.” Daleigh climbed the porch and hung them where they belonged. The tension between her shoulders eased for a moment.

  “It’s been a rough couple of days for you,” Vince conceded as she walked inside. How would he know? He didn’t even care enough to come along and support her.

  She locked the front door before sitting on the edge of the couch. She dreaded where she knew this conversation would go.

  “Look, I’m over that little tiff we had earlier. I know you only said what you did because you’re stressed out.” He paused. “I forgive you.”

  “You? Forgive me?” She couldn’t believe his words. Slowly and succinctly she said, “I’m not sorry about what I said. It was the truth.”

  “Hon, we talked about this before you left. You said you understood.”

  “What I understand is that your career is more important than I am.”

  “That’s not true. I want to be there for you. I thought you were just taking a quick trip for the funeral and you’d be back by now. I had no idea it would turn into this.”

  “My father died. I’m alone, and it’s given me some clarity about my life.” Her voice cracked, but she kept going.

  “Listen, if I’d known it was this important to you, I would have come with you. Canceled all my appointments. Rescheduled the recording time.”

  Easy for you to say that now.

  “You mean the world to me, kid.”

  She cringed at the use of his pet nickname. Anger simmered inside her, but she controlled it. “You know I hate it when you call me that.”

  He sighed. “It’s a term of endearment.”

  Her muscles tightened as steam threatened to blow from her ears. “It tells me what you think of me.”

  “You were a kid when I met you.”

  And you still treat me like I am a child. No wonder Hannah liked him so much—they had a lot in common. “Yeah, I was young and naive back then. Not anymore.”

  His voice hardened. “I’ve made you who you are, Daleigh.”

  “You don’t even know who I am.”

  “I know your sales have dropped. I know it’s time for you to record again, put out another album.”

  “Is that all you can think about? Is that all I am to you? Just another one of your musical investments?” She knew what he’d tell her, but she also knew the truth. Why had she been so hesitant to see it before?

  He sighed. “Of course not. I’m just trying to look out for you.”

  “You have a weird way of showing it.”

  “I’m doing my best, Dalei
gh.”

  Was there truth behind his words? Was she being too hard on him?

  “Maybe you should do some thinking then. Think long and hard before you make any decisions.” He hung up.

  Daleigh leaned into the couch. Why was her life such a mess? Just a week ago she had a father, a career, a faithful boyfriend—as faithful as Vince could be. How could so much go wrong so quickly?

  She longed to turn back time, to erase the past week.

  She knew things would never be the same. Now she had to decide what she was going to do about it.

  ***

  As Ryan settled on the couch, heaviness settled on his chest. What a difference a day could make.

  Just when he’d determined to put his fascination with Daleigh behind him, she had to go and show up at the garage. Ask if they could talk. Somehow that had ended up as coffee—that had been Ryan’s idea, hadn’t it? But there at the café he’d seen a glimpse of who she really was.

  As he’d watched her TV interviews before, listened to her music, and talked to her father, he’d told himself that Daleigh would be high and mighty. That she’d let her success go to her head. That she’d be different than him.

  It wasn’t that anyone had ever said that’s who Daleigh was or even that she’d ever acted like that. But the woman was famous. Her face had been on magazine covers. She’d sung live at an awards show that aired on TV.

  She wasn’t at all the person Ryan thought she might be. She wasn’t pretentious. She was down-to-earth, downright likable, and even more beautiful in person.

  Unfortunately.

  Why did he get the sense that there was something about her that was very broken also? Was it because of her father’s death? Or was there more to the sadness in her eyes?

  Soon, she’d leave. She’d return to being the woman whose CDs he listened to and whose interviews he read. An unreachable illusion. A woman he could admire but who’d remain out of reach.

  He sighed. He’d stopped by his sister’s to help her fix a leaky toilet, but now he was back home and on the couch. He flipped through the TV stations, trying to find something to distract him. The evening news. A sitcom. An improvised comedy show. A baseball game.