“Why doesn’t Simpson have a police department?” she asked, leading the way out of the training room. “Is it too small?”
“It’s big enough to have one if they wanted, but the city council has always contracted with Field County. I think the idea of starting up a city law-enforcement agency is intimidating, and Rob’s always done a good job covering Simpson, as well as the county.”
They reached the front door, and Daisy turned, intending to say something, but the awed look on his face stopped her.
“Look at that,” he said, running his fingers over the vertical column of locks, all unlatched. “I’m so proud of you, Dais.” His gaze shifted to her face, and his expression of fierce pride made her feel like the most amazing woman in the world.
“Thank you.” She turned her head to look at the door so she didn’t give in to the temptation to blurt out how much she loved him and hurl herself into his arms. When her gaze settled on the unsecured inner door, she smiled broadly. She, Daisy Little, hoarding Amish grandma, had done that. It made her think that maybe, just maybe, she could have a future with Chris.
Right now, she felt like anything was possible.
Chapter 15
It was harder than the night she’d left the first chain lock undone. Daisy couldn’t stay still, much less sleep. Every time she paused, even for a second, she was overwhelmed with the knowledge that the inner door was completely unlocked. It didn’t matter that the exterior door was locked, or that she lived in the tiny, mostly crime-free town of Simpson, or that she had a deputy on speed-dial. The unsecured door made her feel as vulnerable as if she were lying naked in the front yard.
She tried to think of something she could bake that didn’t require eggs, but she was too distracted to do more than pull a few ingredients out of the cupboards. When she caught herself staring blankly into the sugar canister, Daisy decided that attempting to prepare edible food when she couldn’t concentrate for more than two seconds at a time was probably a dangerous idea.
After putting away the items and cleaning the kitchen, she wandered into the study. Although the dolls still freaked her out, they were growing on her a little. It might have been because both were doing so well in their online auctions. Apparently, there were a lot of people who didn’t feel that the antique dolls were toys of the devil.
She booted up her laptop. After deleting a few junk emails, she opened up an Internet browser. Only two minutes later, she shut down her computer, unable to sit still.
Checking the clock on the desk, she groaned. It wasn’t even one yet, and it felt like an entire week had gone by since Chris had left to help Lawrence with the missing tire cover. He’d called her after he’d gotten off work, but he’d been distracted, so they’d ended the call shortly after she’d confirmed that she was doing fine.
Daisy wandered into the training room. Friday was officially her rest day, but she figured it could still be considered Thursday night, if she really wanted to lie to herself. She jumped and grabbed the pull-up bar, swinging back and forth like a kid on the monkey bars. When her hands started to sting from the friction, she lifted her legs up and over the bar, releasing the grip of her fingers so she hung upside-down by her knees.
Her spine popped as she dangled from the bar, and she thought of how different the room looked from her inverted position. When her face burned from too much blood flowing into it and her eyes felt like they were about to pop out of her head, she swung back and forth, flipping her legs off of the bar to land on her feet. Unfortunately, she couldn’t stick the landing, and she fell back on her butt with a grunt.
Glad that she didn’t have an audience for that ungraceful maneuver, she scrambled to her feet and headed for the treadmill. If she didn’t do something physical, she was going to lose the battle raging in her head, run to the door, and fasten every single lock, erasing all of her progress.
As she settled into her warm-up jog, she thought about how Lou had mentioned at their last training session that she wanted to set up Daisy with a fireman named Steve. The thought of dating someone hadn’t really occurred to her, except for her daydreams about Chris during unguarded moments. Lou’s mention of the fireman, though, had her actually considering the idea.
The thought of dating a stranger made her stomach churn with a mixture of excitement and nerves. She tried to picture someone next to her on the couch while they watched a movie, or someone across from her at the dining room table as just the two of them shared a meal, or someone next to her in bed… Her insides clenched, and she shoved the last thought away. Even considering it felt like cheating.