Desperate Rescue by Barbara Phinney

brother threatened her and I believe he’ll carry out his threat.”
    “So you don’t believe he’s gone south?”
    Eli’s brows knitted together quickly. “You know him?”
    The officer didn’t answer right away. Of course. Kaylee had told the state police where she lived. They would call to confirm her address and offer a courtesy call to let the police here know what had happened.
    “We had some water bombers on standby to douse any forest fires that may have started from the explosions. The bombers scoop up water from the river, so they usually let our detachment know their plans.” He tilted his head to the left to study Eli. “But I don’t think it’s wise to follow Kaylee around.”
    “Have I broken the law being parked here?”
    “No. You just made a few of the residents of this street nervous, that’s all. They woke up to see the same car there as the night before.” He tucked his flashlight away and folded his arms. Eli noted that they were equal in height. The officer met his gaze with something more than just politeness. His tone changed, softened slightly. “It’s okay to be concerned for a friend, but wouldn’t it be wise to let us know?”
    Good advice. But he’d spent the night supposedly waiting for Noah to show up. He could have easily put a thousand miles on his car, heading south, following a trail that would hopefully lead to Phoebe.
    Instead, he’d stayed here and had promptly fallen asleep.
    Rolling his shoulders, he said, “Thank you. I think I’ll just go check on Kaylee.”
    The officer stopped him with a firm hand. “ I’ll go check on her. You can get yourself some breakfast and find a motel room, if you plan to stick around.”
    He had a motel room, but had hardly used it. “Thanks.” He turned toward his car, then turned back. “How well do you know Kaylee Campbell?”
    “Well enough for a small town. But, take another piece of advice, Mr. Nash. Your brother’s gone, so you should be, too. Kaylee has enough to deal with. You’re only making things worse.”
    Yes, he probably was. But he couldn’t just walk away now. Not with all that had happened. Not with the memory of Kaylee’s wide, exotic eyes haunting him.
    “Time to move on, Mr. Nash. Either that or find a motel and clean up. I’ll go check on Kaylee.”
    As the man turned to go, Eli said, “Thank you.”
    The officer turned back to him, pulled out a card and scribbled something on it. He handed it to Eli. “This is my cell number. You can call it anytime if you’re worried about Kaylee. We all care about her. She hasn’t been here long, but she’s become like family to my aunt. She’s her neighbor, Lois Smith. So I know how much Kaylee wants to start again.”
    Reading dipped his head once, then climbed back into his cruiser.
    Eli watched the police officer drive up to Kaylee’s little bungalow. A moment later, he was knocking on the door. A moment after that, Kaylee answered it.
    He found himself sighing. When the officer pointed down the short street at him, he climbed back into his car. Even at this distance, he could read her body language. Her stiff shoulders, her tightly crossed arms. She didn’t like his concern.
    So what else was he supposed to do? The police officer nodded, returned to his car and drove away. He watched the cruiser roll past him.
    Movement caught his attention. Kaylee shook her head before returning inside.
    He drove up to her house.
    She opened her door before he reached it. “You spent the night in your car? Are you nuts? You could have frozen to death!”
    “We’re having an Indian summer. It wasn’t that cold. Plus, I have a blanket in the back.”
    Disbelief lingered on her face as she shook her head. “Why? Why did you do that?”
    “Because…” he started, then cut off his words. Kaylee wouldn’t believe him if he told her that he thought that Noah would come here to finish his threat. The short time he’d known her told him that she wasn’t the sort to