Spirited Away. Angela Campbell
house phone began ringing and seconds later, the alarm stopped. Well, that was something at least.
Furry legs grabbed onto Spider’s calf inside the house.
“Hello?” the man called again.
“Uh, yeah! We’re okay.” Still trying to shove the window up, she glanced down and saw Costello humping away at her leg.
You’ve got to be kidding me.
She tried to jostle the dog off, which only managed to get her stuck in a more awkward position. Uh. She was wedged in there pretty good now.
The back fence moved inward. Spider reached a hand out and screamed, “Don’t let the dog out!”
A man she didn’t recognize grabbed Charlie’s collar just as the dog ran toward the gate. That mutt must have some superpower for detecting openings he couldn’t see. She’d swear her life on it. Her body sagged against the window frame with a loud sigh of relief that he hadn’t escaped again.
The stranger snapped the gate shut behind him and gave Charlie a generous rub on both ears. Spider snorted when Charlie lapped the man’s face with his tongue. Some guard dog he was.
“Are you sure you don’t need help?”
Seriously? He wanted to help her now?
The guy lifted his delicious green gaze, which widened when it found her. He swore. “Are you stuck in the window?”
She stifled a groan. He would have to be a total hottie, wouldn’t he?
Please, someone shoot me now.
***
Noah West rubbed the playful dog behind its ears and considered the sight before him.
Young woman, scantily dressed. Half-in, half-out of the window at a house he knew she didn’t live in.
He probably should have called the cops like he’d almost done when he’d looked out the window and seen the unfamiliar redhead chasing the dog up and down the street. He’d been sleeping when he’d heard someone yelling “Chaaarrrlie!” over and over outside his bedroom window. By the time he’d fumbled into his jeans and found a shirt, his neighbour’s alarm had been shrieking out the formula for a migraine.
He lifted a hand and scratched at the heavy stubble on his cheek.
He’d had a late night – something that was becoming more and more common lately – or else he wouldn’t have been home right now. He wished he hadn’t been home right now.
For one, his house gave him the creeps, and he wasn’t sure whether the sounds he’d been hearing, the objects he’d seen moving, meant he was roommates with Casper the not-so-friendly ghost. There was always a logical explanation for that stuff, but until he figured out what it was he preferred to avoid the place. For another, he needed to be working right now, not playing hero to a young damsel-in-distress.
He cleared his throat and approached cautiously. She’d probably locked herself out, but you never knew.
“Name’s Noah. I live across the street.”
Her body was shaking unnaturally, as if she were having spasms or doing something really, really naughty with that windowsill. He was afraid to ask.
“Spider.”
He jerked back. “Where? What kind?”
“No, my name is Spider. I’m a friend of Zach and Hannah’s. I’m house-sitting, and I got locked out.”
He hurried over and shoved the window further up, giving her some extra space to move. Through the opening, he spotted a furry blond mutt humping her other leg.
A startled bark of laughter escaped his control. The girl – Spider – narrowed her eyes at him before manoeuvring the rest of her body through the widened opening. She tumbled onto the floor with a thump and a squeal.
“You okay?”
She lifted a hand and waved back at him dismissively as she found her feet and scurried out of the room. A few seconds later, the ringing telephone stopped. He could hear her talking, but he couldn’t make out what she said.
The blond mutt’s head popped up in front of him before he could lower the window again. Weird-looking dog, but she sure was cute. He reached a hand up to pet her, but the creature growled and showed a long snout full of some serious-looking teeth.
Whoa. The window slid down with a hiss as Noah jerked his hand back and let it fall. The dog’s barking grew muffled as the animal disappeared into the house.
The back door swung open, and the ginger-haired girl poked her head out. “I’m fine. Everything’s fine. Thanks for your, um, help.”
He nodded and tried not to stare at her shapely legs when she stepped onto the back deck. She was only wearing skimpy shorts and a tank top that left little to the imagination. Full, perky breasts pressed against the light green shirt that read “Gamers do it all night.” He focused on her feet. Blue toenails. That was kinda hot.
“Excuse me, sir,” a gruff voice called out. “Do you live here?”
Noah turned and saw a uniformed officer pushing his way through the fence. He reached and constrained the other dog before it had a chance to get out again.
The gray-haired cop’s face was set in grim, stern lines as he approached, one hand hovering over the gun holster at his hip.
“Eeek!”
Both men turned toward the woman who’d made the sound.
“Emma?” the officer asked.
She was doing her best to cover her front with one arm while her other hand tugged the hem of her shorts down. “Hi Jack. How’s it going?” She fidgeted from one foot to the other.
Emma? He thought she’d said her name was Spider.
The officer returned his confused look to Noah. He unsnapped his holster. “This guy bothering you?”
Noah released the dog and stepped back. Last thing he wanted was to give the officer more cause for concern.
“No!” The girl risked a step forward. “He’s a neighbour. He came over to help.” She heaved a sigh. “I got myself locked out and the alarm went off when I was crawling through the window and—”
The officer hiked a thumb in Noah’s direction. “This his house? Does your daddy know you’re here?”
“What?” She shifted a look between the two men. “No. I’m house-sitting for my boss. He just got married and is on his honeymoon.” She gestured toward Noah and spoke her words slowly. “This man is their neighbour. He came over to help. I already told you that.”
Officer Jack settled both hands on his hips, his lips twitching as his gaze looked her up and down. “Got yourself locked out, huh?”
“Please don’t tell my dad.”
“I gotta call this in, kiddo. You know that.”
“Yeah, but do you have to mention my name?”
Noah hooked his thumbs on his belt loops and hung back. If he hadn’t thought the situation interesting before, he was fascinated now.
The officer shook his head, but smiled. “Alright, verify the homeowner’s information for me, and I’ll try to keep your name out of it.”
She rattled off a few details about Hannah Dawson – now Hannah Collins – while the officer scribbled them down. It wasn’t anything Noah didn’t already know. Hannah was a pretty nurse who’d lived here for about a year. Her then boyfriend – husband now – had moved in a couple of months ago.
The cop glanced up and returned his attention to Noah. “I’m gonna need to see your identification,