"Give me your cell phone," he ordered.
He didn't wait for her to comply, slipping it out of the holder on her waistband and ignoring her sounds of outrage. Holding the phone up higher, out of her reach, he tapped in a number, then handed it back to her. "I've programmed my cell number into the phone. Call me if you need anything." He looked at her carefully. "Anything at all, Halley. Even if something spooks you just a little, I want you to call me."
Halley took her phone, but her fingers were shaking too badly to slide it back into the case so she just clutched it in her trembling hand. She still couldn't look him in the eye, afraid she might just melt into a ball of need, fear, and lust if she did. So instead, she took a deep breath, holding her cell phone close to her chest and nodding her head. "Fine. I'll call you if anything comes up."
Halley slipped into her car and was relieved when the door was closed. Elf and Midget were wagging their tails, eager for another ride. They weren't confused at all by her odd behavior, just happy to be with her. That was the beauty of dogs. They didn't care about the world. Their universe was happy as long as their owner was there, giving them love and affection. Halley scratched their ears, almost laughing when their tongues hung out the sides of their mouths with sweet adoration.
She started the engine and drove off, eager to put some miles between herself and Mike. That was twice in one day that she'd run into him and both interactions had left her shaking and stunned. She had to keep that man further away, she thought as she pulled into her driveway again.
Staring at her small sanctuary, she wondered if she was just imagining things. The flowers, the empty garbage, all the small items that were just … straightened. Was she going crazy?
Halley sat in her car for a long moment, just watching her house while rubbing both Elf, who had climbed onto her lap, and Midget's fur. Both dogs didn't care, simply happy to be petted. The sweet guys would sit there all night if she'd continue to rub their fur. Silly hound dogs, she thought. Wouldn't it be nice to have no other worries in the world other than where someone's hand was? And if they might scratch you behind the ears? Goodness, she was losing her mind.
Still staring at her house, she tried to think, to calm down her racing heart. She was just being paranoid, she told herself. Nothing bad had happened inside of her home. Someone had cleaned her house. Someone nice. No one threatening. It had to be one of her friends, or maybe one of her mother's friends? Or could it have been …
Halley shook her head. "I'm just being silly," she told both of them. Midget reached out and licked her cheek while Elf wiggled happily.
Enough was enough, she thought, pressing her lips together as she dismissed any sort of danger from her mind. "Come on. Let's go to bed," she said as she opened the car door. Immediately, both dogs leapt out of the truck, bounding happily towards the house.
It took her a few more minutes to get from the car to the house because of the damage she'd done to her feet during the afternoon. But once inside, she carefully slipped her shoes off. After the protection of her sneakers was gone, the throbbing from the blisters and other cuts made themselves known. Oh, this was bad! This afternoon had been her first in a long line of rehearsals and she didn't know exactly how to care for her feet after this kind of abuse.
Hobbling into her bathroom, she thought about a long soak in her big tub but knew she'd never get out again. So she turned on the shower and slipped in, letting the hot water soothe her aching muscles.
Thankfully, she had a couple of days before she had another rehearsal. Enough time to let her feet recover. Hopefully!
The water hitting her blistered feet was almost painful, but she knew it was the best way to clean the blisters that were actually worse than she'd thought, now that she'd peeled her socks away and could really examine the damage. She hadn't looked at them when she'd changed after rehearsal this evening, just rushing out of the studio to her car.
She bandaged the blisters as well as possible, then pulled on a soft tee-shirt and underwear before sliding into her bed. Moments later, she was asleep.
Chapter 3
"Thanks Sue," she said and smiled up the older woman when the waitress slid the cup of coffee in front of her.
"No muffin today?" Sue asked.
Halley thought about the rehearsals coming up. The sugar wouldn't give her enough energy, so she shook her head. "Not today."
Sue looked at her strangely, but nodded and walked away. At the advice of her director, Halley had been munching on high protein, high nutrient foods for the past few weeks in order to keep her energy levels up during the grueling rehearsals. The first rehearsal had gone well and she knew she'd need all the energy she could get in order for her feet to heal enough. Just the thought of putting those shoes back on for the next rehearsal made her body cringe in pain.