She smiled up at him, relieved that he wasn't going to turn the town upside down trying to find who was doing this, but also glad that he was taking this seriously. She didn't want to admit, even to herself, how freaked out she was about all of the little things that she'd discovered, especially that underwear drawer thing.
"I'm going to throw out all of that food though."
He nodded his head in agreement. "That's probably a smart thing to do. No telling if something is laced."
Halley's eyes widened with that possibility. She'd only been grossed out by someone stranger stuffing her fridge. She hadn't even considered that the food might be laced with poison or … or whatever someone "laced" food with. That brought up a whole new scenario on the invasiveness of the break-in. Was someone trying to drug her? To make her … do strange things? To kill her?
Mike saw exactly where her mind was going and came over to her, holding her close. "Stop, Halley. Don't go there. Don't let your mind go there because it will drive you nuts. I'll find out who is doing this. Until then, you'll stay with me."
Halley didn't answer him. She didn't reply either. Assuming that the safest route was to just go shower, she turned on her heel and walked back into her bedroom. In the shower, she turned the water on as hot as it would go, trying to clean off the tinge of nastiness caused by knowing someone had been in her house. Twice!
Yes, she was completely creeped out, but she wasn't going to let this person, this stranger, make her precious home into a prison or a place to be feared. She would just … well, today, she was going to take Elf and Midget over to her parent's house and ask her dad if the dogs could stay with him. Bozo would be fine. She was an expert at hiding, as evidenced by the fact that she was currently perched on the top shelf of her bookcase. How she'd gotten up there, Halley hadn't a clue, but the feline had her ways.
She showered quickly, then dried off and pulled on her jeans and a sweatshirt. She also stuffed her bag with clothes for rehearsal this afternoon. It would be a tough one, but at least her feet had healed enough so that the blisters weren't as much of an issue. They were still pretty battered. No way could she ever be selected for a pedicure ad, but she didn't care. Halley pulled on socks, then stuffed her feet into her boots, ready for a long, satisfying ride out on the plains.
"Anything?" she asked when she walked out again, fully dressed and feeling much more in control.
Mike turned around, lifting yet another print off of the door to her fridge. "Looks like several prints that are pretty good, but I won't know until I run them all through the database." He pressed the current print into a piece of white paper, then lifted her hand. "I'm going to take yours now." He looked into her eyes. "Anything you need to confess?"
She laughed, thinking of her rehearsals, the wardrobe fittings, her drives into Billings every couple of days. "Oh, I have lots of secrets."
He was pressing her fingers into a black powder. "But you're going to tell me all of them, right?"
He pressed her fingers into another machine as she shook her head. "Absolutely not. All of my secrets will remain exactly that. Secret."
His startled eyes looked into hers. "You won't tell me your secrets?" he asked, nonplussed.
She laughed again, thinking that he looked adorable when he was confused. It was so rare! Mike was a tough guy, literally an alpha male with all of the muscles and attitude that went along with that title. Seeing his eyes looking down at her with confusion, his dark eyebrows coming together in that angry way … well, she thought he was just … cute! "No way."
He grunted, focusing back on her fingers and his task. "Now you have me curious."
Halley groaned. "That's not good. Maybe I should just make something up and pretend like it's my whole secret life."
He'd finished taking her prints and now he trapped her in by placing his hands on either side of her, resting against the countertop.
"You're boxing me in again," she pointed out to him.
"You're running away from me again," he countered, unconcerned with her claim.
She couldn't argue with him there. She was terrified of the feelings rushing through her at the moment. Softness, tenderness, gratitude, and something so much stronger were surging within her heart right now.
"I have to go feed the horses," she whispered, still staring up at him, afraid of what he might be thinking.
He didn't move and they continued to stare at one another. "I need to get these prints run through the system. Call me later, so we can discuss all of this, okay?" His hand came up to gently rub a finger against her smooth chin.