A Will and a Way

I decided to stop at a gas station and phone my neighbor.”
    “But your apartment.”
    “I talked to the police, gave them a list of my valuables. We’ll both run into New York in a day or two.” Snow was scattered through her hair and matted to her coat. He thought of what might have happened and resisted the urge to shake her. “I couldn’t leave you alone.”
    “I’m going to start believing you’re chivalrous after all.” She kissed him. “That explains why you’re not in New York, but what were you doing in the woods?”
    “Just a hunch.” He bent to retrieve the frying pan. A good whack with that, he discovered, and he’d have been down for the count.
    “The next time you have a hunch, don’t stand at the edge of the woods and stare at the house.”
    “I wasn’t.” Michael took her arm and headed back toward the house. He wanted her inside again, behind locked doors.
    “I saw you.”
    “I don’t know who you saw.” Disgusted, Michael looked back at the dog. “But if you hadn’t let the dog out we’d both know. I decided to check around outside before coming in, and I saw footprints. I followed them around, then cut into the woods.” He glanced over his shoulder, still tight with tension. “I was just coming up behind whoever made them when Bruno tried his attack. I started chasing.” He swore and slapped a palm against the skillet. “I was gaining when this hound ran between my legs and sent me face first into the snow. About that time, you started yelling at the dog. Whoever I was chasing had enough time to disappear.”
    Pandora swore and kicked at the snow. “If you’d let me know what was going on, we could’ve worked together.”
    “I didn’t know what was going on until it was already happening. In any case, the deal was you’d stay inside with the doors locked.”
    “The dog had to go out,” Pandora muttered. “And I had this phone call.” She looked back over her shoulder and sighed. “Someone called to warn me.”
    “Who?”
    “I don’t know. I thought it was a man’s voice, but—I’m just not sure.”
    Michael’s hand tightened on her arm. “Did he threaten you?”
    “No, no it wasn’t like a threat. Whoever it was certainly seemed to know what’s been going on and isn’t happy about it. That much was clear. He—she said someone was going to try to break into the Folley, and I should get out.”
    “And, of course, you handled that by running into the woods with a skillet. Pandora.” This time he did shake her. “Why didn’t you call the police?”
    “Because I thought it was another trick and it made me mad.” She sent Michael a stubborn look. “Yes, it frightened me at first, then it just plain made me mad. I don’t like intimidation. When I looked out and saw someone near the woods, I only wanted to fight back.”
    “Admirable,” he said but took her shoulders. “Stupid.”
    “You were doing the same thing.”
    “It’s not the same thing. You’ve got brains, you’ve got style. I’ll even give you guts. But, cousin, you’re not a heavyweight.What if you’d caught up with whoever was out there and they wanted to play rough?”
    “I can play rough, too,” Pandora muttered.
    “Fine.” With a quick move, he hooked a foot behind hers and sent her bottom first into the snow. She didn’t have the opportunity to complain before he was standing over her, gesturing with the skillet. Bruno decided it was a game and leaped on top of her. “I might’ve come back tomorrow and found you half-buried in the snow.” Before she could speak, he hauled her to her feet again. “I’m not risking that.”
    “You caught me off balance,” she began.
    “Shut up.” He had her by the shoulders again, and this time his grip wasn’t gentle. “You’re too important, Pandora, I’m through taking chances. We’re going inside and calling the cops. We’re going to tell them everything.”
    “What can they do?”
    “We’ll find out.”
    She let out a long breath, then leaned against him. The chase might have been exciting, but her knees had yet to stop shaking. “Okay, maybe you’re right. We’re no farther along now than when we started.”
    “Calling the police isn’t giving up, it’s just changing the odds. I might not have come back here tonight, Pandora. The dog may not have frightened anyone off. You’d have been alone.” He took both her hands, pressing them to his lips and warming them. “I’m not going to let anything