Haunted in the Night

Chapter Seventeen- Part Two

“I just don’t want you to miss out" he said as he came over to her and she took his plate and cutlery from him and put them in the soapy water.
“I wouldn’t be, it would be like sort of having my life back and to have it with you, maybe I could find another way of getting an outlet for my passion" she said and he considered it for a moment.
“Maybe you could write fictional crime or mysteries or something" he suggested and she smiled at him.
“Yeah, maybe" she replied while she pulled the plug out to release the water before grabbing a tea towel to dry her hands.
“You would really be happy to have a life here with me?” he asked as she turned, him standing in front of her.
“Yes I would" she replied and he leaned down, kissing her passionately, grabbing her thighs, pulling her up and placing her butt on the counter.
Suddenly hot memories flooded through her mind as he held her body flush against his as she wrapped her legs around his waist as he gripped onto the back of her head, pulling it down slightly so he could kiss down her throat.
Every little kiss left tingling all over her, it felt like her skin was burning where he’d placed his lips upon her as her body responded to his.
“I can’t get enough of you" he whispered into her ear before he nipped at her neck, making her jump at the pleasure that sparked through her.
Her hands all over him, his strong shoulders, his muscled chest and abs, his smooth back, his firm ass, she couldn’t get enough of him either, it was like he awoke something inside her, something that could never be fully satisfied, and just lusted for him, for his touch, for the things he could do to her.
Slowly he put his head down on her shoulder, breathing heavily while she tried to regain her own thoughts.
“We should probably get some more sleep" he said but made no intention of moving, of letting go of her.
“Can I sleep with you on the mattress?” she asked, she loved being in his arms, it made her feel like nothing in the world could bother them, almost like they were the only people in the whole world.
“I’d love that" he said as he finally let go of her waist as she unwrapped her legs from him, watching him as he moved over to the rolled up mattress as he laid it out on the floor, grabbing the pillows and blanket for it.
“Do you know what your going to ask that Hardgrove guy tomorrow?” Chad asked her as she hopped off the counter.
“I have some ideas" she replied as he laid down on the mattress, opening his arms for her.
Checking the doors and windows were locked she flicked off the light and laid down next to him, snuggling up against him, his body ran naturally warm and she loved it as she always felt cold.
“Try not to worry, you’ll catch this criminal" he told her, he had full belief in her and it meant so much, especially with it being her first case she’s ever worked on and possibly her only one.
“Good night Chad" she said as he pulled the blanket over them, laid down and got comfy.
“Good night Claire" he said as he kissed her forehead before they both closed their eyes and fell asleep in each other’s arms.

It was very chilly the next morning, the fire has died out while they slept and Claire awoke from her shivering.
“Claire are you alright?” Chad asked as Claire sat up and he stirred awake, looking at her with sleepy eyes.
“I’m cold" she admitted, wrapping her arms around herself, an attempt to warm herself, it didn’t work, her skin was too cold.
“I’ll get the fire going, you stay in bed, try to keep warm, I’m more used to this weather than you would be" he said as he got up, wrapping the blanket around her, it did get cold in the city where she’d lived, but her grandparents made sure the house was always warm, it never got this cold, and if she went outside in it, it wasn’t for very long.
It didn’t take him long to get a new warm fire going and he made his way back over to her, laying back down and pulling her close, tucking her against him, using his own body warmth to warm her.
“Just relax, you’ll warm up soon" he whispered to her as she shivered against him.
“Goodness what a cold morning” Bob stated as he came out from the bedroom and into the dining room/kitchen.
“I just got a fire going, Claire’s not used to the cold so I’m trying to warm her" Chad told Bob as he watched the older man start to boil some hot water.
“How is she going to handle camping I wonder" Bob said referring to the trip to the mountains they could be taking any day now, then they would be out in the elements, no walls to keep them warm, only clothes, fires and tents.
“I’ll have to put on more layers" Claire replied, as slowly her shivering subsided, she felt like a child, being held by Chad, she didn’t like it, being so small, it was hard to keep herself warm, it made her feel a bit helpless.
Slowly Claire entangled herself from Chad’s arms, getting up and rushing over to her bag of clothing, pulling items out before she rushed into the bathroom to get dressed.
She put on a white long sleeved shirt over a singlet, then a big grey knitted jumper that was a little big on her, her grandmother had knit it for her, she also put on leggings under black pants and two layers of socks under her big black combat boots.
“Hot chocolate here for you" Bob said motioning to a cup on the table for her when she came out of the bathroom.
“Thank you" she said sitting down and taking a sip, Chad was sat next to her while Bob was in his usual seat across from them.
“I got a call from the Sydney police this morning, they left a little early so they should be here soon" Bob told her as she remembered that Josh Hardgrove was being transported down today for questioning.
“Excellent” she replied as she sipped her warm drink, thankfully the fire had begun to warm the room quite a bit now.
“Are you certain I can’t come on this camping trip to the mountains? I’m very concerned about Claire being out there" Chad mentioned once again, he had expressed his worry the other day but now after seeing how cold she gets so easily the nervousness was surfacing again.
“I’m sure Chad, I can’t let you come, too many people make it harder, I’ll keep an eye on Claire" Bob promised again, Claire feeling a bit annoyed with how much Chad wanted to take care of her, she did appreciate it but sometimes she liked to be able to take care of herself and not be treated like a child.
“What do you say to getting breakfast at the cafe this morning?” Bob suggested and Claire looked at Chad who nodded before she herself nodded and smiled at the idea.
“I’ll just get ready" Chad said as he got up, grabbed some clothes and went into the bathroom, Bob however had been dressed and ready when he came out of his room.
“I’ll douse the fire" Bob said as he got up, heading over to the fire to put it out, they didn’t want to leave it going while they weren’t there.
“You all ready?” Chad asked when he came back out, all Claire could see was his black jacket and pants, but you could tell he also had many layers on.
“Yep all good to go" Bob said as he walked over to them and Claire pulled on a blue jacket over her jumper and grabbed her handbag.
“Let’s go" she said as they walked outside into the cold.
The chill hit Claire’s cheeks, making them flush red, it felt like little needles were poking all over her face, her hairs on the back of her neck sticking up.
“I’ll take my car to the police station and walk down, you and Claire go to the cafe and I’ll meet you there" Bob said as they walked over to their vehicles.
“No problem, see you there” Chad said as he walked around to the drivers side of his truck while Claire opened the passenger door and climbed in, shutting the door quickly behind her, hoping to keep what little warmth was inside the car, which was mainly her own body warmth.
“I’ll get the heater going" Chad said as he climbed in, putting the key in the ignition and turning it, pushing the button for the heater.
“Thank you" Claire said as she pulled the sleeves of her jumper over her hands to try and keep them warm.
“Got your seatbelt on?” he asked as he looked over to her to see she was already wearing it before he pulled his own on then began driving towards the main street.
He parked in front of the hardware store, the cafe just two stores down and they climbed out, Chad locking it up before coming up to Claire and taking her hand as they walked, his warmth spreading into her hand.
“Good morning, take a seat I’ll be with you in a moment" Coral said as they walked in, she was already serving a young couple, they looked to be about 17, Claire guessed getting breakfast before heading to school.
Chad and Claire sat in the booths like normal and picked up the menus, a moment later Bob came in and sat on the other side of the booth, picking up his own menu.
“I’m afraid I have some bad news Claire" Bob said suddenly, his eyes still on the menu, Claire however put hers down to look at him, he slowly met her eyes, his mouth turned down in a slight frown.
“What is it?” Claire asked worried, fear that something had happened to her grandparents flared through her.
“Josh Hardgrove attempted to escape custody today, he was being placed in the transport vehicle when he punched an officer in the gut and attempted to flee, he was shot down, only in the shoulder, he’ll live but their keeping him in the hospital for a couple of days, so we will have to wait to question him I’m afraid" Bob told her, explaining what had happened, the knot that had tightened in Claire’s stomach loosening, her fear that something had happened to her grandparents subsiding.
“Why did he try to escape custody?” she asked, it was very suspicious indeed.
“Apparently he was raving on, screaming about how he’ll die before he comes back here" Bob explained, his eyes filled with curiosity.
“What happened to him here that was so bad?” Claire wondered but Bob shrugged clueless.
“Nothing was ever reported, he just packed up and moved, saying it was because he wasn’t risking being kidnapped like Mary Scather had been" Bob said but Claire didn’t believe for a second that that could be the only reason, especially if Hardgrove would rather die than to come back here, it had to be deeper than that.
“We’ll get to the bottom of it, I also heard back from the rangers, we’re all set to go tomorrow morning" Bob told her and she gulped nervously.
“Great" she tried making herself sound more confident but it didn’t work all that well, thankfully Coral came over before Chad and Bob started questioning her.
“What can I get for you all?” she asked, her normally happy bubbly self.
“I’ll take a slice of Apple pie please" Bob said, changing his normal order of pancakes and syrup, Coral looked a bit shocked at first before she regained her composure and scribbled it down, looking to Claire for her order.
“Can I have the apple and pecan porridge please” Claire said, putting down her menu before Coral wrote it down then looked to Chad last.
“I’ll have the Irish mackerel breakfast thank you" he said before she nodded, rushing off as she wrote it to go get their orders to the kitchen.
“So the rangers have all the gear we’ll need?” Claire asked worried that she might forget something.
“Yep, all we need are ourselves and clothing" Bob replied.
“I just have one more question" Claire said quietly, her voice trembling slightly at even the thought of the question.
“What is it?” Bob asked, eyeing her curiously, so was Chad.
“What if it comes for us in the night?” she asked.