Page 48 of Ultimate Justice

The trained psychologist in her wanted to know why. Or was it the woman in her who was curious and wanted to pry into his personal life?

But it so wasn’t her business.

The development wasn’t old, yet it wasn’t brand-new, either. Tall trees lined the main road. At the top of the hill, they turned onto one of the many cutoffs lined with beautiful houses of varying shapes, sizes, and colors, and with lovely manicured lawns and perennial flower beds. Houses like the one she used to own.

Noah had woken and rubbed his eyes. “Where are we?”

“My house.” Evan aimed for a driveway at the end of the cul-de-sac and pressed the remote clipped to the visor.

The single-story house seemed small, sandwiched by two impressive two-story houses. Was there really room in the house for three people and a huge dog?

When the garage door opened, he pulled in and parked next to a large black pickup. “Let’s go in and get you settled.”

He opened the rear door for Noah and Blue, then grabbed the garment bag and slung it over his shoulder. Marlie gathered her handbag, her overnight bag, and the shopping bags full of Noah’s new clothes they’d retrieved from her pickup.

“Evan!” Two women—two exotically beautiful women, Marlie couldn’t help but notice—met them on the driveway.

“Marlie, Noah, these are my neighbors, Miriam Dominguez and Tally Patel.”

Blue shoved his snout into Miriam’s hand, a blatant demand for attention, to which she acquiesced. Rather than pet the dog, Tally stroked her hand up Evan’s arm in a motion that could only be described as intimate.

“Hi,” Marlie said. Aside from being neighbors, what did these women mean to Evan? With her dark hair and eyes, Miriam looked like a Hispanic princess. Tally’s fuchsia pink sari made her look equally royal. Both women’s dark hair hung loose past their shoulders. Large gold hoops hung in Miriam’s ears, with a thick gold chain around her neck, and long, sparkling beaded earrings dangled from Tally’s.

“As soon as we get these tulip bulbs planted”—Tally held up a bag with a picture of purple tulip flowers—“we’re cooking outside, if you’d like to join us.”

“You’re all invited,” Miriam added, looking from Marlie to Noah. Blue snorted. “You, too.” She stooped to give Blue another pat on his head.

“Thanks, ladies.” Evan looked past the women to the street, where a silver sedan stopped in the road, then did a quick K-turn and headed in the other direction. “Probably not, but I’ll let you know.” He draped an arm over Noah’s shoulders, directing him back into the garage.

As Marlie followed, she cast one last look at Evan’s neighbors. They had their heads together, grinning and whispering.

At the top of a short flight of stairs, Evan punched in a code on a keypad, then held open the door, waiting for her.

“Thank you.” She brushed past him, doing her best not to let a single part of her body touch his. Once inside, her jaw dropped. The house’s small curbside presence had been hiding an enormous ranch house, shattering all her preconceived notions of the proverbial bachelor pad.

The garage door opened into what was probably designed to be the dining room, with a large silver chandelier and rich claret-red walls. Instead of a dining room table, a large black piano sat in the middle of the cream-and-red rug.

“Wowww.” Noah ran his fingers along the piano’s gleaming surface. “Do you know how to play? Can you teach me how to play?”

“Sweetie, don’t touch.” She tugged his hand away. “We don’t want to leave fingerprints.”

“It’s okay,” Evan said. “I can show you how to play.”

Would he? Probably not. This living arrangement was temporary, just like hers and Noah’s. They’d be long gone before that happened.

The dining room led to an enormous great room, with sofas and recliners, a fireplace and a big screen TV on one side, with a kitchen and another smaller seating area next to a bank of windows on the other. Sunlight glinted off the silver flecks in the black granite counters, of which there were many.

Lined up at the center island were three counter stools. Behind the island was a Wolf cooktop, complete with red knobs and flanked on either side by more granite and light wood cabinets. The other wall of the kitchen was lined with more overhead cabinets and an end-to-end granite counter. But the showstopper was the double bank of west-facing windows displaying a mature garden, a hardscaped waterfall, and sweeping views of the Colorado foothills. “Your house is beautiful.”

Evan hung the garment bag in a closet near the main entry door over which hung yet another chandelier, this one in the middle of a recessed circular ceiling. “Thanks. Aside from sleeping, I’m hardly ever here to enjoy it.”

Blue trotted ahead, his nails clicking on the shiny oak floor as Evan led the way down a short hallway. “This is your room,” he said to her.

The room was yet another unexpected surprise. The walls were a cheery, creamy yellow. A twin brass bed with a green-and-white striped duvet took up one wall. Beside the bed was a small wood table. There was also a painted green bureau and a pale-blue upholstered armchair. “Thank you. It’s lovely.” She set her bags on the floor. It had been years since she’d slept in a room this nice.

“Your room is downstairs,” he said to Noah, leading the way down a flight of carpeted stairs to what no one would ever call a “basement.” The floors were covered in large area rugs. In the center of the room was a pool table made of light wood with intricate swirls. Instead of the typical green felt lining, this table had red felt. A rack on the adjacent wall held half a dozen cue sticks.

“You have a pool table!” Noah smacked his hands to his cheeks. “Can you teach me how to play that, too?”