Rescuing Vanessa (A Little Bit of Coffee, Flowers, and Romance) by Christina Li Read Free Book Online Page A

various ‘disguises’. He had about ten different baseball caps and five different pairs of sunglasses. Vanessa never recognized him, but he had been careful to not stick around when he saw her.
    Figuring out the family’s schedule was nuts. It seemed someone was always home. If it wasn’t Vanessa herself, it was one of her grandparents. There was even some other guy who seemed to be living there.
    Well, now he was pretty sure everyone was gone. Even the guy with the professor briefcase had left earlier. He watched as their car taillights faded in the distance. The neighborhood was quiet anyway and all the garage doors were closed.
    Denny had parked in the little lot in the cul-de-sac right in front of their house. Getting out of his car, he pulled his collar up against the wind. It was that time of day where shadows played tricks and it was hard to see clearly. That would definitely work in his favor.
    He walked across the street and tried the door. It never hurt to try. Sometimes, he got lucky. He was glad there was no porch light on. It was easy to fade into the shadows in case any neighbors happened by.
    The door was locked, but Denny was undaunted. He had picked harder locks than these before. Out of his pocket, he pulled his little ‘kit’. Selecting a tool, and holding a small pen light in his mouth, he set to work.
    Click. “Oh yeah.” His lips stretched into a triumphant grin as he turned the knob and stepped through the door.
    The entryway wasn’t large, but there was room enough for a closet for coats and a bench to sit on to take off shoes. Using, his pen light, he spotted a flight of steps to his right. Vanessa’s room was probably upstairs. Surely her boxes had arrived by now.
    The first room that he came to at the top of the steps was obviously some kind of home office loft that overlooked the first floor. He poked his head around briefly, but seeing no vase and no moving boxes, he continued on down the hallway. Next, he came to a bathroom on his left and a bedroom on his right. This one might be hers. Coming into the room, he shined his pen light around. There was a small dresser beside the bed, but there wasn’t anything on it except a few glass blown objects and a music box. A desk occupied one corner, but it had only a couple of books on it, a lamp, and some pencils. There was nothing on the floor either. When he opened the closet, he realized this room was obviously used as a guest room.
    Growling, he left and continued down the hall. At the end, there was another bedroom on the right and one to his left. Instinctively, he chose the one on the left, away from the street. Shining his pen light, he saw a large bed in the middle of the back wall and a dresser opposite. No vase there, on it or next to it. On either side of the bed was a large closet on one side and two chairs with a table lamp between them on the other. No vase there either. Another room went off to the side, probably into a bathroom. He realized this was the master suit, probably her grandparents’ room.
    Cursing , he walked across the hall. This had to be Vanessa’s room. It was fairly large, but not as large as the one he had left. A single bed sat at the far corner. It was filled with pillows and stuffed animals, girly. There were a few prints on the walls, but nothing worth anything. At the end, next to the window, there was an easel sitting on an old shower curtain, probably to protect the carpet.
    A large dresser and a desk were in here as well. Unfortunately, he didn’t see the vase anywhere. There weren’t any boxes, opened or otherwise, either. Maybe she had put them in the closet. He opened the double doors and found nothing but a suitcase and a few clothes hung up. Maybe she left the boxes in the garage or the basement somewhere.
    Exasperated , he left and went back downstairs. Checking the living room, he saw nothing but furniture and some books and magazines. There were a few decorations, a large mirror over the