Cat 'N Mouse Read Online Free PDF Page A

her.
    “The nightmares are back.”
    Mimi didn’t say anything at first. She smoothed the hair from Alexandria’s face and folded her in her arms. She smelled of baby powder. It felt like she’d come home to a real home in Mimi’s arms. Even her condo didn’t feel like home to her. Her father had bought it like everything else. It all belonged to him.
    “Are they the same nightmares you used to have after your mother died?” Mimi’s arms tightened around her. “Those were something awful. Your daddy thought for sure you were going mad.”
    “No,” Alexandria shook her heard. “Those were of mom lying at the bottom of the stairs in a pool of blood. They were on and off over the years, but they stopped when I moved out.”
    She remembered the first night she moved into her condo six months ago and how nervous she’d felt. But she had slept through that night up until a month ago when she felt like someone was watching her. Then she was thrown back into the nightmares all over again.
    “You okay, Sweet Pea?” Mimi asked when Alexandria lapsed into silence.
    “These nightmares…they’re different.”
    “How so?” Mimi looked down at her, eyes clouded with concern.
    “They’re flashbacks. More violent. I see someone standing in the shadows behind mom.” Mimi’s gentle soothing stroke stopped. “He pushes her over the banister and then he starts walking toward me but I wake up before I see his face.”
    After her mother had died, her father had remodeled the house, tearing down the old wooden banister and replacing it with marble and brass. Everything that had belonged to her mother was thrown away. It was as if her mother never existed. The only person she had was Mimi.
    “You know your mother’s death was an accident. Push that rubbish from your mind. Besides, I thought you were coming to talk to me about…what do you young people say…the ‘hunk’ that got your blood boiling this morning. You couldn’t even finish your breakfast.”
    “Good gracious!” She lifted her head up to look at Mimi. “You can’t be talking about Samuel O’Malley.”
    “I never mentioned his name, Sweet Pea.” Her eyes lit up with a smile.
    “Subtlety is not your strong suit, is it? The man is a thief.” She remembered the dark eyes that condemned her. “Not even if he was the last man on earth would I—”
    “A thief?”
    “He stole my phone.”
    “Yes, but he’s a handsome thief.”
    “You’re in it with daddy, aren’t you? One way or the other that man is going to be in my life and make me miserable. He looks at me as if I’m beneath him or something,” she said, remembering the way he sneered at her after the accident, and then snatching her phone away.
    “But he has your blood boiling. When my Gerald was alive he used to make my toes curl in bed.” Mimi’s husky laugher filled the room. “I know you’ve never met him. He died just before I came to work for your father.”
    “I remember you used to talk about him. That was the only time you were sad. I always thought that it was so nice that you two had a happy marriage.”
    “Happiness doesn’t begin to cover it. Ever had your toes curl, Sweet Pea? What a ride. Mmmm.”
    Alexandria had never had anything curled by any man. All they wanted was her father’s money.
    “I don’t want to talk about Samuel O’Malley or toes curling.”
    “Pity. Samuel O’Malley is the only man I’ve ever seen stand up to your father,” Mimi chuckled, “and walked away from your father at that too. I thought he would have a stroke when he stormed into the house. Imagine having Mr. O’Malley on your side, Sweet Pea, or even in your bed.”
    “Mimi!”
    She yawned. Mimi touched her face and smiled. “Sometimes I forget that you aren’t the twelve year old that used to jump into bed with me.” Mimi’s eyes were sad. “You look so much like your mother.”
    “She didn’t love me, not the way you do.”
    Alexandria couldn’t remember her mother ever