Chapter 1 #2
It was now almost eight thirty, and thank goodness it was Friday night and she’d have the weekend to relax. With her purse slung over her shoulder and her car keys in hand, she left her classroom.
At the same time, Boone Wilder stepped out of his classroom door. Boone was a nice-looking man who taught fourth grade. His light brown hair was receding a bit, but he had beautiful hazel eyes and a great smile.
He had asked her out several times, but she’d declined each one of his invitations. She had no desire to date. Her love for the husband she had lost would sustain her for the rest of her life.
“Hey, Suzanna.” Boone greeted her with one of his wide smiles. “All done for the night?”
“I just finished up my last appointment.”
“Yeah, me, too. Why don’t I walk you out to your car?”
She looked out the front door and realized darkness had fallen. “If you don’t mind, I would appreciate it.”
“I don’t mind a bit,” he replied.
Together they stepped out into the cool mid-October night. “I can’t believe Halloween is only two weeks away,” she said as they walked toward the parking lot in the distance.
“As if we need any more goblins and monsters running around town. We already have one very real monster to worry about.” He shot her a glance that was filled with concern. “I hope you’re being very careful.”
“I’m being as careful as I can be,” she replied and fought against a shiver that threatened to walk up her back. There was a serial killer in the small town of Millsville, one who had been targeting blond-haired and blue-eyed women just like Suzanna. They reached the driver side of her car.
“You know, Suzanna, if you ever need anything or are afraid, you can always call me,” he said. “I could be over to your house within minutes.”
She smiled at him. “Thank you, Boone. I really appreciate that, and I also appreciate you walking me out. Now, I’m ready to get home and relax, so I’ll just say good-night and I’ll see you Monday morning.”
“Good night, Suzanna,” he replied. “Have a good weekend.”
She slid in behind her steering wheel and started up the car as Boone walked off in a different direction, presumably to his own car.
As she headed home, she thought about the killer who had been terrorizing the town for several months now.
Dubbed the Scarecrow Killer by the local paper, the killer stabbed his victims to death and then dressed them up like scarecrows.
Even more horrifying was the fact that he sewed their mouths closed and took their eyeballs.
So far there had been three victims. Suzanna was the killer’s type, and so she’d been especially careful about her safety and going out anywhere after dark.
Home for Suzanna was a three-bedroom ranch house surrounded by fields. She and Davy had bought the place with its acreage soon after they got married. It was their plan that she would continue teaching and Davy would farm the land.
The house had been in good condition, but some of the outbuildings needed some tender loving care.
One of those buildings was the freestanding garage, which listed badly to the left and was unusable.
Eventually she hoped to have a new one built, but in the meantime, she made the circle that would bring her close to her front door.
She cut the engine, gathered her things and then, with her keys once again in hand, she got out of the car and headed inside.
She walked through the living room and into the large airy kitchen, where she placed her notebooks and purse on the wooden table. She then went back into the living room, kicked off her shoes and sank down in the corner of the dark brown sofa.
She was far too wired up to go straight to bed, and so she turned on the television. However, she found it difficult to concentrate on the sitcom as her head whirled with thoughts of the night that had passed.
There was no question that talk about the Scarecrow Killer filled her with a deep uneasiness. She was positive every other woman in Millsville felt the same way. While the killer was focused on blondes with blue eyes at the moment, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t start killing brunettes next.
She shoved these disturbing thoughts out of her head and instead reviewed the appointments she’d had that evening.
She was disappointed that Eva Dayton hadn’t taken her observations to heart.
Holly was a bright, cute little girl, but her aggressive personality would keep her from any real friendships.
A vision of Seth Daniels popped into her mind. Normally, she didn’t do much tutoring. There were several young women in town who were available for that job.
However, knowing that Sammy’s mother had apparently abandoned him had deeply touched her heart, and that was why she had decided to tutor him herself.
It had nothing to do with that surprising spark she’d felt toward Seth, a spark she hadn’t felt toward any other man in the two years that she had been widowed.
“It means nothing,” she murmured as she picked up the framed photo that sat on the end table.
It was her very favorite photo of the man who had been her husband. The sun shone on his light blond hair, and his green eyes sparkled as if he’d just told one of the dumb jokes he loved to tell. His mouth was curved into a grin that was as bright as sunshine.
Her heart squeezed tight as she gazed at the man who had been her high school sweetheart and her very best friend. They had been married for a glorious three years when a congenital heart issue resulted in a massive heart attack that had unexpectedly taken his life.
They’d had so many plans…so many dreams. They had wanted a family…at least two children or maybe more. “I haven’t forgotten you, Davy. You will have my heart forever,” she whispered. She set the picture back down on the end table and turned off the television.
She was ready to go to bed now and hopefully fall into dreams of the husband she grieved and not of the incredibly hot father of a motherless little boy she’d met earlier.
Seth arrived at the farmhouse he now called home and went inside the front door to find Lydia Winnibaker seated on the sofa watching television.
His neighbor had recommended the plump, sixty-something woman as a reliable, almost always available babysitter.
After interviewing the woman several times, Seth was comfortable with hiring her when he needed a sitter, and the bonus was Sammy really liked the older woman.
“Hi, Lydia,” he greeted her. “How are things going here?”
She got up from the sofa. “Well, he beat me three games out of four of Go Fish. We had milk and cookies, and then he went to bed a little while ago. I checked on him minutes later, and he was sound asleep.” She smiled at Seth. “He was a very good boy for me this evening.”
“That’s always nice to hear,” Seth replied with an inward sigh of relief. He paid Lydia for her time, and then he walked her out to her car and she left.
Seth immediately went back inside and headed down the hallway to his son’s bedroom. Once there, he stood in the threshold and gazed at his sleeping son. As usual Sammy had kicked off all his blankets and was sprawled on his back in the twin bed.
Seth’s heart expanded with an intense love for the boy. Damn Rachel for walking out on the little boy she’d helped to create. Seth had been stunned when Rachel had left him. He’d had no idea she was having an affair and wanted out of the seven-year marriage.
He could forgive her for walking out on him, but he found it absolutely unforgivable that she could just turn her back and leave her son behind. But it had been almost two years, and she hadn’t attempted to make any contact with Sammy. Seth didn’t think they would ever hear from her again.
It was a damned shame. She certainly didn’t know what she was missing out on. Sammy was a funny, loving little boy who could brighten a room with his grins. He had a big imagination and said he wanted to be a dog doctor when he grew up.
He left Sammy’s room and returned to the living room, where he sank down in the black recliner and turned on the television to catch the local news and weather before going to bed.
It hadn’t been a surprise to him that Sammy was struggling in school. He’d seen his son’s anger growing with each day that passed. That anger usually resulted in outbursts and tears.
Before they’d left the farm on the outskirts of Kansas City to move here, he’d taken Sammy to a child psychologist who, after seeing Sammy a handful of times, suggested that all the boy really needed was structure and love.
He also hadn’t been surprised that Sammy was behind academically. Seth hoped that with Mrs. Michaels’s help, they would be able to turn his son around. A vision of Suzanna Michaels suddenly filled his head. Seth had felt a surprising jolt of attraction when he’d first seen her.
Her shoulder-length curly blond hair appeared to be soft and touchable, and her eyes were the color of a brilliant summer sky. Her features were delicate, but her mouth was generous with lips that looked very kissable.
He sat up straighter in his chair. What in the hell was he doing thinking about her lips? Her prettiness? All he wanted from Suzanna Michaels was her help with Sammy.
Besides, Seth had sworn off women the day his wife had left him.
Never again would he put his heart on the line.
He would also never give a woman the opportunity to walk out on Sammy again.
Seth would never remarry, and he was comfortable with that decision in order to save Sammy from any further heartache.
Monday morning, as Seth and Sammy sat at the breakfast table before school, Seth told Sammy about the new rules in place. “Mrs. Michaels has a really awesome necklace that any boy would like to wear,” Seth began. “And when you have a good day at school, she will let you wear it home for the night.”
Sammy’s eyes lit up with interest. “Really?”