Chapter 25
We had a fantastic time on the cruise. Jacob was amazing, attentive, caring, and making sure that I got the rest I needed, but he also made sure that I got to see whales, dolphins, grizzly bears, and even a moose. As much fun as I had on the trip, it felt good to get back home. I was a little surprised to find out how much I really missed Lucky; he was happy to see us. Josh and Randy had been watching him for us, he never ran away once—until the day I got home. I found him sitting at the back door waiting to be let in the day we got back home.
“How does he know you’re home?” Jacob asked, amazed. I couldn’t explain it. I was just happy to see him again. Soon we fell back into our routine where he followed me everywhere I went. We came back home to see the first snow of the season; I thought it was beautiful.
I had never seen snow before, I loved it. Jacob was amused by my excitement over it, and we went for some walks in the snow. Lucky loved to romp and play in the snow too. Jacob warned me I would tire of it when there were a few feet of snow on the ground, but I didn’t think I would.
We had the rest of the following week off to rest, needing to get a few things done before we went back to work. I worked on catching up on laundry while Jacob made sure the house was ready for the winter. We also started our Saturday night routine with Josh and Randy again, supper at one or the other’s house, maybe playing a game or two or watching a movie, sometimes we would go out to eat and then catch a movie.
Soon enough, we were both back to work, Lucky keeping busy by following me around the house, keeping me company while I worked. Most mornings Randy would trek through the woods bringing Lady over to see Lucky. We would enjoy our morning coffee together, but instead of being out on the deck, we would sit at the table. Randy and Josh’s wedding plans were coming along, and some mornings, Randy and I spent discussing choices for food or looking at dress choices .
On other mornings, we looked at cute baby clothes we found online, sometimes not being able to resist temptation, we would order an outfit or two. Then when they arrived, we would talk about how adorable they were. Jayden’s closet was filling up with cute clothes of varying sizes. We were having a lot of fun shopping for the baby. I often kidded Randy that she and Josh needed to have a baby soon so that Jayden had a little playmate. It was obvious that Randy wanted to start a family soon.
***
My job was going really well, I really enjoyed the work that I was doing. Jacob’s job was also going extremely well. In fact, Jacob was offered a promotion with a substantial raise. He was hesitant to accept it because it would require him to travel for training and conferences. We discussed the new opportunity for him at length, going back and forth over the pros and cons. “I don’t know, Mattie,” he said one night. “I have worked so hard for this promotion, but I’m not sure I want it now.”
“Why not? You deserve this promotion; you should take it.”
“If I take it, I have to travel even after the training is over and attend conferences. We just got married, I’m not sure I want to leave you alone. Especially once the baby is born.”
“How long at a time would you be gone?” I asked.
“At the most, it would be two weeks,” he replied.
“That’s not very long at all. The baby and I will be fine. Josh and Randy are close, or at least Randy is when Josh is away. Your parents are close too. Maybe some trips we can go with you.”
He got up and walked to the French doors and looked out. “I suppose you’re right. It just doesn’t feel right to just get married and then start traveling.”
I walked up to him and put my arms around him. “This job means a lot to you. The baby and I are not going anywhere. We will be here every time you get back.”
Jacob turned and took me in his arms. “I know. The job does mean a lot, I’ve wanted this for as long as I can remember. I’ve worked hard for it. Not only that, but the raise will be great for our family. You would be able to quit your job or cut back on hours if you decided you wanted to, not that I have a problem with your working, but it would be a possibility if you decided to.”
“I like my job and would like to continue, at least for now. Who knows what I will want to do after the baby is born? But I don’t care about the money, Jacob, I want you to take the promotion because you earned it because you want it.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, looking at me intently.
“Yes, I am sure,” I said.
He thought about it for a few minutes, then said, “I will take it on one condition.”
“Oh? What’s that?” I asked.
“I’ll take it, but if you promise me that if my being gone is causing an issue with us—if you become unhappy with my being gone, you have to tell me. I’ll make a change back or to a different position.”
“I promise,” I said. “But if you are happy, then I’ll be happy.”
“Then I’ll do it. I’ll tell them tomorrow.”
“Perfect!” I said. “Let’s celebrate!”
He smiled, “What do you have in mind?” I just smiled and kissed him.
***
Across the lake, Allen was sitting in his blind with his binoculars. He saw the dog, and that was unexpected. He would have never allowed Megan to have a dog. After watching the dog’s behavior for a while, Allen decided he was not going to worry about it, it was more of a playful puppy than a guard dog. He could take care of it easily enough if he had to.
He watched Megan and her new husband go for walks in the snow hand-in-hand. The more he saw of them together, the more his rage grew. Oh, how he was going to make her pay for humiliating him, cheating on him. She was his, and he warned her what would happen if she ever tried to leave him. With the drapes open, he could see through the French doors into the house, could see them kissing, see them walk toward the bedroom.
He couldn’t let his rage get the better of him. He needed to remain calm, so he could watch their routines. Once he had their daily routines down, then he could work out the remaining details of his plan on how to exact his revenge. He sat in the blind daily, there in the mornings before they woke up, staying until the lights went out at night. For a couple of nights, he stayed all night instead of during the day, watching to see if they let the dog out at night, which they did routinely twice a night like clockwork.
He made note of those times: what time her new husband left for work in the mornings and what time Megan got up. Every day she went downstairs, spending most of the day in the basement. The deck stairs and posts hindered his view of what she was doing down there, but he never saw any evidence of children running around. It was winter out, so maybe they stayed indoors. He wished he could see what she did down there.
He never saw her let in any kids upstairs so maybe she wasn’t running a daycare after all. He needed to figure out what she did down there every day, but as long as she was alone it probably wouldn’t make much difference. In fact, that might be the best place for his plan to be put into action. The basement was a walk-out with no windows except for the ones facing the lake. He remembered that there was a closet down there next to the small bathroom which would offer him perfect cover.
The main problem that he had was her so-called husband. He went to work every day but sometimes came home during the day for lunch or came home from work early. On other days, he worked late. It appeared that he really did not have any set hours. He was always dressed in some type of uniform too. He wasn’t a police officer, it looked more like he was a game warden. That means he probably has a gun.
He would have looked for where he kept that when they were gone had he known. It was probably in the closet in the master bedroom. If Allen had the chance, he would make sure to find it, so he could take care of it before the husband could grab it for self-defense.
He also took notes of everything of importance about the Saturday night get-togethers they had with the other couple. Allen noted that the woman walked over a lot in the mornings, would have coffee with Megan then leave. He tracked her progress through the trees where he could and watched her head up to the house north of Megan’s. Allen didn’t think this would be too big of a problem for him, he could be in and out of Megan’s house before the couple or the woman alone came back.
He also made notes about an older couple that stopped by often. Other than that, they didn’t seem to get much company. That would be helpful for his planning. Megan seemed to have a pretty set schedule. It was the guy she was living with who was unpredictable, who might be the problem .
He had originally hoped to do this before the lake froze over, but he was beginning to think that would be possible. He would have to wait for the lake to freeze solid, then make his crossing over on the ice. That could create more problems for him, but he would deal with those when the time came.