women are found dead and half the county is without power and the roads are iced over, he busts me for bad taillights?” Jenna was still burned.
“You should have told him you were a friend of mine.”
“Oh, yeah, that would have scored me major points,” Jenna mocked, remembering Carter’s stern countenance with the snow blowing all over him. “Let’s just cross Carter off my dance card, okay? That should be easy, since I don’t have one.”
Her cell phone chirped and she flipped it open. “Hello?” she said a little sharply.
“Mom?” Allie said, her voice worried. Jenna’s anger immediately dissipated. “Do you have my backpack?”
“No…well, maybe, I’m not in the truck. Did you leave it there?”
“I dunno, but could you bring it back to the school, please ? It’s got my math homework in it and if I don’t turn it in today…”
“I’m on my way, Allie. Don’t worry.” She mentally crossed her fingers that the backpack was in the pickup and not left somewhere at home. “I’ll find it and leave it at the office.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“No problem,” Jenna said, relieved that her younger daughter’s sore throat seemed to have been forgotten. At least for the time being. “Gotta run,” she called over her shoulder. “A mini-crisis at the junior high.”
As she reached the door, it swung open and petite, lively Lynnetta Swaggert hurried inside. “Geez Louise! It’s freezing out there,” she complained, rubbing her hands together. Lynnetta, the wife of a local preacher, worked in an accounting office in town, but volunteered at the theater in her time off. Aside from keeping the books, she also altered and created costumes for the stage productions.
“It’s only gonna get worse,” Rinda predicted.
“Such happy news,” Lynnetta tossed back at her, then took one look at Jenna. “Are you leaving?”
“Yeah. I’ll see you later.”
“She’s on her way to be a ‘normal mom,’” Rinda teased.
Lynnetta chuckled, her hazel eyes glinting mischievously. “Is there such a thing?”
Probably not, Jenna thought as she walked outside and hiked the collar of her jacket close to her neck. Lynnetta hadn’t been kidding about the weather. If anything, the temperature seemed to have tumbled another ten degrees in the short time Jenna had been inside the theater.
She blew on her hands, then whistled to Critter and climbed into the truck. Sure enough, there was Allie’s backpack, big as life and tucked behind the bench seat. “Ready for a little side trip?” she asked the dog. “Back to Harrington Junior High.”
The dog whined and Jenna patted his graying head as she pulled out of the lot. “Yeah, I know. I feel the same way.”
So she was finally leaving.
Good.
He was sitting in his truck, parked in a parking lot of the grocery store. Several other minivans, cars, and trucks were scattered over the snowy asphalt, but no one paid any attention to him. Through his windshield, he viewed the parking lot of the old church and watched as she maneuvered the old half-ton through the nearly empty city streets.
He didn’t waste any time but fired up his rig and drove out of the lot just in time to see her veer off the main road a few blocks ahead of him. He followed at a safe distance, a Ford Explorer and a feed truck between his vehicle and hers.
Still he caught glimpses of her, and he felt a thrill being this close, knowing she didn’t realize how near he was.
She doesn’t even know who you really are .
“She will,” he said aloud and felt the familiar thrill that came with winter trembling through his blood. Being this close was dangerous, though he had an alibi in place if anyone noticed him here. That was the convenient thing about this town; he could walk and talk with the townsfolk and no one knew who he really was or what he really did. He was everyone’s friend and a stranger to them all. He watched as she drove into the parking lot of the junior high. He
“You should have told him you were a friend of mine.”
“Oh, yeah, that would have scored me major points,” Jenna mocked, remembering Carter’s stern countenance with the snow blowing all over him. “Let’s just cross Carter off my dance card, okay? That should be easy, since I don’t have one.”
Her cell phone chirped and she flipped it open. “Hello?” she said a little sharply.
“Mom?” Allie said, her voice worried. Jenna’s anger immediately dissipated. “Do you have my backpack?”
“No…well, maybe, I’m not in the truck. Did you leave it there?”
“I dunno, but could you bring it back to the school, please ? It’s got my math homework in it and if I don’t turn it in today…”
“I’m on my way, Allie. Don’t worry.” She mentally crossed her fingers that the backpack was in the pickup and not left somewhere at home. “I’ll find it and leave it at the office.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“No problem,” Jenna said, relieved that her younger daughter’s sore throat seemed to have been forgotten. At least for the time being. “Gotta run,” she called over her shoulder. “A mini-crisis at the junior high.”
As she reached the door, it swung open and petite, lively Lynnetta Swaggert hurried inside. “Geez Louise! It’s freezing out there,” she complained, rubbing her hands together. Lynnetta, the wife of a local preacher, worked in an accounting office in town, but volunteered at the theater in her time off. Aside from keeping the books, she also altered and created costumes for the stage productions.
“It’s only gonna get worse,” Rinda predicted.
“Such happy news,” Lynnetta tossed back at her, then took one look at Jenna. “Are you leaving?”
“Yeah. I’ll see you later.”
“She’s on her way to be a ‘normal mom,’” Rinda teased.
Lynnetta chuckled, her hazel eyes glinting mischievously. “Is there such a thing?”
Probably not, Jenna thought as she walked outside and hiked the collar of her jacket close to her neck. Lynnetta hadn’t been kidding about the weather. If anything, the temperature seemed to have tumbled another ten degrees in the short time Jenna had been inside the theater.
She blew on her hands, then whistled to Critter and climbed into the truck. Sure enough, there was Allie’s backpack, big as life and tucked behind the bench seat. “Ready for a little side trip?” she asked the dog. “Back to Harrington Junior High.”
The dog whined and Jenna patted his graying head as she pulled out of the lot. “Yeah, I know. I feel the same way.”
So she was finally leaving.
Good.
He was sitting in his truck, parked in a parking lot of the grocery store. Several other minivans, cars, and trucks were scattered over the snowy asphalt, but no one paid any attention to him. Through his windshield, he viewed the parking lot of the old church and watched as she maneuvered the old half-ton through the nearly empty city streets.
He didn’t waste any time but fired up his rig and drove out of the lot just in time to see her veer off the main road a few blocks ahead of him. He followed at a safe distance, a Ford Explorer and a feed truck between his vehicle and hers.
Still he caught glimpses of her, and he felt a thrill being this close, knowing she didn’t realize how near he was.
She doesn’t even know who you really are .
“She will,” he said aloud and felt the familiar thrill that came with winter trembling through his blood. Being this close was dangerous, though he had an alibi in place if anyone noticed him here. That was the convenient thing about this town; he could walk and talk with the townsfolk and no one knew who he really was or what he really did. He was everyone’s friend and a stranger to them all. He watched as she drove into the parking lot of the junior high. He
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