“Nobody is going to hurt Daddy. He’s a good man. There’s no reason why anyone would want to harm him.”

“Everybody thought Seth’s father was a good man.” Felicity laid a pillow against the headboard and sat up straight. “And I’m sure everybody believes that those other two men were good, too.”

“Maybe they weren’t as good as everyone thought they were,” Charity said. “You never know about people.”

“Do you think whoever murdered them did it because he thought they had done something wrong?”

Charity groaned. “How should I know? I just said that to get you to shut up and go to sleep. I have to get up at six in the morning. I start my summer job tomorrow.”

“It would make more sense, wouldn’t it, if they’d all done something terrible, something that made the killer think they deserved being punished.”

“Oh, shut up, will you, and go to sleep. You’re talking nonsense anyway.”

Felicity stuck out her tongue at her sister.

Charity just rolled her eyes and shook her head, then reached out, turned off her bedside lamp and closed her eyes.

Sometimes Felicity wondered how she and Charity could be sisters. They were so different. But when she’d mentioned this to her father, he’d smiled indulgently and told her that Charity took after Mama and that she took after him.

“I was quite the rebel in my day,” he’d told her, a statement she found difficult to believe. But his comparing her to him when he’d been a teenager had made her feel better about herself.

She wished she were prettier and smarter and a nicer person. And she wished Seth Cantrell liked her as more than just a friend. Charity had been right-she was jealous of Missy. If she possessed special powers like the heroines of the books she read and movies she watched, she’d make Missy vanish and put a spell on Seth to make him love her and only her.

Felicity laid her iPod and earphones on her nightstand, then turned off her lamp and scooted down in her bed. She closed her eyes and thought about how she could stop Missy from stealing Seth away from her.

Mike Birkett, barefoot and wearing only a pair of well-worn gray sweat pants, opened his front door, took one look at Jack and asked, “Do you know what time it is?”

“I know it’s late, but I need to talk to you.”

Mike stepped aside. “Come on in, but be quiet, will you? M.J. and Hannah are asleep.”

“I’m sorry about stopping by at this time of night.”

“Is it something to do with the new murder case?”

“Not really,” Jack said as he followed Mike into the kitchen. “Maybe indirectly.”

“Sit down.” Mike pointed to a kitchen chair. “I was fixing to get myself a glass of milk, but if you’d like I can put on some coffee or get you a beer.”

“Nothing for me, thanks.” Jack pulled out a chair from the table and sat.

Mike turned a chair backward, straddled the seat and rested his crossed arms over the back. “I’m listening.”

Jack fidgeted. “I took Cathy out to dinner tonight. We went to the Catfish Shack.”

Mike didn’t respond verbally. He just sat there staring at Jack.

“Say something, will you.”

“What do you want me to say?” Mike asked.

“Chew my ass out. Tell me again to stay away from Cathy. Remind me that I’m not good for her. Just handling my own baggage is a full-time job without having to deal with hers.”

“What did you do, go over to Lorie’s and ask Cathy out?”

“Nope. We just happened to meet up.”

“Is that right? How did you two just happen to meet up?”

“I was on my way home, and I took a detour by Lorie’s,” Jack said. “I don’t know why. I didn’t plan on stopping or anything. I had Cathy on my mind and wondered how she was taking the news about the burned body found in the park this morning. And lo and behold, there Cathy was walking down the sidewalk about half a block from Lorie’s.”

“Let me guess-you stopped, asked her for a date and she said yes.” Mike shook his head. “She never could resist you, could she?”

“She needed to get away, to escape and not think about what happened to her husband and the possibility that he was the first victim of some lunatic running around killing clergymen.”

Mike nodded. “I see. You were playing white knight, huh?”

Jack shoved back the chair and shot to his feet. “Damn it, Mike, I don’t want to hurt her. I swear to God, I don’t. But I’m not sure I can keep my distance. She’ll be helping me with the house renovations, so we’ll see each other quite a bit. If something develops between us…I know I’m a screwed-up mess and not fit company for any woman. But as crazy as it sounds, I think maybe Cathy and I might be good for each other.”

“Kind of like the blind leading the blind.”

“I trust you, Mike. I trust you to be honest with me, to tell it like it is.”

Mike looked up at Jack. “You can’t go back. You can’t be the two people you once were. Believe me, I know. Usually you get one grab for the brass ring, and if you miss it, that’s it. You’ve always been a pretty tough son of a bitch, but it still hurt like hell when you found out she’d married Mark Cantrell. And don’t try to tell me it didn’t.”

“Okay, I won’t.”

“I think you’d be taking a big risk for yourself and for Cathy. Don’t forget that she has a son to think about. It wouldn’t be just her life you’d be messing with, but Seth’s, too.”

“Is that the reason you won’t give Lorie a second chance-because of your kids?”

Mike frowned. “I’m not discussing Lorie with you. But as for you and Cathy…You’re both consenting adults. I’d just hate to see either of you get hurt.”

When Cathy came out of the bathroom, makeup removed, teeth brushed and pajamas on, she came face-to-face with Lorie.

“I thought you’d gone to bed,” Cathy said.

“No. I thought you might need to talk.”

“About Jack?”

Lorie’s mouth curved into a strained smile.

“It just happened,” Cathy told her. “Neither of us planned it. He happened to be driving by and saw me. He stopped. We talked. I told him I wanted to run away, and he invited me to run away with him.”

“And you did.”

“Uh-huh. And I’ll be honest with you-it felt good to be with him. It felt good to go someplace with loud music and laughter all around us, to eat greasy, fattening food and to dance and forget about everything else.”

“But with Jackson Perdue, of all people.”

“Why not with Jack?”

“Good Lord, do I have to remind you of how your first love affair with him ended?”

“I’m not a naïve seventeen-year-old girl.”

“Oh, honey, you’re still halfway in love with him, aren’t you?”

She started to staunchly deny it, but the words died on her lips. “I don’t know. Maybe just a little bit. Don’t they say that you never forget your first love?”

“I guess you know what a risk you’d be taking getting involved with him. J.B. and Mona aren’t likely to approve. And heaven help you when your mother finds out.”

“Mother isn’t running my life anymore, and neither are my in-laws. I plan to make all my own decisions for the rest of my life. If I want to date Jack, I’ll date Jack.”

“I’m the last person in this world to argue against rekindling an old romance,” Lorie said. “God knows, I’d like nothing better than to get a second chance with Mike. But there’s more to consider than what you want or how your mother and in-laws will react.”

“You’re talking about Seth.”

“Yes, I am. If his reaction tonight is any indication, he’s not going to be happy about your dating anybody. And if by some miracle he gets to know and like Jack, how are you going to deal with that?” Lorie gently grasped Cathy’s shoulders. “Jack is no fool, you know. Sooner or later, he’ll figure it out.”