„Yeah.“

„You never did tell me what happened last night,“ she said gently.

Abe rested his chin on the steering wheel. „They asked me to forgive them.“

„Really?“

„Yeah, really. I about fell out of my chair. Said they’d been wrong. In everything. That they’d realized the day Debra finally died that they couldn’t have ended her life either, even if I’d allowed them to. But that they couldn’t get in touch with me to let me know because my parents weren’t telling anybody where I was.“

„So what did you say?“

„I said I’d have to think it over.“

„And have you?“

He looked over to find her green eyes filled with gentle understanding and unrelenting support and something shifted inside him. He’d known it was coming from the start, from the moment she’d tried to fell him with a pathetic can of pepper spray.

He loved her. He watched her face heat and he knew what he was feeling was written on his face for her to see. „Yeah.“

She reached out, letting her fingers trail down his cheek. „And?“

„Of course I will. Life’s too short, Kristen. I’m ready to move on. With you.“

Her mouth curved. „Are you now?“

„I am.“ He caught her behind her neck and pulled her closer. „Will you come?“

Her eyes danced. „Not in front of your parents’ house. But maybe later.“

Laughing, he kissed her hard. „Tart. Let’s go in and join the others.“

The kitchen was controlled chaos, as usual. Sean’s kids ran circles around the floor, while his mother was smacking Aidan away from the pie she’d just pulled out of the oven. Annie was standing at the sink peeling potatoes and the television blared ESPN from the living room. The pie was cherry. All was right with the world.

„Hi, Mom,“ Abe said. „Got enough for two more?“

„We can’t cook in my kitchen,“ Kristen added wryly. „Somebody stole it.“

Aidan and Annie looked at each other, coconspirators, and Kristen surprised them all by walking right up to Aidan and pulling his head down to kiss his cheek.

„Thank you,“ she said. She put her arm around Annie’s shoulders and hugged. „That was the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me.“

Annie beamed and quickly recovering, Aidan grinned wickedly. „If that’s the nicest thing anyone’s done for you, then I really do need to have that talk with Abe.“

Her cheeks crimson, Kristen looked at his mother. „Hit him, please.“

Becca arched her brows. „You’re no longer a guest. Hit him yourself.“ Sobering, she turned to Abe. „You’ve got company in the living room.“

„Yeah, I know. I’ll be back later.“

Kristen watched him walk away. He was ready to put aside the last ugly remnants of his past so that he could get on with his future. A future he wanted to share. With her. Will you come? he’d asked. She knew where this was leading. A man like Abe Reagan didn’t have affairs. He wanted a wife. A family. How desperately she’d wanted to say yes. But there were things he had to know first. Things that might change his mind. So she’d made light of his beautiful offer. She needed to tell him. Soon. And men, if he still wanted her, she’d give him the answer her heart was screaming.

Shaking herself, she turned to Annie. „So what do you think about the kitchen? Country hearth or French Provincial?“

Friday, February 27,

6:30 P.M.

Finding him had been no trouble at all. Few mayors of small Kansas towns were running for the state legislature and only one of them had gone to the University of Kansas. Figuring out that Geoffrey Kaplan was the man who had hurt Kristen had taken all of one hour. Getting from Chicago to Kansas, unfortunately, had taken fourteen. He’d managed to catch a few hours of sleep while Kaplan was in town tending his mayoral duties.

He now waited for the man to come home to his pretty house which sat isolated on ten acres of land. An old barn made a handy cover for his van. Kaplan’s trusting wife left the garage door wide-open all day, so it was no problem to slip inside and wait. It was a basement garage, like his own, so there were lots of places to hide. At least two televisions blared upstairs, and his gun had a silencer. There would be no noise of consequence.

He felt a tightening in his chest when the bastard drove in. In a few seconds, he’d see the face of the man who had raped a young woman and left her in the dirt at the county fair. The headlights switched off, leaving them in darkness. The car door opened, the dome light illuminating the interior and Kaplan climbed out. And his first thought on seeing Kaplan was that Kristen had been right. He was a totally ordinary-looking man. Five-ten, average build, slight paunch. He was balding. Badly.

He waited until Kaplan had leaned into the backseat to retrieve his briefcase, then emerged from his hiding place, his revolver drawn. In his other hand he held Kaplan’s own tire iron. Soundlessly he approached.

„Stand up, Mr. Kaplan. Put your hands in the air.“

Kaplan froze, then slowly straightened, his hands coming up. „Who are you?“

„Turn around, Mr. Kaplan. Slowly.“

Kaplan obeyed and even in the dim light of the dome light, he could see terror in the man’s eyes. Terror was good.

„Who the hell are you?“ Kaplan hissed. Kaplan’s terrified eyes dropped to the gun in his hand and then took a quick trip up to the ceiling to where Mrs. Kaplan moved about above.

For an instant he wavered, then stiffened. The wife would be better off in the end. Being a widow would be far better than to be the wife of a monster.

„Kristen Mayhew,“ he said, and waited.

„What?“ Kaplan shook his head in bewildered panic. „Who is Kristen Mayhew?“

He didn’t even remember. He stole the innocence of a beautiful young woman who trusted him and he didn’t even remember her name. „Think back, Mr. Kaplan. College. Summer. The county fair.“

He watched Kaplan desperately processing the information. „Kristen May – “ His head came up, ever so slightly. „Oh, yeah. I remember her. She was just a girl I dated in college. So what?“

Just a girl? So what? „You raped her.“

Kaplan’s eyes widened, then narrowed. „She said that? That little bitch.“

The tire iron swung up out of the darkness, hitting Kaplan just above the right temple. Kaplan sank to his knees, moaning.

„Watch your language, Mr. Kaplan.“

Kaplan held his head and in the dim light he could see blood oozing between his fingers. „I didn’t rape anybody. I swear it. She’s trying to ruin my career. That’s all.“

That’s all. „And why would she do a thing like mat?“ he asked tightly.

Kaplan looked up, furious. „Because I’m leading in the polls, that’s why. Every bimbo I’ve ever fucked is comin’ out of the damn woodwork.“

Bimbo. Kristen’s face crystallized in front of his face, then everything faded to red and the tire iron swung again and again and again.

„Daddy?“

He paused, the weapon above his head. His vision slowly cleared. And he heard the little voice again. „Daddy? There’s a van parked behind the barn.“

Panicked, he lurched to his feet, the gun and the tire iron dangling from his hands.

And over the car he looked into the horrified eyes of a child.

He looked down at himself. He was covered in blood. Her father’s blood. She’d seen him covered in her father’s blood.

She’d seen him. She’d run. She’d tell. He’d be caught.

I can’t be caught. I’m not finished yet. Leah.

Slowly, he raised the gun.