Chapter One
ONE YEAR LATER
Mark Falcon knew success and enjoyed it. As the late
afternoon sun came in the floor-to-ceiling windows of his
office, it reflected off the architecture awards on the
side table, a rainbow painting the wall. His son made the
shadow of a barking dog in the blue and purple bands. Mark
judged the distance and made a bear appear, which moved in
to gobble up the dog.
Benjamin laughed. "Your hands are huge, Dad."
The boy's wonder combined with the name Dad-he had done a
few things very right in his life, and marrying Sharon and
adopting her son last year were near the top of the
list. "Yours will one day be as big." He made the shadow
of a tree house. "The tree house blueprints should be done
printing. Why don't you go see?"
Benjamin dashed from the office to the open drafting room.
Mark followed at a more relaxed pace. Nine now, with a
touch of McGyver in his unquenchable curiosity, his son
seemed to be thriving under his attention. Mark was trying
to rearrange his life to provide that time, but he had
worried about the transition.
He was confident now that keeping the family in Benton,
Georgia, an hour and twenty minutes outside Atlanta, had
been the right decision. The schools were good, the
hospital and medical clinic where Sharon continued to work
top-notch, and the town still had open land and woods
around it. Mark didn't mind the occasional commute to
Atlanta when business required it; the pace in Benton
better fit what he wanted for his family.
He watched his son carefully tear the blueprint from the
wide printer. "It's perfect."
Mark picked up an empty carrying tube. "I'm glad you like
it. We'd better stop by the lumber mill this weekend to
order our supplies. By the end of October you'll be
inviting your friends over."
"You'll teach me to use the saw?"
"I will. You can even make the trim if you like; we'll
finish this tree house right. A good architect always
finishes the finer details." He offered Ben a pen and an
official label for the blueprint tube. "What do you say we
pick up your mom and get dinner? I'm starved."
Sharon tried to keep her last patient appointment to no
later than five on Wednesday nights so they could have a
family night. The last couple of weeks their dates had
been hot dogs from a street vendor and rented inline
skates at the park. For a practical doctor, Sharon didn't
always act much older than her son.
"Can we invite Aunt Carol?"
"If she's free." Mark had a soft spot in his heart with
Caroline's name on it. She had introduced him to
Sharon. "Call her and see."
They ended up at the mall after eating at the pizza
buffet. It was Benjamin's idea of the perfect evening and
Mark would agree. He walked with his wife window-shopping
while Caroline and Benjamin invaded stores to compare toys
and laugh at silly things like fish wind chimes and
talking doorbells.
He paused with Sharon at the upper floor courtyard,
waiting for Benjamin and Caroline to catch up, and
couldn't resist leaning over to kiss his wife. A year
since their honeymoon and she could still make him forget
his name.
Mark reluctantly ended the kiss. "Tell me you don't have
early rounds tomorrow."
She smiled slowly. "Nine o'clock."
Mark rubbed his thumb on Sharon's shoulder blade,
appreciating the answer, and even more the promise in her
smile. A guy didn't deserve to be this happy. He couldn't
resist reaching up to touch her face and trace her smile
and the perfect little dimple next to it. "I'll take the
morning off and drive you in to work, then take Benjamin
to school." His words were simple enough, but the
huskiness in his voice conveyed a return promise for
tonight. He hoped Benjamin would find a book and volunteer
to turn in early with his Snoopy desk light on. It was
time to go home. Mark slid his hand down to grasp
Sharon's, looked around, and didn't see Benjamin.
"He's across the way at the pet store scoping out the
puppies," Caroline offered. She was leaning against the
railing overlooking the lower level, her attention focused
across the walkway at his son.
The faint blush coloring her cheek and the back of her
neck made Mark squeeze Sharon's hand, move to the railing,
and lean forward to see Caroline's expression. "Sorry."
She smiled even as her blush deepened. "Don't be."
Caroline watched Sharon join Benjamin at the pet store
window and laugh with him as one of the puppies rose to
plant his feet on the glass. "My sister deserves to be
happy."
"So do you."
"I am happy." "Hmm." Mark thought she was, to the extent
she didn't know what she was missing in life. "Would you
like a date next week? I know a nice guy who's
interested."
"You know I'm seeing Luke." "My cousin could use some
competition. He's cancelled on you too often due to
work." "He's been busy."
"No disrespect to Luke, but he's had a year to get his
priorities sorted out. Work followed him to the wedding,
and it's still following him. I'd say that's enough time
to reevaluate things. Besides, you would really like this
guy, Caroline. Let me at least introduce you."
"Is he an architect or in construction?"
"He owns a furniture business."
She turned to rest her back against the railing. "He
sounds more interesting than your financial advisor."
"Who thought you were adorable and was crushed when you
politely declined a second date. Come on. You'll enjoy
yourself. You ought to take me up on an introduction at
least once a year."
She answered his verbal nudge with a smile. "Next week-"
She shook her head. "Sorry, school extracurricular events
are just getting started, and I'll be tied up with
registration and scheduling."
"And the following week you'll be busy grading papers."
"What can I say? A fifth grade teacher's time is in high
demand." She patted his arm. "I'm comfortable being single
and still looking. Marriage is work."
"But the compensation is high." How Caroline ended up shy
when her sister was an extrovert was a mystery, but he
thought it rather a nice one. He was going to help her
find a relationship that worked; he had set his mind on
it. She was just going to take someone special. He thought
it was Luke, but that wasn't coming to pass as he'd hoped,
much to his disappointment. Mark leaned down to pick up
the new package resting near her feet. "I see Benjamin
found his kite."
"It will need a lot of string and running room to launch
it."
"Those are the best kind." He slipped the receipt in his
billfold, then tugged out the money to repay Caroline, and
tucked it along with an extra twenty in the side pocket of
her purse. "Go to a movie on me."
"Thanks, Mark."
"You're welcome, and please rub off on your nephew a bit
more. I had to tug the fact he wanted a kite out of him."
He added the sack to those he carried. Benjamin was just
beginning to accept that it was okay to ask him for
something. "He's frugal to the point of making me feel
like the kid and he the adult."
"He'll grow out of it by the time he gets a driver's
license and wants to borrow the car and twenty bucks."
"I hope so. Ben's making me feel guilty about being rich.
It's been a while since that emotion was around."
Caroline laughed and he smiled back. She had long ago
given him the gift of liking him regardless of what he
owned.
He remembered what he meant to ask earlier, and Mark's
smile faded. "Any more hang-up phone calls?"
Caroline's smile disappeared too. She shook her head.
Someone had developed the habit of calling her at six A.M.
and hanging up when she answered. "You'll tell me if they
start again?"
"Yes."
He searched her face, looking for any indication she was
merely being polite. If he thought trouble was blowing in
again, he'd mention it to Luke. Hang-up phone calls had
started the trouble for her last year, and Mark wasn't
going to let it flare up again without reacting early.
Luke and Caroline had gone several tense rounds last fall
over what to do. Luke tried to protect her against an
unidentified person on the edge of stalking her, and
Caroline found Luke's concern smothering. Mark didn't want
to open that can of worms again now that they were finally
getting their relationship back on track, but if trouble
had returned, ignoring it wouldn't help. Mark understood
the edgy concern Luke felt-a few of the "gifts" involved
had been sent to Sharon to be delivered to Caroline.
"You've got that look again. That protective, in-your-
domain, determined look," Caroline remarked.
"You are in my domain," Mark replied, keeping it low-key,
still feeling out the boundaries she'd accept.
"I appreciate it, but let this be."
If she was denying getting calls, he didn't have much
choice. "I'll let this be."
She smiled her thanks. A guy could get lost in that smile.
It was time he reminded Luke a year had passed. If the man
wasn't so busy with work, he would have long ago realized
just how special Caroline was and made their relationship
permanent. "Are you going to join us for Labor Day weekend
in Atlanta?"
"I'll have to bring some work along, but Benjamin insists
I come see his Atlanta Braves in person."
"I'm glad." He'd known if he set Benjamin to the task he'd
get a yes. "Plan to come Friday and stay through Monday
evening."
"We'll talk about it."
Sharon and Benjamin joined them, and Mark squeezed her
hand and let the matter drop. He stepped forward to offer
the sack holding the kite to his son. "Let's go home,
buddy. I want a rematch on the video game."
Caroline slowed her sedan and lifted a hand to acknowledge
Benjamin's wave as Mark pulled into his driveway. It wound
back to the home he had designed and built with a family
in mind. An evening at the mall had been a nice time. She
appreciated the fact Mark went out of his way to include
her occasionally in their family nights.
She clicked her headlights to high beam as she entered the
heavier woods, glad the country road was rarely traveled
except for residents who lived in the area. Down an
incline, around a forty-degree curve to the left, she
slowed and made a sharp turn into the gravel driveway to
her house. The headlights bounced off trees and hanging
branches and cast moving shadows along both sides of her
car.
She pulled into the garage and parked, the darkness total
as she shut off the car. Her keys held as weapons between
her knuckles, she walked to the farmhouse, opened the
kitchen door, and flipped lights on inside. The kitchen
counters were clear, the spider fern turning slowly in the
movement of air, a faint steady click and then the
icemaker dumped ice. She was alone.
She shut off the alarm system and walked over to touch the
new message button on the answering machine. The single
message was the library confirming that a requested book
was in. Whoever had been calling her had moved on. The
troubles last fall had been more than enough for both Luke
and herself: phone calls, unexplained small gifts, that
last frightening bouquet of roses. The matter was behind
her now, and she wanted it to stay buried.
Caroline moved toward the hallway, stepping out of her
shoes and tossing them toward the steps. When Sharon and
Benjamin had lived with her, the living room was often
strewn with toys and the cupboards filled with the basics
that little boys loved. The house was too quiet now, and
the holes on the shelves where Sharon's knickknacks had
been were still waiting to be filled.
Caroline sorted the mail she'd picked up at the roadside
mailbox after school and took the two magazines with her
to the back patio. She turned on the outside lights and
looked around the backyard and woods before settling into
a chair. The backyard was her special domain, the terraced
flower beds and winding walkways her creation.
She flipped through the first magazine. What would she do
with a garlic press? She turned down the corner of the
catalog page, marking it as a good illustration to use
during her chef elective. Somebody in the class could find
an Italian recipe that called for the use of this special
gadget. Pungent foods tended to get the boys interested in
at least trying cooking for themselves.
Caroline thought again about Mark's offer to set up a date
and knew she would eventually say yes, if only to sidestep
the friendly pressure. Mark was right; Luke had been busy
lately, and she had been content to let their relationship
drift and not press the issue. She longed for a deeper
relationship with Luke. She wanted more, but it hadn't
happened over the last year. Maybe it was time to let go
of that hope and move on.
I'm not sure what to do, Lord. Luke is not the kind of
guy you push. I'd like to be more than casually dating
him, but I don't know how to get that to change. I can't
compete with his work, and I'm smart enough not to try. I
just don't think he's ready to settle down.
It was so easy to love Sharon and Benjamin. During the
last several years since Sharon's first husband had passed
away, Caroline had poured her time and love into helping
her sister with Benjamin. It had been a joy to do so.
Loving her students was easy too, for she could find ways
to help them enjoy school.
But figuring out how to love Luke-he was nearly as much a
mystery after a year as he had been the day of her
sister's wedding. She admired what she saw in him and
thought loving him would be richly worth it, but she
didn't know how to get inside his head. He wasn't a man
who easily shared much of himself.
The phone rang. Caroline waited for the answering machine
to kick in, not willing to answer any calls without first
screening them. She hoped there never was another heavy
breathing phone call while Luke was around. The man was a
bit frightening when he shifted into work mode.
The phone stopped ringing.
Caroline closed the magazine. Uneasy now with the night
around her, she rose. She stepped back inside the house
and shut the patio door behind her. No one was out there.
No one. But she didn't like the feeling on the back of her
neck, wondering if someone was watching again ...
He watched her rise from the chair through the zoom lens
and took one last photo. He'd rattled her with the phone
call. He didn't like it when her smile disappeared and
those worry lines reappeared, but at least the call had
gotten her to look up so he could get the silhouette photo
he wanted.
Going by touch, he slowly advanced the film to minimize
the clicking sounds. He'd need to develop the photo with
care given the backlighting from her house, but he thought
all the photos from tonight would turn out.
Leaves tickled his face as he turned to follow lights
coming through the trees. A car slowed through the turn in
the road and then drove past Caroline's driveway.
Months of watching Caroline had shown she rarely had
company after sundown