Millie watched as Caleb and Max headed down the drive.
Their strides were long, controlled. Not hurried. Not casual.
Ready.
The car at the gate remained idling.
With her gaze still trained out the window, Millie asked, “First baby?”
Sissy rested one hand over her stomach and the other smoothed the sweater stretched tight beneath it. “Yes. I’m a little nervous.”
“I’m sure most first-time moms are.” She paused, trying not to dwell on the thought that she’d wanted her own kids by now—a dream that might not ever be a reality. But this was not the time to think about herself and her own slashed dreams. Instead, she offered a soft smile to Sissy. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“I couldn’t put my baby through what I’d been through.” Sissy frowned. “I had no choice but to leave. I had to make things right and not repeat the past.”
Millie understood that thought. She was so glad she and Garrick hadn’t had any children.
“Sounds like you made the right choice by coming here then.”
Sissy smiled faintly and nodded.
Millie glanced back at the car.
The vehicle remained at the gate.
Her chest tightened. Every instinct urged her to move—to hide, to run, to do something—but there was nothing to do except watch.
Watch and pray.
chapter
nine
The sedanstill lingered at the gate, its engine running but the vehicle itself unmoving and the driver making no effort to use the intercom.
Caleb closed the distance with measured steps, his eyes locked on the windshield.
Unfortunately, the angle was wrong. The glass was too dark for him to make out any details and, even if it wasn’t, the sun hit the glass and caused a glare.
Instead, he memorized the vehicle’s features.
The mid-sized sedan appeared generic, with dark paint. The exterior was clean enough to suggest it hadn’t been bouncing around mountain roads for long. Nothing else stood out about it—not that he could see, at least. Nothing hung on the rearview mirror. No stickers graced the windows or bumper.
He slowed as he and Max neared the gate. One hand drifted closer to his gun as his senses sharpened.
Suddenly, the engine revved.
Caleb braced himself.
A second later, the car lurched backward. Tires spit gravel.
Then the driver swung around hard and accelerated down the lane away from the house.
Caleb caught the license plate as the vehicle turned.
Virginia.
He memorized the numbers as he watched the car disappear beyond the trees.
