4
Sara straightened and arched her back against the ache. With school out, she’d taken to bringing the kids over to play at the Diederiks’ while she helped Francie weed her garden. She’d gone to check on the bread rising for dinner, and Sara was alone when her phone pinged in her pocket. She pulled it out. It was from her friend Tia back in Seattle. She and her husband were the only people Sara had kept in contact with.
He’s been asking about you.
A chill ran down her back in spite of the warm sun. The buzz of nearby bees and the rumble of a small plane overhead gave an eerie quality to the moment. Sara had come to love the rural feel of the area. Now it seemed lonely, the rustle of the nearby trees ominous. Her friend’s simple sentence had stolen the sense of safety she’d felt in this lovely place.
Why wouldn’t he leave her alone? It wasn’t like he cared about the children. They’d never been anything to him but a way to leverage her, to force her to do what he wanted.
Sara had done her best to make a complete break. After he’d found her last time, she’d taken her maternal great grandmother’s maiden name for her own. What if he found her again? But how could he? The house had been left to her under care of a family trust after the divorce. She doubted her mother was aware of it, since her father was so controlling and had kept her from seeing the rest of her family for years.
The sounds of the children’s play drifted from the front of the house. They were happy here;shewas happy. She didn’t want to move them again.
Her stomach knotted. If Landon was bugging Tia, was she in danger? With shaking fingers, she typed a text and sent it.
Are you safe?
Of course I'm safe. My bruiser of a husband would kick his sorry tush down the street if he even looked at me wrong. Don’t worry about us. And don’t worry that we’d say anything. Your secret is safe with us.
Thank you. How are the kids?
They texted back and forth about normal things, but even when Francie came out again with her cheerful chatter, Sara couldn’t shake the sense of dread. After living in Boone for nearly eighteen months, she’d started to think they were free at last. That was her first mistake.
“Are you all right, dear?” Francie asked later as they headed back to the house for lunch. She always insisted on feeding Sara after working in the garden.
“I’m fine.” Sometimes the temptation to share her history with this gentle and kind woman could be overwhelming, but Sara didn’t want to taint her new life with the ugliness of her old one.
“If you’re sure.” Francie gave Sara’s arm a soft rub. “If you ever need to talk, please know I’m here. And I’m discreet.”
“Thank you.”
“Mama,” her children cried and ran over to hug her. When they’d lived with Landon, they’d never done that, never run about and made noise. It’d been like his presence had squashed their joy even when he wasn’t there.
“I know two little ones who need a nap,” Sara said after they’d eaten, trying to sound cheerful. Her children had an uncomfortable ability to pick up on their mother’s emotional state.
“I’m too old for naps.” Janna put her hands on her hips in a very Lessa-like manner.
“Then you can read quietly while I work on your costumes.”
“Thank you again for helping with the garden,” Francie said.
“Thankyoufor the delicious lunch.” Sara took her children’s hands, and they walked to the path that ran along the back of the property and connected to hers. The four children, especially the girls, used it frequently to go between the two homes. Enough so, that Sara and Francie’s husband, Alex, had discussed the possibility of putting in a stone pathway.
The sense of dread continued to cling to Sara. Why was Landon still trying to find her? It’d been nearly three years since she’d divorced him. What reasonable man did that? Many times, she’d wondered if he was mentally unbalanced, but then he’d start acting normal again. It’d been like there were two people inside him, one was funny and attentive. But that other being, the monster as she’d named it, would leap out and attack them with no warning.
Her mother hadn’t seen his monster side, just the signs that he was there and had left bruises behind. Her mother had tried to justify his abuse, and Sara’d had to break contact with her. But her mother’s attitude wasn’t unexpected considering that she lived with a man who knocked her around too.
“What’s that?” Janna ran to join her brother at the edge of the path.
Sara hoped he hadn’t found a dead animal. Or another injured bird. He’d discovered one earlier in the spring that had fallen from its nest. They’d tried to nurse it, but the poor thing had died the next day, and the three of them had bawled when they’d buried it.
She stepped closer to see what they’d found. Brand tried to pick up a board, but it wouldn’t budge. Janna leaned in to help.
Sara brushed aside a clump of damp, dead leaves. The round edges of old bricks buried in the dirt peeked out on the side of the square wood. What was it covering? A chill ran down her spine, and she wondered if it would be better to investigate when Alex could come with her.
“Wait.” She tried to pull her children back, but Brand slipped from her grasp.
He stumbled but righted himself next to the wood and stomped on the timber. With the sound of a crack, his little foot lodged in the broken wood. She lunged forward as he started to wail.
