He sure was checking you out. Ginny cut her glance from the road to give Megan a calculating grin. I didnt see a ring. I think you should
Not interested.
Megan, hes gorgeous. And employed! Thats more than I can say for the last bum I dated.
Huffing her impatience with the direction of the conversation, Megan turned toward the passenger-side window and tried to forget the pathetic impression she must have made on Jack Calhoun this morning. If her bleak appearance wasnt bad enough, shed stuttered and jumped at his
the quiet car. Swallowing past the knot forming in her throat, she allowed the rest of her fears to float to the surface. She had to face them in order to move past them. What happens if I get involved with someone, someone I really like, and when the time comes tobe intimate, I freeze.
If hes got any kind of decency at all, hell understand and be patient with you, support you and
Greg didnt. The icy memory of her fiancés desertion due to her inability to make love to him stabbed her heart.
Ginny huffed and shook her head. Greg was a self-centered ass. Weve been over this before. There are men out there who can be gentle and understanding and supportive. The ones who arent simply arent worth your time.
Megan looked away, unable to stand Ginnys unrelenting stare any longer. That gaze saw too much. As much as she loved Ginnys insightfulness and friendship, she hated those qualities, too. Sometimes she wished Ginny would leave her alone, let her hide behind her locked doors and lick her wounds. Instead, Ginny pushed her, probed her, gave her little leeway for excuses. She demanded so much from Megan because she cared that much, too.
The lights green, she told Ginny, hoping her nonresponse would make the point that she hadnt the energy for any more questions.
She knew Ginny didnt consider the topic of Jack Calhoun closed. Whats more, since Jack was her neighbor, she knew shed have to face the reporterand her disturbing attraction to himagain.
And again.
Somehow shed have to come to terms with her confusing feelings for Jack Calhoun.
Chapter 4
Sam! she called through the screen, Pipe down, would ya? Im trying to work.
Sams barks softened to a whimper at the sound of his masters voice.
Thank you! Leaving the window open, she strolled back to her computer, stretching the kinks from her shoulders. No doubt her well-trained guard dog was protecting her house from a vicious squirrel again.
Although Sam had been through training similar to a police dogs, he was first and foremost a dog. A dog who hated squirrels. But for Megan, Sams foibles made him that much more lovable.
Shed never regretted the decision to get Sam for protection. His gentle disposition and loyalty made him a trusted companion, as well as her guardian. His presence in the house at night, and most often sharing her double bed, gave her a reassurance she needed. Experience had taught her that danger could find you even in the sanctity of your home.
Ginny called Sam a crutch, but even if Megan didnt rely on the German shepherd for added protection, shed keep him for the unconditional affection and companionship he offered. Her self-imposed isolation over the last five years made for a lonely existence.
Returning to her lesson plan, she scanned the calendar for a day when one of the girls in her class could bring her puppy for show and tell. Megan decided to tie in the puppys visit to a lesson on responsibilities to pets or similarities between animals or
Sams barking intruded on her thoughts again. But now the timbre of Sams bark had become dark and ominous. His snarling and growling sent a chill creeping over her skin. Apprehension accelerated her pulse. Surely a squirrel wouldnt set Sam off like this. Did she have a prowler?
Megan frozeuntil the wail of a childs terrified scream rent the air.
As she flew to her window, Megan realized Sams barking had now stopped. From the open window, she searched her fenced backyard for him.
But Sam was gone.
Icy horror washed over her. Where was Sam?
Another chilling scream shattered the quiet neighborhood, coming from the street in front of her house. Moving stiffly, her limbs wooden with dread, Megan made her way to her living room and peered out the front window. Her heartbeat slammed against her ribs as she spotted Sam across the street and two houses down. In Jack Calhouns front yard.
Sam stood over the crumpled figure of a dark-haired little girl.
No! Denial rattled from her dry throat.
Jack burst through the front door of his house at that moment, leaping down his porch steps in a single bound. Caitlyn!
Megan heard the fright, the horrible anguish in the fathers voice, and bile rose in her throat. Shed believed herself familiar with every form
of fear that existed.
Shed fooled herself.
The panic that coiled around her heart sprang from the tenderest place in her soulher love for children. The idea that she could be even remotely responsible, through Sam, for any harm to a child filled her with unimaginable grief. Adrenaline, born from her horror, propelled her to the door. Her sandal-shod feet pounded the pavement as she raced down the street to Sam.