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To the chandelier It really should have been a two- was If Abby were here, she could at least help hi and then put it in place But when he’d arrived the house had been eerily silent And that dan had taunted him from the front lawn

She couldn’t be far Her car was still in the yard and her purse was sitting next to the phone on the hall table But she was nowhere in the house or garden

He frowned, cursed as he adjusted the fixture on thehe’d concocted from a spare stepladder and a piece of plywood in his truck She was avoiding him There was no need They’d called a truce and he’d meant it

But she hadn’t wasted any tin up, had she? It had annoyed hiht of it when he’d turned up the lane For a woman who claimed to care so much about family, who appeared to have a tender heart behind her sharp tongue, she sure found it easy to just pick up and leave

Tom had his faults, but at least he’d never run away fro up on Erin Funny thing was, he was pretty sure that he hadn’t been in love with her for sorief or love Guilt for how he’d handled their laston Because he had ravating Miss Foster

Well, little did she know She ht not care for the house, but he did With the h for a down pay price down a bit, his savings would cover the e for a while

And he could always sell his cottage It was small but it was priood summer home when all was said and done

He just didn’t want her to knoas hi it until the deal was done

The light through the s di ahi in He’d felt it earlier, in the uneasy heat of midday, saw it in the way the leaves were flipped over in the restless breeze It was already clouding over and the as co plate into place, he scowled The first rolls of thunder were ruh the valley If Abby were out there, she’d better be hoofing it hoht in the middle of it

He didn’t realize how ed until he took down the sheet of plywood and went to put it back in his truck The sky was ominously black and the cold bite of the wind told hiet hary that she was out wandering around, he cupped his hands to his mouth “Abby!” he called, his voice sed up by the wind “Abby!”

No answer

So He couldn’t explain it, had no proof but the heavy, frightened feeling that was centered in the pit of his stonore it a second time

The thunder and lightning grew louder and he scanned the hill behind the house, willing her to appear at anydown sheets of rain He raced inside, flicked the light switch and remembered that he’d turned off the breaker There was a brilliant flash followed by a crash of thunder that lasswork rattle above his head When he flicked the breaker and hit the switch, nothing happened

The rain seemed to ease for a second, but the storm had merely taken a breath It only paused for a moment before the hail started

He had to find her He hadn’t passed her on the way up the hill, so she couldn’t have gone toward town That only left one direction Up He ran out to the truck and started it, turning on the wipers as he made his way down the lane toward the road Maybe she was still at the top The old barn was there She could have taken shelter Maybe she was snug as a bug after all He could always hope If not, she’d be soaked to the skin by now The dark feeling persisted Or worse, the little voice inside hio there It was just a storht