LITMIR.BIZ

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apart.”

      “Days, ha,” Lillie said. “I’m going into labor when she does. I want our kids to be close. We couldn’t have planned this better.”

      He shook his head. “Knowing you, you probably will go into labor when Mariah does. Once you make up your mind on something...”

      “I hope Maggie lets me help with the wedding,” Lillie was saying, having already shifted gears. “Where do you think she’d want to have it?”

      Her brother threw up his hands. “I’m not talking wedding with you. Go find Mariah. Or better yet, go see what Hawk and Cyrus would suggest for the wedding.” He laughed. Their brothers were rancher bachelors who hardly dated. They’d had a hard enough time getting through the recent double wedding and reception since they spent more time with their cows than people.

      “Maybe I will go visit Hawk and Cyrus. Did you see Hawk talking to that old girlfriend of his at our reception? I think there is still something there.”

      The front door opened and two couples came in. Darby looked relieved to get out of that conversation as he headed down the bar to serve them.

      * * *

      MAGGIE DIDN’T SPEND any more time worrying about her decision. Moving in with Flint had been impulsive, but now that she’d said she would, darned if she wasn’t going to do it. She hurried home and began to pack.

      She would haul over just a few things to begin with. She’d taken Flint by surprise on the phone. She hoped he was happy about this. The more she thought about it, the more she thought it really was a good idea. She’d never let herself think about the future with Flint. It seemed too good to be true.

      Now, though, she let herself consider it. She had one desire that she’d never shared with anyone, maybe especially Flint. She wanted children before her biological clock ran out. She and Flint had never discussed it, but maybe they would now. He would make such a great father.

      Once inside the house she rented, she loaded a few things into an overnight bag and took them out to her car. She slowed as she started to go back inside for more, feeling as if someone was watching her. Looking around, she didn’t see anyone. It was a quiet street, the houses on large lots with pine trees providing privacy. She’d always liked that about the neighborhoods in Gilt Edge.

      But right now, the hairs on the back of her neck prickled. Someone was watching her. The thought made her feel foolish. She blamed it on running into Celeste at the grocery store earlier. The woman gave her chills. To the rest of the townspeople, Celeste might seem normal, but Maggie and the Cahills all suspected she could be more than vindictive. She could be dangerous.

      Back inside the house, she threw a few more things into a bag, excited about the special meal she’d make for Flint tonight. It would be their first night together in his home. Their home. It would be a surprise—just like her moving in had been.

      Getting excited about the idea of them being together all the time, she went to the freezer for the shrimp she’d picked up at the market. It didn’t take her long to put all the ingredients she would need into a small cooler. As she did, she was mentally making lists in her head.

      She had to let her landlord know that she was moving. She’d have to see about getting some time off from work so she could move in properly. She didn’t want to have a bunch of boxes sitting around Flint’s house. It would be an adjustment for them both, but maybe especially for Flint.

      Celeste seemed to think that Flint had talked to her about his first marriage. But it had been just the opposite. He’d made a point of avoiding the subject. Whatever problems they’d had, Maggie knew nothing about them. Which was good because she hadn’t wanted to talk about her past, either. She just hoped that she would be a better wife to him.

      The fact that she was even thinking about the woman made her grit her teeth. But unfortunately, Celeste had been a factor since the beginning. Maybe now, though, all that was behind them. She had to believe that. She loved Flint. Didn’t love conquer all?

      As she took the rest out to the car, she still found herself looking around. She tried to shake the feeling that someone was watching her, but it was too strong. Sliding behind the wheel, she started the car and pulled out. As she did, she glanced in her rearview mirror.

      Maggie knew she was looking for Celeste’s huge dark SUV. There was one like it parked way down the block, but she couldn’t be sure that was hers. Closer, she spotted a brown van parked on the street a couple of houses back. It was hard to tell with the sun glinting off the windshield, but it appeared someone was sitting behind the wheel.

      Probably just a repairman waiting for one of her neighbors, she told herself. She had to quit this. For so long, she’d been running scared. She liked to blame Celeste, but Maggie suspected her real fear was of losing Flint. She loved him so much. What if she moved in with him and he realized he didn’t feel as strongly about her? Maybe Celeste was right. Maybe there was a reason Flint hadn’t asked her to marry him. Maybe he never would.

      With a curse, she shifted her car into gear, angry that she’d let Celeste back in her head. She had to stop always thinking something terrible was going to happen when she and Flint were together. She had to believe in the two of them. She also had to believe that she could overcome her past.

      Sometimes their future seemed like a brass ring suspended in front of her. All she had to do was grab it—and not look back. But her life hadn’t been easy, far from it. A part of her wondered if she deserved to be happy.

      As she drove down the street, she noticed all the Christmas decorations in the yards. Red, green and white lights twinkled in the afternoon light. From one yard, a huge snowman waved to her in the breeze. She smiled and tried to relax. It was almost Christmas. She needed to be thinking about what she was going to get Flint. It would be their first Christmas together. They should get a tree and decorate it together, she thought as she drove, her mood lifting.

      At the stop sign, she couldn’t help herself. She glanced back in her rearview mirror. The brown van was two vehicles back.

      The moment the light changed, she peeled out, burning rubber as she took off. She thought about calling Flint. And telling him what? I saw a van on my street and now it’s behind me?

      In a town this size, that wasn’t unusual. But as she neared Flint’s street, she noticed the time. Maybe he’d get off work early knowing she was going to be there. Maybe he’d be at the house waiting for her. It would ruin her dinner surprise, but she didn’t care. Sometimes she just needed his arms around her and right now was one of them.

      The van was still behind her. Only one car back now. She still couldn’t see the driver for the glare of the setting sun. She turned onto Flint’s street and glanced in the mirror, afraid she would see the van turning in behind her. Instead, it sped on past and disappeared around the next corner.

      She pulled into Flint’s drive and slumped against the wheel. What was wrong with her? She couldn’t keep going like this, making trouble where there wasn’t any. She thought about her past relationships and the mistakes that she’d made. She wasn’t going to do that with Flint. She’d learned her lesson. Wasn’t that why she’d moved to Gilt Edge? She’d wanted to be someone else. Anyone but the Margaret Ann Thompson she’d been born.

      She shut off the car engine and looked toward Flint’s house in the pines. The place fit him. It was secluded with the nearest neighbor back up the street and hidden in the trees. The house sat on a slight hill, the empty lot behind it falling to the next street in a thick grove of pine trees.

      Maggie was sure that the seclusion had been part of the charm. The house itself was small and neat, nice inside, though basic. She thought of ways she could make it more homey. Make it more theirs, since he’d lived in this house with Celeste. But that had been a long time ago, so she wasn’t going to let that bother her.

      Excitement filled her as she grabbed a couple of her bags and headed for Flint’s back door. As she did, she saw one of the neighbors down the street out at her mailbox. The neighbor waved. Maggie waved

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