by B. J Daniels
“Tom,” he’d said and grinned. “Does this mean that Tommy is behind us?”
She’d nodded.
“I’d ask if you’ve fallen for this ex-cop, but it’s clear you have. Does this mean you’ll be staying in Whitehorse? I’d like it if we could be friends. Just friends.”
“Truthfully, the future is a bit blurry right now. But we can definitely be friends.”
Now, she stood back for a moment to look at the beautiful tree her sisters had found and cut down all on their own in the mountains. It was a fir and smelled wonderful. The branches were thick and already naturally decorated with tiny pinecones.
“I’m so glad you saved Grandmother’s ornaments,” TJ said as she dug in the last of three boxes that had been full. She held up a paper angel. “Remember this one?”
The whole morning had been like that. Each ornament had a memory for one of them. That’s why it was taking so long for the tree to get decorated. All those trips down memory lane had derailed them multiple times.
At the sound of someone at the door, they all turned and then shared a troubled look.
“I’ll get it,” TJ said and hurried to the door, expecting to see Carol from the post office standing outside. But it wasn’t Carol. “Silas? I thought you weren’t being released until tomorrow.”
“I talked the doctor into letting me out. I had to see you.”
TJ ushered him inside. He was limping badly, he had a smaller bandage on his temple, but he was alive and smiling. Her sisters said hello, asked about his health and then discreetly left them alone.
“The sheriff filled me in on everything that happened,” Silas said after she’d offered him a seat. He leaned toward her. “TJ, you could have been killed!” He shook his head. “What were you thinking?”
“That you were in trouble. The feeling was so strong I couldn’t ignore it.”
His gaze softened. “I don’t know how to thank you and at the same time, never do anything like that again.”
She smiled. “I can’t promise that. If I feel like you need me...”
He rose and pulled her to her feet and into his arms. “I do need you. But what am I going to do with you?”
“I bet you’ll think of something,” she said and he kissed her, pulling her into him as if he needed to feel her body against his as much as she did.
“Go to the Christmas dance with me?”
She laughed. “I haven’t danced in years.”
“Me either. But I heard there will be mistletoe.” He grinned.
“Are you sure you’re up to dancing? You just got out of the hospital.”
His grin broadened. “Oh, I’m up for a lot more than dancing.”
Just then Annabelle came careening down the stairs to race into the kitchen. Smoke billowed up from the oven. “I forgot my last batch of cookies,” she cried, making them both laugh.
Silas pulled TJ to him and kissed her, backing her up against the wall. His gaze locked with hers. Then something crashed in the kitchen and they heard footfalls on the stairs and moved apart, laughing as Chloe appeared.
TJ couldn’t remember being so happy. She wanted to pinch herself. When Silas looked at her like he was right now, she almost forgot about True Fan.
* * *
THE OLD GYM was rocking with the sound of loud music and the roar of voices as the Christmas dance kicked off for the season. It was a huge yearly event. Some listened to the music and watched from the bleachers as others danced. It appeared that the whole town had turned out.
The old gym had been decorated with lots of sparkly lights. It reminded TJ for a moment of the only prom she’d attended, which made her grimace. Then Silas had put his arm around her, bringing her back to the wonderful, amazing present.
Chloe hadn’t wanted to come. “You both have dates.”
“You’re going,” Annabelle had told her. “I promise you’ll have fun.”
Chloe had made a face but had finally agreed to come at least for a little while. TJ had seen her talking to three cowboys they had gone to school with and later dancing.
As Silas pulled her out onto the dance floor, TJ put her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. She loved the smell of him, fresh from the shower and yet so male. He pulled her closer as they swayed with the music. She felt so safe in his arms. But it was so much more than that. That feeling of being complete, being content, being happy filled her.
She never thought she’d ever experience this. She’d been such a loner all of her life. All she’d ever wanted was to write. That had been her driving force for so long. Silas made her want more. Opening her eyes, she looked around the room and felt such a sense of community. She’d forgotten what it felt like being part of a small town.
As the song ended, she was shoved hard against Silas. She turned to see Joyce stumbling away. It appeared she’d been drinking because she turned to sneer at TJ and kept going.
“You know her?” Silas asked.
“Went to school with her.”
He chuckled. “What did you do to her?”
“That’s just it. Nothing that I can recall. Sometimes I think I get blamed for things I didn’t do.”
As they both watched Joyce weave unsteadily through the crowd and disappear out the door, TJ wondered if Joyce could be the one writing her the threatening letters. The woman seemed so angry, she could be True Fan.
“Can I get you a drink?” Silas asked as they stepped off the dance floor. She could tell his leg was bothering him and said as much. He denied it.
“Fine,” she said. “But let’s sit out a few dances.”
He smiled at her, cupping her cheek, his gaze locking with hers. “After this is over, I was hoping to get you alone.”
Her heart hammered in her chest. Heat rushed through her, colliding at her center to make her cheeks flush. Pulse pounding at the thought of being alone with him, all she could do was nod. She watched him walk away and could tell that he was trying not to limp. She headed over to where her sisters had gathered.
“Who was that I saw you dancing with?” she asked Chloe.
“Cooper Lawson.”
“Justin’s best friend from high school,” Annabelle said.
“Don’t read anything into it, all right?”
TJ laughed. “So you didn’t ask him anything about Justin?” Chloe shot her a warning look, but TJ noticed that her sister looked happier than she’d been for some time.
“Where’s Dawson?” she asked Annabelle.
“Drink line.”
TJ looked in that direction but she didn’t see Silas. “Oh, no, there’s Mrs. Brown.”
Annabelle looked toward the door where Ester had just come in and now stood brushing snow from her sleeve. “I heard she had a series of ministrokes and it’s changed her personality.”
“Maybe she isn’t as grumpy as she used to be,” Chloe said, and laughed.
“Or worse,” Annabelle said.
“I just remember how upset she used to get with me in her advanced English class,” Chloe said. “She would go to write something on the board and actually break the chalk in her fury. She once threw the chalk at me, missed, but almost hit Kirt, who was behind me. Later I saw her in the teachers’ lounge crying. I know I was terrible. But she was always singling me out, especially when she knew I hadn’t been paying attention.”
“No wonder she is always glaring at me,” TJ said with a groan. “I swear she’s mad at me because she has me confused with the two of you. I was the good sister.” She was distracted for a moment as she noticed Joyce standing by the entrance. The woman was looking right at her before she pushed out the door. The look gave her a shiver.
* * *
SILAS INSISTED ON a last dance since it was a slow one. “I like holding you,” he said as he drew her to him. “The problem is that I don’t like letti
ng you go and the holiday will be over before we know it.” He drew back to look at her. “I was wondering if you’d like to come up to the cabin for a few days after Christmas. I know you’ll want to be with your sisters for the holiday—”
“I would love to.”
He smiled and let out a breath as if he’d been holding it. “I might even decorate the cabin.”
“There’s no need. The cabin is perfect just like it is.”
“You really do like it,” he said, sounding a little surprised.
She frowned. “Of course. I have such good memories...” Her voice trailed off. “I know it was only one night, but I felt as if—”
“As if we’d known each other a lot longer.” His smile broadened. “I felt the same way. I’ve never had that happen before. Dates are always so—”
“Awkward, and you promise never to go through it again,” she said with a laugh.
“Exactly.” His blue eyes sparkled in the twinkling Christmas lights. “But with you, it was different. With you—”
“It was nice.”
He nodded and leaned down to kiss her as the song ended. They stood on the dance floor as people began to leave. He kissed her again, then stepped back as if just then realizing the dance was over. “I’ll get our coats,” he said, his voice sounding rough with no doubt the same desire she was feeling.
Her legs felt a little wobbly as she made her way toward the bleachers where her sisters had gathered along with Dawson and some other friends. She heard them discussing going down to one of the local bars for a nightcap or two.
She’d almost reached them when someone grabbed her arm.
“Dear, would you mind walking me out to my car,” Ester Brown said as she latched on to TJ’s arm with shaking bony fingers. “I think I might have overdone it.”
TJ looked toward the cloakroom and the huge line. It would be a while before Silas could get their coats. Ester apparently had never taken hers off.
“It’s just right outside,” Ester said, as if seeing her hesitation. “It won’t take you a minute.” She tugged on TJ’s arm and the two of them headed for the door.
TJ shot a look over her shoulder at her sisters. She got Annabelle’s attention and called, “Tell Silas I’ll be right back.”
“Silas,” Ester said as they reached the side door. “Is he your beau now?”
Was he? She supposed so. At least until the holiday ended. “He’s just a friend.”
“Sure he is,” the woman said under her breath. “My car’s right over there.” They walked through the freezing night air. Unlike Ester, who was all bundled up and in snow boots, TJ wore only a party dress and high heels.
As they stepped outside, TJ saw Joyce standing in the shadow of the building having a cigarette. She could feel her dark eyes on them as they crossed the parking lot.
“That woman doesn’t like you,” Ester said, following her gaze. She still had a bony-fingered grip on TJ’s arm.
“I can’t understand why.”
Ester chuckled. “Maybe she’s read one of your books.”
TJ glanced over at her. Mrs. Brown had a sense of humor? She was still chuckling as they crossed the parking lot.
Fortunately, Ester didn’t seem to have the breath for walking—and talking. She’d thought her former teacher might want to bend her ear about her books, but that didn’t seem to be the case. While in apparently good shape other than those minor strokes she’d had, Ester appeared to be winded by the time they reached her car.
“You know, I’m not really feeling up to driving,” the elderly woman said. “I hate to impose, but would you mind, dear? My house is so close by. You’re welcome to bring my car back.”
“I can walk. It’s no problem.” She was already freezing, but she couldn’t say no. Ester seemed to be breathing hard. What if she was about to have another stroke? TJ definitely didn’t want her driving.
“You are such a dear,” Ester said as TJ helped her into the passenger side, then, taking the keys the woman handed her, climbed behind the wheel.
Ester’s home was only three blocks from the old gym where the Christmas festivities had been held. Snow crystals hung in the air as she drove, the night clear and cold. All TJ could think about was getting Ester home and then returning to the old gym—and Silas. Right now, in his warm, strong arms was the only place she wanted to be.
She started to park the car in the driveway, but Mrs. Brown had already hit the garage door opener.
“I prefer to keep my car in the garage,” she said as the door yawned open.
TJ pulled the car in and had barely stopped before Ester had the garage door closing behind them. She turned off the motor and started to turn to the elderly woman when she saw what Ester was holding. Her heart slammed against the walls of her ribs. “What?” The word came out on a surprised and suddenly scared breath.
“Not very succinct for a woman who makes her living writing,” her former English teacher said as she waved the gun at her. Ester was still breathing hard, but she didn’t look at all incapable of pulling the trigger.
“In case you’re wondering, I know how to use this,” the woman said. “I’m an excellent shot. Get out of the car. I don’t want to shoot you in my garage, but I will if you don’t do exactly as I say. It will be a first for you.”
“Why are you doing this?” TJ cried.
“Because I can’t let you write another one of those awful books,” Ester said. “You had so much promise.” She shook her head. “Parents over the years have chastised me for being too blunt.” She huffed at that. “Honesty, that’s what kids need. Good, old-fashioned honesty. That’s what I’ve tried to give you. But did you listen? Of course not.”
TJ stared at her as realization froze her in place. “You’re True Fan.”
“Not anymore,” the elderly woman said. “I said I would be until the end. Well, this is the end. Now get out of the car and don’t test me, Tessa Jane. If you had listened to me back when you were in my classes... Well, it’s too late, isn’t it. You won’t be embarrassing me any further.”
Ester pressed the barrel end of the gun into her back and shoved her toward the door into the house. They moved through the kitchen and into the living room. TJ’s mind raced. What was Ester planning to do? She’d said that she couldn’t let her write another book. Was she going to shoot her?
As they moved through the house, she looked for something she could use as a weapon. But she saw nothing that would allow her to spin around and disarm the woman before Ester shot her.
She tried to calm down, telling herself that her sisters would realize she hadn’t come back. They would look for her. Silas had gone to get their coats. When he returned and they told him where she’d gone he would eventually come looking for her. If Annabelle remembered to tell him. She had to believe that he would find her—that someone would find her—as Ester jabbed her with the gun and pointed toward a door ahead.
TJ heard the word “basement” and knew that she had to do something. Surreptitiously she slipped off her bracelet. Silas had commented on it earlier. It was silver with tiny silver trees on it. She’d bought it the day before because it had reminded her of his place in the woods.
“Mrs. Brown, you can’t do this,” she said rather loudly to cover the sound of her dropping the bracelet next to one of the chairs in the living room. If the woman didn’t find it before someone came looking for her, they might see it; they might know that she was here.
“I’ve already done it,” Ester snapped and, reaching around her, opened the basement door.
All TJ could see was darkness. Before she could react, Ester shoved her. She fell forward, screaming as she tumbled downward.
Chapter Twenty
When Silas returned with their coats he looked around, but he didn’t see TJ. Her sisters, though, were standing over by the bleachers. Mos
t everyone had already cleared out. A few stragglers were standing around.
“We were just going uptown for an after-the-party drink,” Annabelle announced when she saw him. “Do you and TJ want to come along?”
The last thing he wanted was a drink, and he was considering how to decline without hurting anyone’s feelings when he asked, “Where is TJ?” He thought she might have gone to the women’s room and looked in that direction.
“She just took our former English teacher out to her car,” Chloe said. “It will give us a chance to talk.”
He tried not to laugh as she drew him away from the others. He’d been expecting the third degree from TJ’s older sister so he wasn’t surprised. “I love TJ.”
Chloe waved that off as if it wasn’t important.
“I want to marry her. I was thinking of asking her on New Year’s Eve,” he said. “But I was worried that it’s too early. I don’t want to scare her off.”
“You hardly know each other,” Chloe said, sounding shocked.
“I know her. I knew her through her books before I met her.”
She huffed at that. “You think she’s Constance Ryan?” Chloe shook her head. “She’s not. She’s a prude. She’s a chicken. She’s—”
“She’s braver than you know,” he said, remembering the woman who’d saved his life. “She and Constance have a lot in common.”
“She’s been hurt by a dangerous man before.”
He nodded. “She told me about Marc. I’m not him.” He realized he was still holding their coats. He looked toward the door. “Shouldn’t TJ be back by now?”
“Mrs. Brown is probably out there chastising her for some improper grammar she found in one of her books,” Annabelle said, joining them. “Remember what a stickler the old bat was? All that stuff about participles and gerunds? It’s a kick that Ester reads TJ’s books. But then again, TJ was one of her best students. She should be proud that TJ has made a career as a writer.”
Silas looked at Annabelle, hating the sudden worry that had begun roiling in his stomach. “How long have they been gone?”
“Quite a while,” Chloe said, now frowning. “We’d better go save TJ from her.”
