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Mike.” I gave his knee a sisterly
pat. “But I’ve made my decision. Writing for the magazine will
be…fun, I think.” I shrugged and drained the last of my coffee.
“Different at least. And I’ve been ready for a change for a long
time. Despite what you may think, the money is a motivating factor
for me. It’s never too early to start saving for Ashley’s future. I
want to be able to send her to a good school.
    Help her get a car and a house someday. This
job can help me do all of that. And the hours are flexible. If
Ashley gets sick or hurt at school, I can be available for
her.”
    “I just want you to be satisfied, Claire. You
know that.”
    “I know you do, Mike. And I will be. I
am.”
    “You really love her, don’t you?” he said
softly.
    “Yes. I love you too, little brother, just so
you know.”
    The wind blew in the distance and a movement
at the edge of the yard caught my eye.
    “Mike, did you see that?” I leaned over the
porch rail and peered into the darkness.
    “Where?”
    “Over there by the bushes. No, to the right.
Do you see anyone?”
    “I’ll check it out. Stay here.” He was up and
moving in an instant.
    “Wait—” But he was already heading across my
well-manicured lawn. I hugged my arms to my chest and took a step
forward, waiting.
    “Claire, go get a flashlight, will you?”
    “Oh, Lord. Okay, hang on.” I darted into the
house and grabbed the light and my cell phone, stopping to check on
Ashley before heading out the front door again.
    “Here. What did you see?”
    “I’m not sure. Let’s see...yes, right there.
Look. The grass is smashed down.”
    I knelt down to get a better look at the
patch of lawn he had illuminated in a triangle of light.
    “Does that look like a footprint to you?”
    “I can’t tell, Claire. It could be. That or a
large animal. What did you see when we were on the porch?”
    “Just a shadow. I guess it could have been a
dog. Maybe. But it looked tall to me.” I scratched my head and
glanced down the deserted tree-lined street.
    “I told you to have these hedges trimmed.
Anybody could hide over here. It’s too good of a cover.”
    “I’ve been meaning to get around to that,” I
admitted. At his stern glance, I sighed. “Tomorrow. I’ll have them
done first thing tomorrow. Scout’s honor.”
    “Has anything unusual been happening
lately?”
    “Like what? Perverts casing the house?”
    “Sure, like that.”
    “No.” I didn’t tell him about the dreams, or
the feelings of being watched that had persisted since our return
from Terlain. It was most likely nothing, and would only give him
cause to worry. Mike worrying was not a pretty sight. He had a
tendency to go over the top and straight into paranoia-land.
    “Well, why don’t you go on inside and check
on the baby? I’ll take a look around out here. Check for footsteps
around the house.”
    I smiled in the darkness. “Fine, but don’t
let Ashley hear you refer to her as ‘the baby.’”
    “Oh right, I keep forgetting she goes to
school now.” He grinned.
    “Exactly, and don’t you forget it.”
    “I’ll be in soon, okay? Don’t worry.”
    “You want me to put on a fresh pot of
coffee?”
    “No, that’s all right. I can’t stay much
longer.”
    I shook my head, knowing full well how the
rest of the night would play out. Mike would find a twig out of
place and come bursting through the front door in roughly ten
minutes and announce that he was calling the police. If I was able
to talk him out of it—or wrestle the phone away from him—the family
would at least be spared some embarrassment. If I couldn’t, he
would call 911 and they would laugh at him all the while telling
him to call back once a real crime had been committed. After that,
Mike would insist on spending the night. I headed into the kitchen
to make the coffee Mike had declined. Because he couldn’t stay, of
course. Yeah, right.
    Nine minutes later, I dried my hands on a
dishtowel and began the