part0079

Paige packed for a trip she knew she’d never take. Even if they could fly out tomorrow, all the problems they left behind would be waiting for them, snowed in on the couch with arms crossed and feet tapping, as if to say, What took you so long?

She tossed a stack of tank tops into the suitcase and fell onto the bed. Who was she kidding? They’d be lucky to get to the end of the driveway, much less the airport. She was now literally trapped in this home she’d felt trapped in for years. From the imported draperies and carpets right down to the hand-cut Italian tile. This was her prison. This was her hell.

A rap at the door startled her. “Come in.”

Kyle Henderson entered. The temperature clicked up a notch. His stride was confident, maybe too confident. When you’re as attractive as Kyle Henderson, everything comes just a little easier. He said, “Mrs. McCauley, I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

Paige smiled, wondered if he could tell she’d been crying, if he sensed the sudden urge she had to ravage him. “I’m fine. Thank you.”

Kyle smiled back and Paige was overwhelmed with guilt. Guilt for thinking of seducing a man almost young enough to be her son. In her bedroom. With her family one floor below. “Will that be all, Officer?” The words came out harsher than she meant for them to.

Kyle’s smile drizzled away to nothing. “Yes, ma’am, sorry to have bothered you.” He turned to leave. “One more thing.”

“Yes?” Electricity rippled through her body.

“Ben and Anna were wondering if it would be okay to play in the snow for a while before things get too bad. Officer Tubbs or I would be right there with them at all times. Your husband said to ask you.”

Ask me? Is he incapable of making a decision regarding our children? Or is he trying to save what can no longer be saved?

“Okay,” Paige said. “I suppose that would be okay, as long as you’re going to be with them.” Kyle Henderson nodded and pulled the door shut behind him. His scent lingered in the heavy air. Paige suddenly regretted casting him off.

She moved to the window, lost herself in the rush of snow. Snowflakes bombarded the window soundlessly. An overstuffed moon bathed the blanketed lawn below in an iridescent glow that was at once eerie and breathtaking. If she didn’t know better, she would have sworn it was mid afternoon.

Movement disrupted the Hallmark moment. A brightly wrapped Anna plowed through the perfect white carpet, ruining it in typical Anna fashion. She plunked herself down on her back and flapped her arms and legs furiously. When she stood, the snow collapsed in around her perfect snow angel.

I want to make snow angels too! Paige screamed from silent lips.

Ben entered the Hallmark painting. Drew crept up from behind and tackled him. Anna joined the pig pile. Officer Tubbs cast a generous shadow across the shimmery blanket.

Paige considered joining them. Instead she watched from her window, a safe haven from a man she loved but was no longer in love with. She imagined Kyle Henderson downstairs alone. She imagined herself downstairs with him, making love to him while her family frolicked only steps away.

A snowball fight erupted below, Officer Tubbs the easy target. Paige watched the silhouettes bob and weave against the snowy backdrop. Her eyes wandered. To the trees. Their branches strained under the weight of the snow. Another silhouette cut itself from the landscape. Was it a dog? A fox?

Paige wiped a sleeve across the fogged glass. A blur of white made it difficult to see. Still, there was something there. Just beyond the tree line.

She pressed her face into the glass. The slick cold bit into her cheek. She scanned the tree line. The dark shape was gone. It had never been there. She had imagined it, just as she had imagined Kyle Henderson coming up behind her, pushing his firm body against hers.

There it is again! The snowflakes seemed to clear a path, allowing her a better look. Something was there, not fifty feet from her snow-spotted family.

She pulled her face from the glass. Her eyes ping-ponged from the shape in the trees to her family and back to the shape again.

It was no dog. Or fox. Her scream was silenced as it made its way through her windpipe. She could not move. All she could do was stare at the man who stared at her family.