Page 36 of A Perfect Target

“Is she a good cuddler?” Suzanna asked as the scent of cooking sausage filled the air.

“She’s the very best,” Sammy replied as Lady danced around his feet. “She cuddled with me all night long. I still can’t believe I have a dog, and I love her so much.”

“Have you drawn her picture yet?” Suzanna asked.

“Yeah, you want to see?” he asked.

“I’d love to see your pictures,” she replied.

“’Kay, be right back.” He left the table and ran out of the room with Lady once again at his heels.

“You’re very good with him,” Seth said softly.

“It’s easy to be good with him. He’s a great kid,” she replied. “And very lovable,” she added. It was true. There was something sweet and vulnerable in the little boy, and she had come to care about him very much.

“Thanks, I think he’s pretty special,” Seth replied. He took the last of the sausage links out of the skillet and placed them onto an awaiting plate. He then went into his pantry and returned with a large griddle. “Are you hungry?” He plugged the griddle into a wall outlet to warm up.

“I got hungry when the smell of cooking sausage filled the air,” she replied.

Sammy zoomed back into the room with several pieces of paper in his hand. He handed them to her as he sat in the chair next to her. There was a total of four pencil drawings of Lady in various positions. He had captured Lady’s puppy playfulness in each pose, and the skill shown was far more advanced than a nine-year-old.

“Sammy, these are wonderful. You are such a talented artist,” Suzanna said.

Sammy beamed. “Thank you, I do like to draw.”

“You do it very well. Now why don’t you take your pictures out of the kitchen so they don’t get spilled on during breakfast,” she suggested. The last thing she would want was for his artwork to be ruined by pancake syrup or a spill of something else.

By the time Sammy returned to the kitchen, Seth had breakfast ready. The pancakes were light and fluffy, and Sammy kept them laughing through the meal with tales from his imagination.

Thank goodness she was here with the warmth of laughter filling her heart and the love of a father and son rippling in the air. If she wasn’t here, she knew she would be at her house curled up in the corner of her sofa, overthinking things and being terrified of another attack happening.

There was such a strong sense of family here despite it only being Seth and Sammy. And for a few minutes while they’d been eating, she’d felt as if she belonged to their family.

When Sammy smiled at her so sweetly and Seth gazed at her so warmly, there was a part of her that wanted to belong here, not just for a few days, but forever.

Suzanna insisted she help with breakfast cleanup, and then the two of them moved into the living room, where she sat on the sofa and he sank down in his recliner.

“Please don’t let my presence here stop you from doing chores or whatever you normally do,” she said.

“I usually don’t do much of anything on Sundays,” he replied. “I have two good men who help me keep up with the fields, but Sundays I always spend the day with Sammy. Sometimes we will play games or watch a movie, but the day is usually pretty laid back.”

“Are you sure?” she asked. “Or are you lying to me?”

He laughed. “I’m positive. Trust me, Suzanna, if I had things to do around the farm, I’d go do them. But I really don’t work on the weekends when Sammy is home from school.”

“You are such a good father, Seth. I so admire how you parent your son.” At the moment, Sammy was back in his bedroom getting dressed for the day.

A warmth of pleasure swept through Seth at her words. “Thanks. I try, but sometimes I don’t think I’m enough for him.”

“I think every parent feels that way,” she replied.

“I’m hoping he’ll outgrow his obsession about getting a mother. That’s one thing I can’t deliver on.”

She looked so beautiful this morning. The jeans fit her to perfection, and the blue sweater she wore showed off her incredible shape. Would a good father have been thinking about the very hot kiss they had previously shared while he cooked breakfast? Would a good parent have been thinking about how much he wanted to kiss her again while he flipped pancakes for his son?

There was no question that he was on a slow burn for her. The more he got to know her, the more he wanted her. He hoped like hell they heard something from Chief Calloway about who was terrorizing her. No woman deserved to live with the kind of fear he knew Suzanna was feeling.

The morning and early afternoon passed pleasantly. The three of them played games of Memory and Go Fish. Sammy crowed triumphantly when he beat the two adults at Go Fish after the adults had won the games of Memory. There was a lot of laughter, and Lady added to the fun by chasing her tail, making Sammy fall to the floor and dissolve into giggles.