Page 43 of A Perfect Target

Thankfully nothing had happened over the past week to threaten her, but that didn’t mean Seth had let down his guard where she was concerned. Whenever they were out in public, which was rare, Seth made sure he wore his gun beneath a suit coat, and he remained vigilant about watching anyone who came close to them. He was determined that no harm would come to her while she was under his watch.

Friday afternoon he pulled up in front of the school and watched as the two people he cared about most in the world came out the front door and got into his car.

Midweek there had been a warm-up with temperatures flirting around the eighty-degree mark. The ever-changing weather was typical for this time of year in Kansas.

“Daddy, I got the necklace again today,” Sammy said from the back seat.

“That’s great, son. I’m so proud of you,” Seth said and flashed a smile at Suzanna. Today she was clad in a pair of navy slacks with a tailored red-and-blue blouse that clung to her curves. She looked utterly beautiful and as fresh as she had looked that morning when she’d left for school.

“Good day?” he asked her as he headed toward home.

“Yes, it was a good day,” she replied and returned his smile. “The students were all great, and the day went by very smoothly.”

“What about Stedman and Wilder? Things still the same there?”

Her smile faltered slightly. “Yeah, they’re still pretty much ignoring me and giving me the silent treatment, which is fine with me. It’s obvious by their actions now that we weren’t as good of friends as I thought we were.”

“I’m sorry about that,” he replied softly.

She shrugged. “Live and learn.”

“Hey, Daddy,” Sammy said. “Tommy Kelce asked me to spend the night with him tonight. Can I do that? Please, can I go to Tommy’s house for the night?”

“You know the rules. I’ll need to talk to Tommy’s parents first and make sure that it’s okay with them,” Seth replied.

“Susan and Rick Kelce are good parents and nice people,” Suzanna said.

“Yeah, I met them when we had Tommy over to spend the night a few weeks ago.”

“Sammy and Tommy are pretty inseparable at school. They always play together at recess,” she said. “And if we do something that requires a partner, they always choose each other.”

“Tommy is my very bestest best friend except for Lady,” Sammy quipped.

“That means I’ll be babysitting Lady tonight. How are you going to pay me for my services?” Seth asked. He glanced in the rearview mirror at his son and then returned his gaze to the road.

“Daddy, you know I don’t have no money,” Sammy said and frowned. “How about tomorrow when I get home from Tommy’s, I’ll vacuum the whole house. Would that pay you for taking care of Lady tonight?”

“I think that sounds fine as payment,” Seth replied. Seth didn’t believe in giving his son an allowance yet. He wanted to instill in him the fact that chores were something you did for the family and not because you were getting paid for them. Sammy had always been good about doing chores.

They arrived at the house and all went inside. Sammy immediately prompted Seth to call the Kelces and see if the plans for Sammy to spend the night there were on.

He called and spoke to Rick Kelce, who assured him that the plans were, indeed, on. The arrangement was that Seth would bring Sammy to their home around six.

As Suzanna went to change her clothes, Seth put into the oven a chicken casserole he’d made right before he went to pick them up from school.

He opened a can of corn and put the vegetable into a saucepan to warm up when the casserole was almost ready. He’d also already made a salad to add to the evening meal.

He’d just sat down at the kitchen table when Suzanna came back into the room. She’d changed into a pair of jeans and a purple T-shirt that had the high school’s logo on the front. The school colors were purple and gold, and on football days, half the town seemed to sport those colors.

“You look more comfortable now,” he said.

“I am more comfortable,” she replied. She sat at the table across from him. “Is there anything I can do to help with dinner?”

“Nothing at all. I’ve got it all under control,” he replied easily. “It should be ready to eat in about twenty minutes or so. Are you hungry?”

“A little bit. It’s hard to believe Thanksgiving is next week.” She looked at him for a long moment. “I was thinking maybe it’s time for me to go back home.”

He looked at her in stunned surprise. “Suzanna, why on earth would you be thinking that?”