Page 52 of A Perfect Target

About a half an hour passed and then Sammy and Lady came back into the living room. He clutched several pieces of paper in his hand. He got up next to her on the sofa.

“I drewed some pictures of George,” he said. “He came out of the shoebox and let me draw him.”

“You drew, not drewed.” She automatically corrected him.

“Yeah that,” he replied with an impish grin. “Anyway, wanna see them?”

“I’d love to see them.”

He sidled even closer to her and handed her the first picture. As usual, Sammy’s talent was evident in his depiction of a dragon with large wings and a big tail and a smiling face.

“These are amazing,” she said. “Did George mind you drawing him?”

“I had to talk him into it, but he finally agreed to let me,” Sammy replied. “He’s a little bit cranky today. He didn’t sleep good last night.”

“Does he breathe fire when he gets angry?” she asked.

“Nah, his fire doesn’t work anymore. It got broken, and so he doesn’t have fire anymore.”

“How did it get broken?” she asked.

“He got a sore throat, and he didn’t take his medicine like he was ’sposed to. So his throat got better, but his fire never came back.”

By the time he had shown her all the pictures, Seth had awakened. The three of them spent the rest of the afternoon playing games. They stopped to have pie and then resumed the game playing.

Once again Suzanna was struck with a longing to have this warmth of family forever. It broke her heart that it wasn’t going to be with Seth and Sammy. But when she left here she was determined to open herself up to the dating game in hopes of finding the kind of love she’d once shared with Davy. But more than anything, she wanted Seth to reciprocate her love and make her a part of his family forever.

However, two men she would never date were Ray and Boone. They were still upset about her giving their names to Dallas after the knife attack. They continued to punish her by giving her the silent treatment. It made for some tense lunches and the continued realization that they really hadn’t been her friends in the first place.

Her arm and collar wounds had healed up nicely. The doctor had used self-dissolving stitches, so she didn’t need to go in for a follow-up appointment. She was going to have some scarring, but it wouldn’t be too bad.

They continued playing games until they stopped to eat turkey sandwiches for dinner. Then it was time for Sammy to take his bath and head to bed. Every night he wanted her to tuck him in, and each night she did, her love for the little boy grew.

It was time for her to go, she thought as she left Sammy’s bedroom. She couldn’t stay here with Seth and Sammy forever. It had already been far longer than either of them had expected.

Surely, she could be safe in her own home now that she was on notice that somebody wanted to harm her. The knife attack had been so unexpected, especially since she’d come to believe the car accident had probably been the result of a drunk or high driver.

With Sammy in bed, the two adults sat in the living room. She didn’t tell Seth all the thoughts that filled her head. Instead, they chatted about how nice the day had been and how the weather was supposed to remain cold. The rain had moved out, and there was no more precipitation expected for the coming week.

As always, it was the easy conversation of two people comfortable with each other. It was the conversation that a husband and a wife might share before going to bed.

Thankfully, with Sammy’s presence, there had been no more lovemaking between them. She yearned for it. She wanted it, but she knew it was better if they didn’t go there again.

By nine o’clock they were both ready for bed. He got Lady to take out one final time, and once he was back in, he locked the doors, grabbed his gun from the top of the fridge and then walked her down the hallway.

She watched as he placed the pup back into bed with Sammy and then half closed the door behind him. She smiled at him. “Good night, Seth,” she said softly.

“Good night, Suzanna.” He held her gaze for a long moment, and in the depths of his eyes she saw tiny flames of desire. She broke the gaze and went into her bedroom and closed the door behind her.

If he’d asked her to come to his room, she would have gone. She was helpless against her love…her absolute desire for him. That was why she’d broken his gaze so quickly and escaped into her room.

She now released a deep sigh and began to undress. This arrangement of protection was beginning to feel like sheer torture. She grabbed her nightshirt from the drawer and pulled it on over her head.

She went across the hall to the bathroom and quickly brushed her teeth and took off her makeup. It was only when she returned to her room that she realized her curtains were open. She’d opened them first thing that morning to see what the weather might be doing.

She now walked over to close them. Before she could, a person’s face appeared there. The Peeping Tom wore a ski mask, and at the unexpected, shocking appearance, Suzanna released a scream.

The scream shot Seth straight out of bed. He grabbed his gun from the nightstand and ran to Suzanna’s bedroom. He threw open the door. She stood pointing at the window, her eyes wide with fear. “S-somebody is out th-there.” Her voice was breathless. “He had on a-a ski mask and was wat-watching me,” she said haltingly.