Page 68 of A Perfect Target

She nodded. “I want to thank you for everything you did for me, Seth. Without you, I’d probably be dead.”

“I was honored to be able to help you, and now Sammy and I better get moving.”

She walked with them to the front door, her heart beating the dull rhythm of deep anguish. With murmured goodbyes, Seth and Sammy walked out the front door.

There goes my heart, she thought as she watched them get into Seth’s car. She remained at the door until the car disappeared from sight. Only then did she begin to weep with utter heartbreak.

She collapsed on the sofa and cried. First Davy and now Seth. Davy had died on her, but the tears she now wept were those of knowing that apparently Seth was never going to love her the way she loved him.

She cried for the loss of Sammy, who had brightened her days in a million ways. And finally, she cried for the loss of the family she’d hoped to have. She loved Seth so much. She’d wanted to be his wife, and more than anything she’d wanted to be the mother Sammy so desperately needed.

This was truly the end, and she wondered if she would ever stop grieving for what might have been.

Several days passed…days filled with emptiness and heartbreak. The snow that had been forecasted never materialized, but the days were overcast and gray. However, snow was in the forecast once again. A front was supposed to move in over the weekend, and it was supposed to drop three to five inches of snow.

Eva’s arrest had been the talk of the town, with many people horrified that she’d been behind the assaults on Suzanna and the fire at Seth’s house. Suzanna felt very supported by the people in the small town.

Dallas had told her Holly had gone to live with her father in Chicago, and Suzanna could only hope the little girl would be loved and nourished there.

Suzanna taught her classes and then went home each day. The loneliness she suffered each evening felt deeper than what she’d felt when Davy had passed.

With Seth and Sammy, she had gotten a taste of what family looked like, what it felt like, and that was what she grieved for during her alone times.

She’d been researching cars to educate herself on what kind to buy. She’d finally settled on a make and model and had spoken to a salesman at O’Brian’s Garage and Car Sales. She was supposed to go in the next day after school to check out a car they had on their lot.

Seeing Sammy every day in school was just a reminder of her heartbreak, and Sammy desperately missed her. He told her every day that he wanted her to live with him and be his mom. All she could do was tell him that she loved him, but she couldn’t be his mom.

Through Sammy she had learned that he and his dad were camping out in the living room and work hadn’t yet started on the burned-out area of the house.

She hadn’t seen Seth for a week, and with every day that passed, her heartache only seemed to increase. She desperately missed talking to him and seeing the charming grins he’d so often cast her way.

She missed laughing with him and seeing the sparkle in his beautiful blue eyes. She also mourned the fact that she would never again be held in his big, strong arms.

She’d put up her Christmas tree in an effort to cheer herself up, but no amount of tinsel and ribbon could take away the deep anguish that continued to live inside her.

Ray and Boone tiptoed around her during the lunch periods, obviously recognizing that she was heartbroken by her separation from Seth. She’d been glad to realize they were the good friends she’d always believed them to be. Vanessa came by one evening to check on her and Suzanna had shared her heartache with her friend.

Friday morning was gloomy with the absence of any sunshine to brighten or warm the cold day. She dressed in her black slacks and a bright pink blouse that she knew looked good on her in an effort to cheer herself up, but it didn’t help. She felt as dreary as the day as she drove to school.

Normally she wasn’t a depressed kind of person. She knew she needed to pull herself up and out of it, but she just wasn’t up to it right now. After all, it had only been a week since Seth had walked out of her life.

She pulled up to the school and parked. At least if things went well at the car dealership this evening, then she would have a new vehicle to replace the one that had been totaled when Eva Dayton had forced her off the road and into the ravine.

As she walked toward the school entrance, Boone fell into step with her. “Good morning, Suzanna,” he said with one of his wide smiles.

“Back at you, Boone,” she replied.

“How are you doing this morning?” he asked.

“I’m surviving.” She forced a cheerfulness. “What about you?”

“About the same,” he returned. “It’s just another day of monster training.”

She laughed at that, and by then they were in the hallway where they parted ways. Once in her classroom she sank down at her desk and opened her notebook. She had spent part of every evening feeding in the lesson plans that had been missing due to her time with Seth.

As always, the only thing that really cheered her up was seeing her students. Sammy came into the room with a couple of other boys. He left them and greeted her by wrapping his arms tightly around her waist.

“I miss you so much, Mrs. Michaels,” he said miserably. “I wish you’d come back and live with us. I liked it the way it was before the fire.”