Page 56 of Unforgiven

“You shouldn’t say that.”

“I can’t help it if it’s true.”

True. “I suppose you have a point.” After walking to the stove, she put on the kettle. Then, seeing that Chance still hadn’t left her side, she opened a jar and handed him a dog treat. “What did you do today?”

“I’ve been working on a house in Marion. The family needed a handyman, so I’ve been doing all sorts of things, from fixing some chewed floorboards to switching out faucets and building some shelves for their garage.”

“Do you like doing so many things?”

“I do with this job. The couple is nice. The husband works at a bank. Plus, it’s a happy home. I’ve been doing work around two kids and two Labrador retrievers.” He chuckled. “There’s fluff from the dogs’ black fur everywhere.”

“Sounds chaotic and messy.”

“It is. But the kinner are friendly and don’t seem to fear me, which I appreciate. I’m less than five minutes away now.”

Five minutes? He had to be jogging. But she could do five minutes. “That’s gut.” She sat on one of the kitchen chairs, too afraid to go into the living room. Anyone could be looking inside.

“Tabitha?”

“Jah?”

“Try not to let your imagination run wild.”

“I’m trying not to, but Leon could be in the yard, Seth. He could be hiding and watching me through the window.”

“He could. But he also might not be, right?”

“You’re not helping.”

“I see your house now. Almost there. I’m going to hang up. Look for me.”

Abruptly the call ended.

And just like that, her hands started shaking again. Even though she knew better, she stared at the phone’s screen. Watched each minute pass. Took long, slow breaths and tried not to panic.

Chance sat down beside her chair, and she ran a hand along his soft fur. “We’ve almost made it.”

When she heard a loud noise outside near her yard, she feared she’d been wrong.

20

Seth reached the driveway just seconds after the Crittenden County Sheriff’s Department vehicle parked beside the house. He slowed his pace. He didn’t know Deputy Junior Ernst well, but he’d heard that he was something of a hothead—that he supposedly had a good heart but made mistakes. That he was so eager to make a name for himself, he sometimes cut corners and then hid behind the badge when questioned.

He watched the deputy get out, say something into the radio attached to a shoulder strap on his uniform, and then shut the door and shine a flashlight into the nearby woods. The November sun set early, but it wasn’t completely dark yet.

The flashlight’s beam was bright, illuminating several yards of the surrounding yard and woods at a time. Each time the deputy cascaded the light in an arc, the forest floor’s grasses and shrubs snapped and swayed. Critters were taking cover. The man ignored the ground noise, remaining alert and intent. Obviously taking Tabitha’s call seriously.

Right as Seth thought that maybe there was more to Deputy Ernst than most folks realized, the man turned on his heel and shined the light right on him.

“Hold it right there!”

Seth stopped and raised his hands. The light was so bright he couldn’t see a thing. “It’s Seth Zimmerman, Deputy.”

“I know who you are. What are you doing here?”

“Tabitha called me.” He shifted, averting his eyes from the blinding beam.

“Don’t move.”

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