Page 94 of Coach
But it was right then I saw something move out of the corner of my eye.
A scream gathered in my chest.
Then died in my throat.
The shadow that had haunted me for years was back.
And it was coming right for me.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Este
No.
No, no, no, no, no.
A cry rose in my throat but died there as fear squeezed my throat.
This could not be happening.
I was supposed to be safe in Shady Valley.
Well, if notsafeexactly, then at least able to have some sort of heads-up. He should have stood out like a sore thumb. I should have seen him from a mile away.
Even as I thought that, though, he loomed closer.
That familiar height—almost unnaturally tall.
But the frame was different.
Much thinner than I remembered him.
Gone was at least a hundred pounds, probably more.
Could it be that simple?
Had weight loss made him not stand out to me?
Even though I knew that face? Those eyes?
Had I even been looking?
I knew the answer immediately.
No.
No, I’d been too damn distracted.
I was working, renovating, falling for Saul, spending time with my dog.
I didn’t remember the last time my gaze simply scanned the streets or the stores when I was inside them.
Could he have been here all along? Lurking around aisle end caps? Watching me from a parked car? Hiding in a corner of the pool hall?
I hated to admit it, but… maybe.
I’d been so careful. My whole life had been built around rituals that forced me to be hyper-aware of my surroundings, of everyone who was—and wasn’t—around me.
