Back then.
Not so much now.
And now she wished he had put up security cams outside.
She thought she’d seen that same dog but didn’t understand why he would stay here. She was a little jumpy as it was, since she and her son had been involved in a fender bender three weeks ago and subsequently had learned that her ex-husband had paid someone to intentionally slam into her. The very nerve of the man drove her crazy.
Separated for two years now, back then she’d gotten pregnant, and, when she had shared the good news with her husband, he had told her quite clearly that he wanted nothing to do with any kid or her. But now that Danny was alive and well, George had contacted her via their divorce lawyers just a couple months or so ago to say he now wanted his son.
All the peace and quiet that she’d fought so long and hard for was gone just like that. Part of her wanted to doubt that the fender bender could have been somebody acting at George’s request, but the guy had said that this was a message from George as he drove away. That had been enough to send her blood pressure through the roof, and her fears put her life into a tailspin.
She hadn’t reported it to the cops though because George was one of those scary kinds of guys. And, if he thought he could get away with murder, he would. The police wouldn’t stop him. She still pondered and chewed on the idea of reporting him, but the farther away from the accident she got, it all felt more foolish than anything. How would she possibly answer the evitable questions, such as why she hadn’t told them at the scene of the accident? Because she was afraid of her ex? But wasn’t that all the more reason to go to the police?
She picked up Danny and held him tight. When the toddler squirmed to be let down, she moved outside and put him on the veranda. She had a small fence all around it to stop him from going out into the big yard and was never more grateful for that than when she first saw the dog.
She didn’t understand that. But there’d been nothing but craziness since that fender bender. Well, actually before that. Three months ago George decided he wanted Danny now. His lawyer had contacted her lawyers. So she was more paranoid than ever, feeling like she was being watched all the time.
Now she didn’t know what to do. She called her mom, but her mother was of the opinion that Jessica was once again overwrought, making a big deal out of nothing. “You feel like you’re being watched? Jessica, really? And chase off the damn dog. It could have rabies or worse. If you had just stayed married, everything would have been fine.”
But then that was her mother—you were nobody if you didn’t have a man. Jessica gave a bitter laugh. “I wasn’t exactly anybody with that man,” she muttered to herself.
Her gaze kept scanning the backyard. That dog had been huge, dark, and shepherd looking, but she didn’t understand what he was doing here. Especially since she thought for sure she’d seen him at the accident site. An animal rescue was nearby, and he’d been in a pen. At least she thought so. The whole thing had been such a nightmare that she wasn’t even sure what she’d seen.
When the driver of the other vehicle in the fender bender had tried to get too close to Danny, who was in her car with her at the time of the accident, they’d had a screaming match, and he threatened to call the cops. The woman from the shelter had stepped out and had asked if there was a problem, and the guy had told Jessica this was a message from George. Then a dog appeared from the right and chased the man back into his truck and he took off.
The dog continued down the road after him. She didn’t know what would cause the dog to do that or who it belonged to. She thought it might have jumped the fence but didn’t get a clear enough vision of it to be sure.
She didn’t live too far away, just a couple miles, and, after the accident, she quickly got in her car and drove home. But she’d been shaky and upset ever since. And now she couldn’t get the idea out of her mind that the dog was hanging around. Never really close but always just on the perimeter.
She hesitated about feeding it because what if it was dangerous? She had her son to worry about. At the same time, it made absolutely no sense that the dog would have gone after the other driver.
Still she was torn, hoping the dog had good intentions toward her and her son. But she wasn’t sure either way, and never being exposed to animals of any kind—because her mother considered them dirty disease-infested critters—she didn’t know how the dog’s behavior could be explained in this instance.
She stepped forward and picked up Danny, hugging him again, feeling that need to connect with her son, until he once again squirmed and cried out. She realized she was holding him too tight. With a shaky smile, she put him back down again. “Mommy loves you.”
He beamed and said, “Bubboo too.”
She chuckled. “Why don’t we go inside and play?”
He shook his head. “Outside.”
“Of course you want to play outside,” she spoke quietly to herself. “I mean, we live in Hawaii.” The weather was gorgeous here, and her son always wanted to be outside. It just didn’t make her feel very good to know that something or someone out there was watching them. If she knew it was the dog for sure, she could at least put it down to the animal. But it didn’t necessarily have that same feel. It was as if she were being watched all the time. It was unnerving enough but downright terrifying to think that her ex-husband was behind it.
Finally unable to contain herself, she snatched Danny up and walked inside. Locking the double French doors, she headed to the kitchen against the wiggly protests from her son. Quickly she sat him in his high chair and said, “Let’s make cookies.”
Chapter 2
Several days later Jessica had that same horrible feeling again. She was doing dishes in the kitchen, while her son was still eating his breakfast. She looked outside and thought she saw an animal darting between the trees that bordered her property. But after staring at the area for a long while, she saw nothing. Upset and frustrated, she knew if she could at least get a proper look at it, she’d know if it was the same animal.
As she took yet another look outside, she swore to God she saw a face in the trees. Her heart slammed against her chest, and she froze, then sucked her breath back down her throat. For a moment there, she thought it was George. She closed her eyes and collapsed against the counter, wishing to God she’d never had that fender bender or been threatened by George’s thug.
George hadn’t done anything directly to her or her son. He hadn’t called, hadn’t emailed. He had his lawyer do his dirty work, with the initial filing for separation and divorce, and the most recent notice that George wanted Danny. So what was she supposed to do with this now?
Behind her, Danny called out, “Mommy?”
She bolstered up a bright smile, then turned and squatted beside him. “I’m fine, sweetie. Mommy is just tired.”
He beamed. “Mommy needs nap.”
“Wouldn’t that be nice,” she said, chuckling. “We’re going shopping instead.”
“Yay!”
She knew he didn’t understand the word, but that was okay. He would soon enough. It was all good.
She quickly cleaned off his little tray, washed his hands and face, let him down out of the high chair, and finished cleaning up the kitchen. She hated the fact that every time she came close to a window, she glanced outside to look—only to see nothing there. Her heart calmed down a little bit, but it was just not enough. She couldn’t resist the opportunity to get away for a while. So she quickly dressed him in his sneakers, grabbed his stroller, and, with her purse and keys in hand, she locked up the house and went out the front door. She could drive, but right now she wanted the exercise that would be gained if they just went for a walk. She only needed to pick up a couple things, so it didn’t really matter.