Show Me by Janet Dailey

Author:Janet Dailey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Open Road Media
Published: 1976-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

THE FIRST WEEK under their new agreement passed very smoothly, almost as though it didn’t exist. Tanya initially thought that Jake might be giving her a chance to back out — which was ridiculous, because Jake wasn’t the kind of man to allow anyone to go back on their word.

There had been one short outing, an after-school fishing expedition with John. His delight in having both of his parents along was so pronounced that Tanya felt guilty for not accompanying them before. Not a single ’I-told-you-so’ look had come from Jake, only an occasional glance of shared satisfaction at the boy’s happiness had been exchanged.

Tanya strolled along the winding private lane, enjoying her leisurely walk to the mail box. Two o’clock. In another three hours Jake would be coming home from his almost daily journey to the firm’s office in Springfield, sometimes in the company of his father, but more often alone. It was frightening the way she had begun to look forward to the hour of his arrival.

The shadow of a circling hawk flitted across the ground in front of her as she neared the mail box. She glanced up at the winged predator, admiring the indolent grace of his gliding flight while shivering at the sinister silence of his approach.

‘I pity the unwary rodent,’ she said aloud as she opened the mail box and riffled through the assortment of envelopes and advertisements.

Her name leaped out at her from the face of one of the envelopes. There was no mistake that it was meant for her and not Julia. It was addressed to Mrs. Tanya Lassiter. Even as she ripped it open, she knew who it would be from. These last few days she had tried several times to compose a letter to Patrick, only to have the words flow stiff and impersonally formal from her pen. With a sinking heart, she read the short message: ’Meet me Wednesday at twelve noon at the Persimmon Tree Restaurant. If you’re not there, I will know you couldn’t get away. Signed — Patrick.’

Furtively, Tanya stuffed the letter in the pocket of her lemon yellow slacks. She resisted the impulse to dash back to the house and phone him. His secretary was something of a martinet, and it would be impossible to get through her without divulging her name. Since Tanya had never had cause to call Patrick before, her sudden interest in him would set the gossiping tongues wagging.

Tomorrow was Wednesday. She had little time to decide whether she was going to meet him or not. To not go would only postpone things. Patrick would no doubt send another note of a similar nature. She might not be so lucky the next time and someone else might see it first. She had occasionally gone shopping in Springfield, and she would arouse no one’s suspicions if she went tomorrow. In that instant, Tanya knew she was going to meet Patrick without confiding in anyone the true purpose of her journey, least of all Jake.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.