Private Vows by Sally C. Berneathy

Author:Sally C. Berneathy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-10-15T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

Mary whirled away from the window, away from the gruesome sight. Heart pounding in fear, she raced across the room to the door, but then caught herself before she could turn the knob.

Where was she going?

To Cole, of course. To his strong arms, to beg him to keep her safe.

No.

She would not again put herself in the position of seeing pity and sympathy in Cole’s dark eyes.

Standing immobile, her fingers frozen around the knob, unable to leave the room but terrified to stay, she could almost feel the hot breath of the creature on her neck. The scent of roses seemed to permeate the air, choking her. The room was almost as bright as day with the full moon, but the edges began to darken, urging her away from the things she couldn’t face.

No! She wasn’t going to run anymore.

Drawing in a deep though shaky breath, Mary pried her fingers from the knob and forced herself to walk back across to the window. Perhaps what she’d seen had only been an unusual configuration of a tree highlighted by the moon shadows, with her fear supplying the rest of the details.

Outside her window, moonlight shimmered on the peaceful scene, illuminating the trees and grounds with no hint of the nightmare vision.

Had she imagined the whole thing?

It was possible, she supposed, then rejected the idea. She had seen someone out there. The creature had moved, had stepped from behind a tree and opened his arms to her.

But the woods surrounding Cole’s backyard spread before her in their nighttime tranquillity. Whatever had been there was gone. She should close the curtains, go back to bed and forget the whole thing.

Try to forget the whole thing.

No way could she do that. The adrenaline of fear flooded her body, the fight-or-flight response to danger, and she was tired of fleeing. Somehow she had to be certain that no one was hiding in those woods, that those arms weren’t out there waiting for the chance to grab her. If she couldn’t confront her present fears, what possible chance did she have to confront the fears in her past that lurked just out of sight in her mind?

With a final glance at the undisturbed serenity below, she hurried across the room a second time, out the door and down the stairs, through the kitchen to the back door, quickly, before she lost her courage. Her fingers trembled so badly she had to punch in the code for the alarm system twice before getting it right.

Through the window in the door she could see only what she’d seen from upstairs. The patio with the white wrought-iron furniture. A charcoal grill. The woods beyond. Nothing to fear.

She took the dead-bolt key from its hook beside the refrigerator, out of reach of anyone who might break through the window but easily accessible in case of fire or other emergency.

Nothing to fear, she told her thundering heart.

But there was no point in being foolish. Opening the knife drawer, she selected the longest and sharpest, unlocked the door, straightened her spine and stepped out onto the patio.

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