Valley of Shadows and Stranger in the Shadows: Valley of Shadows\Stranger in the Shadows by Shirlee McCoy

Author:Shirlee McCoy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Published: 2012-03-25T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Two

The industrial-size kitchen had a modern feel with a touch of old-time charm, the stainless steel counters and appliances balanced by mellow gold paint, white cabinets and hardwood floor. Chloe hovered in the doorway, wary, unsure of herself in a way she hadn’t been a year ago, watching as Ben plugged in a coffeemaker and pulled a can of coffee from a cupboard. He gestured her over and Chloe stepped into the room ignoring the erratic beat of her heart. “This is a nice space.”

“Yeah, it is, but I can’t take credit. We remodeled a couple of years ago. The church ladies decided on the setup and color scheme. Opal pretty much spearheaded the project.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. She’s a take-charge kind of person. It’s one of the things I admire about her.”

“Have you known her long?” He leaned a hip against the counter, relaxed and at ease. Apparently not at all disturbed by the fact that he’d been called out of bed before dawn on a cool November day to help a woman he didn’t know set up flowers for a wedding he was probably officiating.

Strange.

Interesting.

Intriguing.

Enough!

Chloe rubbed the scarred flesh on her wrist, forcing her thoughts back to the conversation. “Since I was a kid.”

“You grew up in Lakeview?” His gaze was disconcerting, and Chloe resisted the urge to look away.

“No, I visited in the summer.” She didn’t add more. The past was something she didn’t share. Especially not with strangers.

Ben seemed to take the hint, turning away and pulling sugar packets from a cupboard. “It’s a good place to spend the summer. And the fall, winter and spring.” He smiled. “There’s cream in the fridge if you take it. I’d better get moving on those boxes.”

With that he strode from the room, his movements lithe and silent, almost catlike in their grace. He might be a pastor now, but Chloe had a feeling he’d been something else before he’d felt a call to ministry. Military. Police. Firefighter. Something that required control, discipline and strength.

Not that it mattered or was any of her business.

Chloe shook her head, reaching for a coffee filter and doing her best to concentrate on the task at hand. Obviously, the nightmare had thrown her off, destroying her focus and hard-won control. She needed to get both back and she needed to do it now. Opal was counting on her. There was no way she planned to disappoint the one person in her life who had never disappointed her.

She paced across the room, staring out the window above the sink, anxiety a cold, hard knot in her chest. New beginnings. That’s what she hoped for. Prayed for. But maybe she was too entrenched in the past to ever escape it. Maybe coming to Lakeview was nothing more than putting off the inevitable.

Outside, dawn bathed the churchyard in purple light and deep shadows, the effect sinister. Ominous.

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