Chapter 42

All Sunday morning, I wandered the house, staring at my phone. Call Beth? Call Jeri? How would I describe a visit to Mrs. Cameron? I couldn’t. At that point, what was to explain? She seemed nice. She’d taken up my offer for bible study.

Emerald lasers, Shayna’s eyes bored into me.

“Yeh. Perhaps there’s something more,” I mumbled while pulling my fingers through the fur on her neck. “But we don’t know that yet, do we?”

Though she still gazed at me, I let the phone slide into its pocket. When dad walked into the room, I looked up at him. With a grin, he nodded before glancing over his shoulder at the closed bedroom door.

“Your mother’s napping, but she wanted me to tell you ... Uh, have fun and say hello to Mrs. Cameron for us.”

“Okay, dad.”

“You sure you don’t want me to drive you up there?” Instead of his usual tussle, he combed a lock of hair from my face.

“Nah, by the time you have me loaded, tethered, and unloaded, the chariot could carry me there.” I glanced out the window at the bright blue sky and smiled. “Besides, the weather’s perfect.”

Which was a stupid thing to say. About halfway along the road, with me in a long-sleeved, white button-down shirt and navy slacks, the sun had me sweating. It was as if I were in an oven. Not as bad as in a desert, but close enough. While trotting beside me, glistening pink tongue swinging from her sharp teeth, Shayna panted. Oh, and she stared at me; her eyes said “idiot.”

For many reasons.

As the chariot whirred up the sidewalk, I glanced at Beth’s house. Although both sister’s cars remained in the driveway, the garage was shut, and her dad’s pickup was gone. After a shrug, I scanned the corner before turning to climb towards the distant end of Mrs. Cameron’s street.

Okay, I should’ve at least texted Jeri, “attending bible study.” But then what? Nothing was gonna happen anyway. Mrs. Cameron was lonely, that’s all. We’d only shared a damned strawberry shake. At Shayna’s curt glance, I nodded.

“Right, don’t say ‘damned’ in front of her.”

Once I’d rumbled closer, I spotted her well-maintained house. A large oak tree overhung most of the two-story white home’s front yard. A thick, verdant green, the lawn was immaculate. Broad, tall hedges lined either side of her property. The only thing missing was a white picket fence. Beneath a wide porch, a two-person wooden swing creaked in the warm breeze.

Porch? Steps. Yep, she had them. Not chariot-friendly. However, there was a freshly made plywood ramp atop them. As I turned up her driveway, a smile on my face, I stopped and chuckled. She’d forgotten the single step from the drive to her front walk. After a glance at Shayna, who’d loped ahead to the shade of the porch, I zagged onto the grass to circumvent it and approached the sloped wood.

“She definitely wants to discuss the bible,” I murmured while rolling to a standstill before the white-painted door. In its center, an oval pane of frosted glass was etched with flowers curled around a crucifix. As I scanned the matching sidelights, my fingertips slid through Shayna’s sun-heated fur.

After a quick nudge into my leg, Shayna surged upwards to tap the doorbell with her nose. Nope, I hadn’t taught her that, either.

Inside, the chiming was followed by the rapid echoes of click-clacking heels. With my heartbeat accelerating, I gave Shayna a last glance before the door opened wide. The world, every sound muffled by the roaring of blood in my ears, tilted.

Although she wore a modest, below-the-knee cream dress with a dusty rose floral print, it clung to Mrs. Cameron’s full chest and hips. Held at the back by an engraved silver hair clip, her long, normally straight red tresses were curled and half-up, half-down. From the open door, the dazzling sunlight glimmered off glossy lipstick as crimson flowed up her cheeks.

And her eyes! A vivid shade of light blue, they shimmered in the sunshine.

“Uh, hi, Kyle.” Brilliant red nails shone in the sun as she swept her palms over her flanks before stepping aside. “Um, please. Uh, come on in.”

When Shayna surged forward, gliding along her leg, a whimper slid from Mrs. Cameron’s quivering lips. Even as she lowered her fingers, trying to pet her, Shayna moved further inside. With her tail wagging, she sniffed at the dark parquet floors. Before us was a carpeted staircase leading upstairs, while an oval mirror was on a tan wall above a dusky-wooden table in the small foyer.

After I sent the chariot tharump-clunking over the high threshold, it squeaked to a halt before her.

“Thanks, um, for inviting us, Mrs. Cameron,” I said as she pushed the door closed.

“Oh, um. It’s no problem at all.” Her eyes tracked Shayna, snuffling across her formal front room’s thick sable carpet.

At first, I thought she’d direct me towards the wood-paneled room. Before a stone fireplace was an overstuffed, flower-print couch and matching chairs, along with a cherry-wood coffee table. Beside one chair, a low stack of books covered a smaller table. Bookshelves stuffed with texts of all shapes and sizes lined the wall opposite an expansive front bay window. In gilded frames, an eclectic collection of painted bible scenes hung on the walls.

“You’ve got a beautiful home, Mrs. Cameron.” I flashed her a smile as Shayna sliced across the parquet entry, chasing a scent through her dining room.

As the dog dodged under and around polished wooden chairs and a long rectangular dining table, I scanned Mrs. Cameron. Although she tracked Shayna, she kept shooting me sidelong glances as her fists tightened along her hips. When Shayna disappeared through a doorway to head for the rear of the house, Mrs. Cameron grinned at me.

“She’s gonna find lunch before we do, Kyle.”

“Well, we’d better catch her then.”

After a swift nod, Mrs. Cameron stepped before me to chase after Shayna. As we moved deeper, to one side was the kitchen, while the other had an open doorway with stairs leading down to a basement door. The kitchen was laid out like Beth’s, with a large window opening onto a pool deck. At the far end of the descending yard were trees and a thick hedge, beyond which were glimpses of the worn gray shingles of our smaller home’s roof.

Atop a small round table, Mrs. Cameron had set two places facing each other. On fine bone China, she’d stacked quartered sandwiches, while in the middle sat a large yellow and white cake.

“Uh, I wasn’t sure what you could eat.” As she spoke, her eyes drifted to the well-worn leather-bound bible next to a placemat. “So, um, I did peanut but—”

“Whatever you’ve made, I’m certain it’s wonderful,” I said while rolling to the other place setting.

“I’ve got iced tea. Or soda. Or—”

“I’ll drink what you’re drinking.” As Shayna tore back to me, tail whipping, I laughed. “She likes your house, too.”

After a quick grin, Mrs. Cameron poured two glasses of iced tea and placed several sandwiches on my plate before sweeping her hands under her dress and sitting. Just as she lifted her sandwich, I raised my chair and sighed.

“Uh, could I get a straw, Mrs. Cameron?”

“Oh. Yes, of course.” After dropping the sandwich, she surged from the chair and raced to a kitchen drawer. “How stupid of me. Sorry, Kyle.”

“It’s not stupid, Mrs. Cameron.” I took a bite as she dashed back, a straw in her fist. As she placed it in my glass, I grinned at her. “You simply didn’t know.”

After sitting once more, she sipped her tea and chewed while I ate. With a humph, Shayna lay beside me before settling her muzzle on her paws. Time slowed, and the silence dragged. As I swallowed a sandwich chunk, my gaze drifted out over her free-form pool. Its blue waters glittered under the midday sun. On the far side, a single, white-painted chaise lounge lay near a small, round white wooden table. Closer was a larger table beneath an umbrella similar to ours. While four chairs were present, only one had been pushed out.

“So, uh, what, um...?” After returning to Mrs. Cameron, I glanced at the bible. “Other than, uh, religion, do you have any hobbies?”

“Um, yes. I enjoy sewing. A lot.” A smile appeared on her face. “In fact, I made this dress.”

“Wow!” My eyebrows lifted.

With her grin widening, she leaned back, giving me an excuse to roam her tense, shapely figure beneath the subtle, intricate print. When my eyes regained hers, crimson covered her cheeks. “It’s beautiful, Mrs. Cameron. It really is.”

“Aw, you think so?” Her voice raised an octave. After placing the glass to her lips, she took a demure sip. Over its rim, her light blue pools sparkled at me. After she swallowed, her hand shook while lowering the iced tea to the table and lifting a new sandwich quarter. “That’s very sweet of you, Kyle.”

“It’s true.” After a shrug, I took another bite.

Silence returned, though her nervous gaze now spent more time on me than wandering the room. After several more sandwiches disappeared and I’d slurped the last of my iced tea, I sighed and glanced at Shayna before returning to her. Okay. Well, what else could we talk about?

“Where do you work?”

At first, she tilted her head and remained quiet, but after dabbing her glossy red lips clean, she took a deep breath. As she leaned forward to refill my glass, it took everything I had to maintain eye contact. I really wanted to stare into the darkness in the tiny rose-lined gap of her dress beneath her chin.

“First Bank of Linville.” With her fist tightening on a napkin, she pursed her lips. “It’s not bad. I handle loans. I’m getting a new boss.” After a swift flicker of her glittery tongue around her mouth, a longer sigh slid free. “And I hate both contenders.”

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