CHAPTER FOUR
1683 Words
CHAPTER FOUR
When Riley stepped inside her house, the place seemed eerily empty.
“I’m home,” she called out.
But nobody replied.
Where is everybody? Her alarm started to turn into panic.
Was it possible that Shane Hatcher had slipped through all that security after all?
Riley struggled not to imagine what might have happened if he had. Her pulse and breathing quickened as she hurried to the family room.
All three kids—April, Liam, and Jilly—were there. April and Liam were playing chess and Jilly was playing a video game.
“Didn’t you hear me?” she asked.
All three looked up at her with blank expressions. They had obviously all been concentrating on what they were doing.
She was about to ask the kids where Gabriela was when she heard her housekeeper’s voice behind her.
“Are you home, Señora Riley? I was downstairs and I thought I heard you come in.”
Riley smiled at the stout Guatemalan woman.
“Yes, I just got in,” she said, breathing easier now.
With a welcoming nod and a smile, Gabriela turned and headed toward the kitchen.
April looked up from the game she was playing with Liam.
“Is everything OK, Mom? You look kind of agitated.”
“I’m fine,” Riley said.
April turned her attention back to the game.
Riley took a moment to marvel how mature her fifteen-year-old daughter looked. April was slender, tall, and dark-haired, with Riley’s hazel eyes. April had been through more than her share of life-threatening danger during the last few months. But she seemed to be doing very well these days.
Riley looked over at Jilly, a smaller girl with olive skin and big dark eyes. Riley was in the process of adopting her. At the moment, Jilly was sitting in front of a large screen blasting bad guys away.
Riley frowned a little. She didn’t like violent video games. As far as she was concerned, they made violence—especially gun violence—seem both too attractive and too sanitized. She believed they had an especially bad influence on boys.
Still, Riley considered, maybe these games were harmless compared to Jilly’s own experience. After all, the thirteen-year-old had survived real-life horrors. When Riley had found Jilly, she had been trying to sell her body out of sheer desperation. Thanks to Riley, Jilly had a chance at a better life.
Liam looked up from the chessboard.
“Hey, Riley. I was wondering …”
He hesitated before asking his question.
Liam was the newcomer to the household. Riley had no plans to adopt the tall, gangly kid with red hair and blue eyes. But she had rescued him from a drunken father who had beaten him up. He needed a place to live right now.
“What is it, Liam?” Riley asked.
“Is it OK if I go to a chess competition tomorrow?”
“Could I go too?” April asked.
Riley smiled again. Liam and April had been dating when Liam had come to live down here in the family room, but they had promised to keep that relationship on hold for the time being. They had to be hermanos solamente, as Gabriela had put it—brother and sister only.
Riley liked Liam, all the more so because of the positive influence the bright boy had on April. He’d gotten April interested in chess and foreign languages and schoolwork in general.
“Of course you can go, both of you,” she said.
But then she felt a renewed burst of worry. She got out her cell phone and found some photos of Shane Hatcher and showed them to all three kids.
“But you’ve got to watch out for Shane Hatcher,” she said. “You’ve got these pictures on your own phones. Always remember exactly what he looks like. Contact me right away if you see anyone who looks anything like him.”
Liam and April looked at Riley with surprise.
“You’ve told us all this before,” Jilly said. “And we’ve looked at those pictures a thousand times. Has something changed?”
Riley wavered for a moment. She didn’t want to scare the kids. But she felt that they needed to be warned.
“I got a message from Hatcher a little while ago,” she said. “It was …”
She hesitated again.
“It was a threat. That’s why I want you all to be especially on your guard.”
To Riley’s surprise, Jilly grinned at her.
“Does this mean we get to stay home from school when spring break is over?” she asked.
Riley was startled by Jilly’s nonchalance. She also briefly wondered—maybe Jilly had the right idea. Should she keep the kids out of school? And should Liam and April not go to that chess competition tomorrow?
Before she could think things through, April said, “Don’t be silly, Jilly. Of course we’re going to keep right on going to school. It’s not like we can put our lives on hold.”
Then turning to Riley, April added, “It’s not a real threat. Even I know that. Remember what happened in January?”
Riley remembered all too well. Hatcher had saved April and Riley’s ex-husband, Ryan, from a killer bent on revenge against Riley. She also remembered how Shane Hatcher had delivered the killer bound and gagged for Riley to deal with at her own discretion.
April went on, “Hatcher wouldn’t hurt us. He went to a lot of trouble to save me.”
Maybe April’s got a point, Riley thought. At least where she and the other kids are concerned. But she was still glad that the agents were stationed outside.
April shrugged a little and added, “Life goes on. We’ve all got to keep doing what we do.”
Jilly said, “And that goes for you too, Mom. It’s a good thing you got home early. You’ve got plenty of time to get ready for tonight.”
For a second, Riley couldn’t remember what Jilly meant.
Then it came back to her—she had a date tonight with her handsome former neighbor, Blaine Hildreth. Blaine was the owner of one of the nicest casual restaurants here in Fredericksburg. He was planning to come by and pick Riley up and treat her to a wonderful dinner.
April hopped to her feet.
“Hey, that’s right!” she said. “Come on, Mom. Let’s go upstairs and I’ll help you choose something to wear.”
*
Later that evening, Riley was sitting on the candlelit patio at Blaine’s Grill, enjoying wonderful weather, excellent food, and charming company. Across the table from her, Blaine cut a handsome figure as always. He was just a little younger than Riley, lean and fit, with a slightly receding hairline that he wasn’t the least bit vain about.
Riley also found him to be a pleasant conversationalist. As they ate a delicious dinner of rosemary chicken pasta, they chatted about current events, memories of long-ago times and travels, and goings-on in Fredericksburg.
Riley was delighted that their talk never once turned to her work at the BAU. She was in no mood to even think about that. Blaine seemed to sense that and steer clear of the subject. One thing Riley really liked about Blaine was his sensitivity to her moods.
In fact, there was very little about Blaine that Riley didn’t like. True, they’d had a bit of a spat not long ago. Blaine had tried to make Riley jealous over a woman friend, and he had succeeded all too well. Now they were both able to laugh about how childish they’d both been.
Maybe it was partly the wine, but Riley felt warm and relaxed inside. Blaine was comfortable company—fairly recently divorced like Riley, and anxious to get on with life without quite knowing how.
Dessert finally arrived—Riley’s favorite, raspberry cheesecake. She smiled a little as she remembered how April had secretly called Blaine before an earlier date to alert him to some of Riley’s favorite things, including raspberry cheesecake and her favorite song—“One More Night” by Phil Collins.
As she enjoyed her cheesecake, Riley talked about her kids, especially how Liam was settling in.
“I was a little worried at first,” she admitted. “But he’s an awfully good kid, and we all love having him around the house.”
Riley paused for a moment. It felt positively luxurious to have someone to talk to about her domestic doubts and worries.
“Blaine, I don’t know what I’m going to do with Liam in the long run. I just can’t send him back to that drunken brute of a father, and God only knows what’s become of his mother. But I don’t see how I can legally adopt him. Taking in Jilly has been really complicated and it’s not settled yet. I don’t know if I can do it again.”
Blaine smiled at her sympathetically.
“You’ll just take things one day at a time, I guess,” he said. “And whatever you do, it will be the best thing for him.”
Riley shook her head a bit sadly.
“I wish I knew that for sure,” she said.
Blaine reached across the table and took hold of her hand.
“Well, take my word for it,” he said. “What you’ve already done for Liam and Jilly is wonderful and generous. I admire you so much for it.”
Riley felt a lump form in her throat. How often did anyone ever say anything like that to her? She was often praised for her work in the BAU, and had even received a Medal of Perseverance recently. But she was not accustomed to being praised for simple human things. She hardly knew how to take it.
Then Blaine said, “You’re a good woman, Riley Paige.”
Riley felt tears well up in her eyes. She laughed nervously as she wiped them away.
“Oh, look what you’ve done,” she said. “You’ve made me cry.”
Blaine shrugged, and his smile grew even warmer.
“Sorry. Just trying to be brutally honest. The truth sometimes hurts, I guess.”
They laughed together for a few moments.
Finally Riley said, “But I haven’t asked about your daughter. How’s Crystal doing?”
Blaine looked away with a bittersweet smile.
“Crystal’s doing just great—good grades, happy and cheerful. She’s away right now for spring break, at the beach with her cousins and my sister.”
Blaine sighed a little. “It’s only been a couple of days, but it’s amazing how fast I start missing her.”
It was all Riley could do not to start crying all over again. She’d known all along that Blaine was a wonderful father. What might it be like to be in a more permanent relationship with him?
Careful, she told herself. Let’s not rush things.
Meanwhile, she had almost finished her raspberry cheesecake.
“Thank you, Blaine,” she said. “It’s been such a lovely evening.”
Gazing into his eyes, she added, “I hate to see it end.”
Gazing back at her, Blaine squeezed her hand.
“Who says it has to end?” he asked.
Riley smiled. She knew her smile was enough to answer his question.
After all, why should their evening end? The FBI was guarding her family and no new killer was demanding her attention.
Maybe it was time to enjoy herself.
- Writer
