Stalker in the Shadows
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Carla Cassidy
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Chapter One
“Ainsley, order up,” Eddie Burwell, aka Big Ed, called from the pass-through window between the kitchen and the dining area of the Dusty Gulch Café.
Ainsley Meadows hurried to the window to pick up her order. “Hmm, looks good, Big Ed,” she said of the day’s special of an open-face hot roast beef sandwich with a special slaw on the side.
Big Ed flashed his wide, toothless grin in response. He told everyone he had gotten rid of his teeth to better taste the food he cooked. But the rumor was he’d really lost his teeth in a bar fight years ago when he’d been young and courting the wrong side of the law.
She carried the order to Jim Nelson, one of her regulars. Jim was an attractive older man with snow-white hair and a sweet disposition. She always enjoyed waiting on him.
“Here you go, Mr. Nelson,” she said as she placed the plate before him. “Can I get you more coffee?”
“Not right now,” he replied. “You always take good care of me when I come in.”
“I try,” she replied with a smile.
She definitely tried to do the best job she could as a waitress here at the Dusty Gulch Café. She was hoping to make the small Kansas town her forever home.
When Big Ed, who not only cooked for the café but was also the owner, had hired her as a waitress, he had quickly learned she was alone with her eight-year-old daughter. They were stranded in town with car trouble and had no place to stay. So he’d offered her the apartment in the back of the café, which had been emptied by his daughter when she’d left town a couple of years ago.
Ainsley had been thrilled with the accommodations and considered it her first real bit of luck in a very long time. She’d been in town for two and a half months now, and she prayed that finally she and her daughter, Melinda, would be safe here, that this was finally the place where they could put down roots and not live in fear.
The noon rush had just passed when fellow waitress Lana Kincaid sidled up to Ainsley at the coffee machine. “Don’t look now, but your man just walked in.”
Ainsley flashed a quick glance over her shoulder to the café’s front door, where Deputy Sheriff Hunter Churchill had just entered.
She quickly looked back at the older waitress. “He’s not my man,” she protested even as her heartbeat quickened at the sight of him.
“He wants to be,” Lana replied and then cackled. “Trust me, I’ve been through four marriages. I know when a man has the hots for a woman, and that man definitely has the hots for you.”
“Stop it,” Ainsley protested. “I think the coffee fumes you inhale all day long have made you delusional,” she added with a laugh of her own. Still, if Ainsley was honest with herself, she’d confess she had a bit of a crush on the handsome deputy.
When she turned around and saw the deputy seated in one of her booths, she couldn’t help the warmth that filled her cheeks.
She pulled her order pad from her apron pocket and approached the booth. “Good afternoon, Deputy Churchill,” she greeted him.
“Afternoon, Ainsley. How’s my favorite waitress doing today?” His deep green eyes seemed to smile at her just before his lips curved into the gesture.
“I don’t know, I’ll have to ask Lana how she’s doing,” she replied teasingly.
He laughed. “Oh no. Don’t even mention my name to that man-eating woman. I have no desire to be her husband number five.”
“I’ll do my best try to protect you from her,” she replied with a grin.
Deputy Hunter Churchill’s rich dark hair was short and neat, and his features were classically sculpted. He was tall and lean and broad shouldered. He wore his khaki uniform with a confidence that instantly portrayed strength and only added to his overwhelming attractiveness.
He’d been playfully flirtatious with her since the first time she’d waited on him, and it had only been recently that she felt comfortable enough to tease and flirt back a little.
“What can I get for you today?” She looked down at her order pad. Even with all the different odors in the room—the frying onions and hot coffee, the baking meats and aromatic sauces—she could still smell his enticing, slightly spicy, slightly woodsy cologne.
“How’s the special?” he asked.
She gazed at him once again and smiled. “We’ve had lots of orders for the special and so far no complaints.”
“So, what you’re telling me is nobody has died from eating the special today.” He grinned again, and the temperature in the room seemed to shoot up a hundred degrees.
She laughed. “That’s exactly right.”
“Okay, then, I’ll take the roast beef with a regular soda,” he replied.
“I’ll be right back with your soda.” She hurried away from the booth, put his order in and then went to the soda machine. As she drew his drink, she released a deep breath.
Hunter was the first man in years who made her remember she was a twenty-nine-year-old single woman who had been alone for a long time.
Is it safe? The familiar words jumped into her mind. They were words that had haunted her for a little over three years. She hoped it was safe to make a home here in Dusty Gulch.
It was important for her daughter that they put down real roots and try to build a normal life without fear. Deep in her heart, she wasn’t even sure that was possible.
She shoved these troubling thoughts aside and hurried back to Hunter’s booth to deliver the drink. “Here we go,” she said as she put the glass in front of him.
“Thanks. How’s your day going?” he asked.
“Good, what about you? Are you catching all the bad guys in Dusty Gulch?”
He laughed. “Right now the bad guys have all been fairly quiet...just the way we like it.”
“That’s good. Uh...let me just go check on your food order.”
“Ainsley, before you go, I was just wondering if you ever go out on your days off or in the evenings after work?”
“In the couple of months that I’ve been in town, nobody has asked me out,” she replied, her heart quickening by the spark in his eyes.
“What if somebody did? Would you be interested in going out?”
“It would depend on who was asking,” she replied with a teasing smile.
“What if I’m asking? Would you be interested in maybe going out to dinner someplace else on your night off? And of course your daughter is invited.”
Is it safe? It’s just a dinner out. The two voices whispered in her head. Surely it was safe after all this time. “I’d be interested, but not with Melinda,” she replied. Her cheeks warmed with a blush.
She’d never really thought about dating, but she definitely didn’t want to invite her daughter into spending time with some random guy Ainsley went out to dinner with.
Hunter smiled. “Great, so when is your next night off?” The man had a gorgeous grin that involved not only his lips, but every other muscle in his face. It was a smile that welcomed you in, one that warmed the person it was directed at.
“Ainsley?”
“Ainsley, order up,” Big Ed yelled.
She flushed, realizing she’d been staring at Hunter in silence for too long. “Thursday,” she said. “I’m off on Thursdays.”
“Do you like Chinese?”
“I love it,” she replied.
“Then how about I pick you up Thursday around five and we’ll go to the Red Wok and over dinner we can get to know each other.”
“Ainsley,” Big Ed hollered again.
“That sounds good,” she replied. “And now if I don’t pick up your order, Big Ed is going to have a heart attack.” She hurried away from the booth with the sound of Hunter’s deep, pleasant rumble of laughter warming her.
Once he’d been served, she continued to wait on the patrons that continued to trickle in, but in the back of her mind she thought about the date with Hunter that would occur in two days.
She’d never really considered what life might look like if they ever managed to settle in somewhere. Working at the café she’d met a lot of the Dusty Gulch natives, and for the most part she’d enjoyed her interaction with all of them.
However, she’d never thought ahead enough to see herself in a position to make real friends or to date anyone. And now a handsome deputy had asked her out.
Of all the people she could choose to hang out with, anyone in law enforcement would be the last she would pick. If she didn’t play things right, he could be very dangerous to her.
Still, she couldn’t help that something about Hunter Churchill drew her. Besides the fact that she found him drop-dead gorgeous, there was something in the very depths of his green eyes that pulled her in, that made her want to get to know him better.
It was a whisper of pain and Ainsley knew all about pain...both the physical and the emotional kind. It was that pain that had forced her to make decisions she’d never dreamed she would have to make.
As she thought about her date with Hunter, there was both an excitement and a sadness inside her. She was excited to spend time with him and get to know him better. And the sadness came from knowing she was going to lie to him about who she was and where she’d come from.
The faint stir of misery came from the fact that everything about her was a complete lie, from the color of her hair to her very name.
HUNTER LEANED BACK at his desk in the Dusty Gulch police station. There were only five large desks in the room, shared by a total of fourteen deputies. Sheriff Wayne Black’s private office was behind a closed glass door just in back of the five deputies’ desks.
Lanie Byrant was the first person anyone interacted with when they came into the station. She was a charming brunette with sparkling blue eyes and met everyone who came in with a problem with dignity and respect. She was also the gatekeeper between the public and the officers.
Although Hunter found the twenty-three-year-old attractive, he’d never had a romantic interest in her. Instead she was more like a little sister to him.
That was the sum of the Dusty Gulch police force, and over the past two months they had been stretched thin with the murder of an old man while he slept and the sensational story of terror and attempted murder among the powerful and wealthy Albright family.
Thankfully things were back to normal with the usual crimes of speeding, stealing, mischief and public intoxication. It was as if the winds of September had blown away the evil that had possessed some of the town people in the month of August.
Hunter looked up from a report he’d been writing as the door opened and Deputy Nick Marshall walked in. “Hey, buddy,” he greeted as he sat at the desk across from Hunter. “What’s happening?”
Nick and Hunter were the only two single men on the force. They had grown up together on neighboring farms. Nick was thirty four years old, two years older than Hunter and one of his closest friends.
“I’m just finishing writing up a report about Ben Wilkins being drunk and disorderly last night in front of the grocery store,” Hunter said.
“I thought he’d moved to Makenville,” Nick replied, referring to a small town about twenty miles away from Dusty Gulch.
“Yeah, well he’s back. He’s living in the motel and supposedly looking for a job.”
Nick shook his head. “With his reputation for drinking, he’s going to have trouble finding any work.”
Hunter leaned forward. “So, ask me what else is new.”
“What else is new?”
“This Thursday I have a date with Ainsley.” Hunter couldn’t help but smile.
“Ah, you lucky dog,” Nick replied. “I was thinking about asking her out, but I had the distinct feeling if I did she’d turn me down.”
Hunter’s smile fell as he looked at his friend. “Ah man, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were even interested in her.”
Nick laughed. “A new gorgeous single woman moves to town? I imagine every single man in Dusty Gulch is interested, but she said yes to you. I hope you aren’t planning on taking her to the café.”
It was Hunter’s turn to laugh. “I doubt she’d be happy with me if I took her to the place where she works all the time. Actually, I’m taking her to the Red Wok.”
“Seriously man, I hope it goes well.”
“Yeah, me too.”
The two men visited for a few minutes longer, and then Nick left to go back out on the streets and Hunter finished up writing his report.
The rest of the workday passed peacefully, and finally Hunter was on his way home. Home was a three-bedroom ranch house he’d bought eight years ago. At that time he’d had his dream job and a beautiful wife. He’d been filled with happiness, and the future had looked so bright.
Those dreams had all shattered four years ago, leaving Hunter alone and with so many emotions to sort through. He’d been grieving and had become bitter and had isolated himself from everyone and everything.
A year ago he’d suddenly awakened to the fact that he was still young, that it wasn’t too late to achieve the dreams he’d once had.
Ainsley was the first woman who had stirred something inside him, something that had been dormant for a very long time. Was she the right woman for him? He had no idea. Right now he just wanted to get to know her.
Physically he found her very attractive with her long black hair and beautiful blue eyes. More than that, her smile warmed him in a way he hadn’t felt with any other woman in town. Maybe it was because her smile seemed so open and her eyes shone with honesty.
He didn’t know much about her. Her full name was Ainsley Meadows and she had a young daughter, but there had been no gossip about her to tell him anything else.
He wasn’t expecting much of the date. It would be nice to find out if there could be something between them, something good and long-term. He was ready for that in his life. Of course, there was also the chance that the date could be a total bust and they would quickly realize they weren’t right for each other.
He walked into his living room and was greeted by his black miniature schnauzer, Zeus. The little dog danced at his feet and then ran to the black recliner where Hunter usually sat and petted him.
“Okay, okay, I’m coming.” Hunter laughed and sat. Zeus jumped up in his lap, and Hunter stroked down the dog’s back. Zeus seemed to smile with utter happiness.
He remained there only a few minutes and then got up and opened the back door that led into the fenced backyard. Zeus darted outside.
About a year ago when his loneliness had become too heavy to bear, he’d found Zeus at the local shelter. At that time Zeus was only three months old and had been abandoned by a transient couple when they’d passed through town.
The dog had certainly brought Hunter a lot of joy, but there was still a core of loneliness inside him that yearned for somebody who could talk to him, somebody who might share his hopes and dreams.
Even though he knew it wasn’t a good idea, he walked down the hallway and opened the door to the smallest bedroom. This room had once held a little boy’s laughter and a toy box full of dreams.
It now held nothing except a photo on the wall, a crib and a teddy bear in a rocking chair to indicate that a little boy had lived two years of his life in the room.
Danny. His heart squeezed tight as he thought of that little boy...his son, who had died of childhood leukemia four years ago.
Hunter picked up the teddy bear and sank down in the rocking chair as memories of Danny took away all other thoughts. He’d handled his wife’s betrayals and gotten past them. But this...this absence of the child he’d loved so much was another animal altogether. There were moments when it clawed at him, when it stabbed at his heart with a real, physical pain.
He’d grieved the loss of Danny all alone. His wife, Emily, had left him, but not before delivering one final devastation as she’d walked out of his life.
He raised the teddy bear to his nose and took a deep breath, imagining that he could still smell Danny’s little-boy scent on the furry animal.
He remained that way for several long minutes and then finally stood and placed the teddy bear back in the chair. Before he left the room, he stared at the framed photo on the wall.
Danny had been a happy child, and the photo depicted a year-old Danny with Hunter. They were both laughing. Even though the disease had ravaged him, the little boy had remained a happy child who never complained.
And it was that particular spirit of Danny that Hunter now embraced. Danny would have wanted his daddy to be happy. As he left the room and closed the door behind him, he tucked his grief away, not to be entertained again until the next time he went into that bedroom.
He returned to the back door, where Zeus was waiting to come back inside. “Come on, boy.” He opened the door, and Zeus greeted him all over again as if he hadn’t seen Hunter a few minutes earlier.
Zeus had been Hunter’s first step in reaching out for happiness once again. Now he was looking for more. He wanted to fall in love again, to get married and have children.
He just wanted to find an open and honest woman to share his dreams of home and family, and he was hoping that’s what he would find with the new woman in town. He was desperately hoping Ainsley Meadows could be the new forever love in his life.
