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“AS VINEGAR TO THE TEETH, AND AS SMOKE TO THE EYES, SO IS THE SLUGGARD TO THEM THAT SEND HIM.” —PROVERBS 10:26

T he storm from the night before left a steady drizzle in its wake. Sydney didn’t mind the rain. Its steady rhythm acted as a cleansing agent that eased the hurt from the previous day. Going to the cemetery had been one of the hardest things she’d ever done, but she’d come away with a small victory. She’d faced it and survived.

Kendall called to check on her just as he said he would. She’d been afraid that he would press her but he didn’t. He seemed to understand that she needed her space. The mere sound of his voice was the perfect salve for her raw nerves. So much so that after their conversation, she went to bed and slept soundly for the first time in weeks.

It was so dark and foggy when she left her house this morning that she felt like she was leaving for work in the middle of the night. She pulled into the sawmill and opened the door of her jeep, struggling against the rain to open her umbrella. She grabbed her purse and briefcase and pulled her pale blue raincoat tightly around her. The coat and matching umbrella had been gifts from Judith. The raincoat wasn’t her style, and it had taken a few months before she decided she liked it enough to wear. She was grateful to have it today.

The office would not be open for another hour. She’d arrived early to get a head start on her day. She frowned when she saw Sean’s truck. She was hoping to get there before him. He got to work so early that she’d only managed to beat him twice. It gave her great pleasure to see him so aggravated over it. Too bad she hadn’t beaten him today.

She huddled under the protectiveness of the umbrella while walking to the office. She ascended the stairs and opened the door leading to the screen porch. A dark figure stepped out of the shadows. At first she assumed it was one of the sawmill workers who had forgotten either his earplugs or hardhat, but then she didn’t recognize him.

“Good morning. May I help you?” she asked, getting a closer look at the man. He was wearing overalls, and his long stringy hair was matted to his head, partially covering his unshaved face.

Rather than answering, the man smiled, revealing a huge gap between his two front teeth. Sydney gasped when she saw the glint of metal and realized he was holding a switchblade knife. He was using it to clean his fingernails.

The man took another step in her direction, blocking her entrance into the office. She took a step back and lifted her umbrella and pointed the metal end toward him.

“What do you want?”

He loomed even closer and pointed the knife in her direction. “I want you to stop meddlin’. That’s what I want. You need to go back to where you come from. Your guard dog won’t be around forever to protect you.”

The man pushed past her and darted down the steps and into the darkness.

Sydney’s hands shook uncontrollably and she fumbled to open the door. After she managed to get inside, she dropped her briefcase on her office floor and headed to the restroom. Her stomach turned summersaults.

Guard dog? What did the man mean by that? What guard dog? Was there someone looking out for her that she didn’t know about? Was it Walter?

She didn’t know how much time had lapsed before she heard someone in the hall.

“Syd, is that you in there? Are you all right?” Sean’s voice boomed from the other side of the door.

“Yeah, I’m in here. I’ll be out in a minute.” Sydney splashed cold water on her face and blotted it dry.

Sean was waiting for her when she came out. “You’re white as a sheet. What’s wrong? Are you sick?”

Sydney shook her head and walked past him to her office where she sat down behind her desk. Her stomach was still lurching, but it was more than nausea. It was a gut-wrenching feeling that cut clear to the bone.

Sean sat in one the chairs in front of her desk. He studied her face. “What’s going on?”

His eyes met hers and held them until she looked away. What good would it do to tell Sean? What good would it do to call the police? She couldn’t tell them about Avery. She couldn’t tell them who she really was.

Sean closed the door. “Syd, something happened to you, and I need to know what it was.”

She had to tell somebody. “I was threatened this morning on the porch outside the office by a man holding a switch blade.” Her explanation sounded flat and emotionless.

“What?” He came out of his chair and went around her desk and stood beside her. “By who?”

She pushed her hair away from her face. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen him before.”

“What did he look like?”

“He was a big man with stringy hair and a gap between his teeth.”

“What was he wearing?”

“Overalls.”

“He had a knife?”

She closed her eyes and shook her head. “He was using it to clean his fingernails.”

“What did he say?”

“He told me to stop meddling and that I should go back to where I came from.” She bit her lip. “He also told me that my guard dog wouldn’t be around forever to protect me.”

Sean’s face went black at that last part. He shook his head. “This is incredible. It doesn’t make any sense.”

Sydney couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Are you saying you don’t believe me?”

“It’s not that. I just can’t believe that it happened. That’s all I’m saying.”

“Well, believe it!”

He knelt beside her. Any other time his close proximity would have been disconcerting, but under the current circumstance, she was oblivious. “Look Syd, I promise you, I’ll get to the bottom of this.” His handsome face was a mixture of compassion and concern, causing tears to well in her eyes and trickle down her cheeks. Ever so softly, he touched her cheek and brushed away a tear. Before she realized what was happening, his lips met hers in a tender kiss.

Without another word, he stood and left her office.

Sean tore through the mill, searching for Buck Gibson. Even though it was not yet 8:00 AM, he guessed that Buck would be lurking in the background so he could admire his handiwork from a distance. He found him in the lumberyard.

A nervous smile twitched on Buck’s lips when he saw Sean coming toward him. “It’s a little early for you to be out here in the lumber yard, ain’t it boss?”

Sean grabbed Buck’s shirt and shoved him against a stack of lumber, pitting his face a mere inch from Buck’s.

“Just what do you think you’re doing?”

“I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about,” Buck said, but he wouldn’t look Sean in the eye.

“Who was it? Who did you get to threaten Sydney?”

“That ain’t important.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.” Sean gripped Buck’s shirt even tighter. “You know better than to do something like that without asking me first.”

“Well that’s just the thang. My orders came from higher up. It seems that you ain’t the one in control ‘round here no more.” Buck’s voice turned quiet. “I warned you not to get soft on her. This time my orders were just to scare her. Next time …” He paused. “Next time, who knows what my orders’ll be.”

Sydney threw her jacket across the back of the chair and headed for the kitchen. “How about some popcorn?”

“That sounds great,” Kendall said. He sat down and stretched his legs on the oversized ottoman.

When she’d talked to Kendall on the phone earlier today, he’d invited her to the bonfire and suggested that they go to her house and watch a movie afterwards. This surprised her because Kendall was usually too caught up in football to do anything during the week.

The bonfire had been a spectacle. Dover was one of Stoney Creek’s biggest rivals, and the entire town, it seemed, came out to show their support. The cheerleaders lead the hyper crowd of spectators and football players in roaring chants while the band played The Eye of the Tiger . The pinnacle of the evening came when Kendall stood up and delivered his pep speech.

Sydney admitted that a part of her enjoyed the notoriety she received from the town’s folk—an honor bestowed on her for the sole reason that she was Kendall’s girlfriend. She had to make sure she was falling for the real Kendall and not the legendary coach. But in Stoney Creek where football was life, separating the two was proving to be a difficult task. She shook her head. For once she was going to enjoy a nice cozy evening with Kendall without analyzing it to death. After her eventful week, she could use some down time. She wouldn’t think about the cemetery or the man on the porch. She would concentrate on Kendall. It would do her some good to take a break from the problems.

She watched the kernels of corn in the bottom of her skillet transform into white blossoms. The buttery smell made her mouth water. She couldn’t cook a lot of things, but she sure knew how to make popcorn the old fashioned way. She accidentally touched the side of the hot skillet.

“Ouch!”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” she said, sucking on her finger.

A few seconds later, armed with a big bowl of popcorn, she plopped down on the sofa beside Kendall. “How’s the team shaping up?”

“Pretty good.” He placed the folded paper he had been studying in his pocket.

Sydney motioned. “What was that?”

Before answering, Kendall stuffed a handful of popcorn into his mouth. “I was just going over some plays for tomorrow night’s game. We need a win over Dover so we can have a shot at the divisional playoff.”

“I’m sure you’ll win.”

“Yeah, I sure hope so.”

Sydney sat back on the couch. “I didn’t have time to pick up a movie this afternoon. We’ll have to watch one I already have. I hope that’s okay. I have a pretty good selection to choose from.”

“Huh?”

Sydney shook her head. He was not hearing a word she was saying. She always felt like she was competing with football for Kendall’s attention. Would it hurt him to think about her just once? “What do you want to watch?”

Kendall sat up and scooted to the edge of the couch. “I’m sorry, hon. I know we planned to watch a movie tonight, but I’m beat. I think I’ll just go on home.”

“Do you feel okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just tired.” He gave her a peck on the check before getting up and making his way to the door. “I’ll see you at the game tomorrow night?”

Sydney nodded.

“Good.” He smiled. It was a picture of boyish innocence, and she felt herself soften.

“Good luck tomorrow night. I’ll keep my fingers crossed,” she said as he closed the door. She shook her head. So much for rest and relaxation. Another perplexing evening with Kendall Fletcher. And they say women are moody.

Walter looked at his watch. He’d have to hurry to meet Maurene on time. She had gone shopping and planned to meet him at the game. He looked up at the sky. He hoped the rain would hold off until after the game, but no such luck. The first sprinkle fell on his arm as he locked the front door and walked down the path toward his car. A crunching sound stopped him in his tracks. He strained his ears and heard it again. It sounded like footsteps. “Who’s there?”

No answer.

He turned in the direction of the noise and peered into the darkness. “Show yourself! What do you want?”

He got in his car just as the rain broke through the clouds. He tried to put his key in the ignition but it wouldn’t go. He looked down and realized he was using the wrong key. He looked toward the woods. All he could see were sheets of rain.