Safety in Numbers

Before the last month, Meredith had been out of town a lot and he’d rarely run into her. Then one day he’d seen her walking on the sidewalk downtown, and he’d been electrified by the sight. It was as if Elizabeth walked again, breathed again.

He’d been unable to get Meredith out of his mind. She was so beautiful. He could almost feel the silk of her dark hair between his fingers. He wanted to drown in the green depths of her eyes. Just looking at her made it hard to breathe. She possessed his every thought.

He had to have her. His need soared through him, filling him with both a euphoric high and an edge of apprehension. He had to have her. He would have her, but this time he’d do things differently. This time he’d try not to kill her.

Chapter 4 (#ulink_cab43af5-d158-575a-ba12-10e2146ac1fd)

The scents of popcorn, cotton candy and autumn rode the air as Chase got out of Red West’s car. It had already been a full day with pie-eating, cattlejudging and jelly-tasting contests.

A carnival had taken up residency in the parking lot in front of the community center. Multicolored lights flickered on the Ferris wheel as the delighted screams of the riders competed with the raucous laughter coming from the Tilt-A-Whirl.

Soon the carnival would shut down and the night would belong to the adults of Cotter Creek. “It’s a beautiful night,” Kathy said as she and Smokey, Red and Chase walked toward the community building where the dance would be taking place.

It was a perfect autumn night. A full moon hung in a cloudless sky and it was unusually warm for early October.

“Mark my words, there will be mischief tonight,” Smokey said gruffly as he looked up in the sky. “Add full-moon madness with a live band and liquor and there’s sure to be trouble.”

Maybe a little prefull-moon madness was what Chase had suffered two nights ago when he’d kissed Meredith. He hadn’t begun the night with any intention of kissing her, but at the time of the kiss, he’d felt as if he needed to kiss her.

Even now, just the thought of the taste of her soft lips beneath his had the effect of heating his blood. He didn’t like it. He didn’t like it one bit. That kiss had shaken him up far more than he liked to admit.

Since the night of the kiss, he’d tried to keep his distance from Meredith, both mental and physical. Red had taken him into town each morning, and he’d caught a ride back to the ranch with Dalton in the evenings.