end, it was Mom who convinced me to move for the first time. She didn’t care where we went, since Dad was at her side in his apparition form. All she wanted was for me to feel safe.
I hadn’t been able to work, was always on edge, and I lost all my friends—if I could have even called them that—because Sean had told them stories they easily believed. Which really proved they weren’t true friends to begin with. All I could be grateful for was the fact I’d never slept with him and had him as my first.
The second time he found us, the same things happened—flowers, animals, notes. It was when he found us the third time that I packed in the middle of the night and had Mom and me in the car the next day, canceling all ties to our old life on the run and looking into somewhere new.
Which was how I found Badlands Territory.
Mom’s hand dropped to my shoulder as I sat at the dining table, my appetite suddenly gone. “Don’t worry, honey. We’ll hire a hit man if we have to.” She placed a steaming mug of coffee in front of me.
I wasn’t sure if I should be worried over her saying it, since she sounded sincere. “Ah, sure?”
She smiled. “Still, like I said, I have a good feeling about this place.”
I was glad she did.
As of now, we were renting the place, and if we liked it enough, if he stayed away, then the old woman we were renting off said there was an opportunity to buy it if we stayed long enough. Currently, we were living off Dad’s life insurance. If we didn’t settle soon, and I couldn’t get a job, there was a chance we’d rush through the whole amount.
Please, please, let this place be the one. Don’t let him find us.
“What are your plans for the day?” I asked Mom after a sip of coffee.
“Cleaning. It’s good this place came furnished, but it’s a terrible dusty mess. Are you still going out to look for a job? You know you can wait a while.”
Meaning she wanted to wait to see if Sean found us and we’d have to move again.
Until then, I needed something to keep my mind busy or I would end up in an insane asylum.
“I’ll take a look around town, see if there’s anything. If not, I’ll come back, unless you want to join me in town?”
“Not this time round. If I don’t clean, it’ll drive me crazy.” She glared off to the side. “I’m not crazy already, Mike.”
Laughter bubbled up and out of me. God, I loved the connection Mom and Dad had with one another. Anyone would think they annoyed each other, but the teasing they shared was all in a loving way.
I wanted that.
I wanted to find someone who I could love and annoy.
After taking another gulp of my coffee, I took the mug to the sink, turned, and moved back to kiss Mom on the top of her head. “Have fun cleaning.”
“Make sure you eat something in town,” she said.
“I will,” I called, already heading for the front door, where I grabbed my bag and the keys to our only vehicle, a four-wheel drive. The drive to town took over fifteen minutes. Another reason I liked the house we rented: it was far enough away from the population and on a few acres, so nothing but the woods surrounded us. With the distance and the space, I hoped it would take Sean even longer to find us, or ideally not at all.
When we’d driven through the town the previous day, I noticed it wasn’t as small as I expected it to be. There was even a mall, and I read the town also held two movie theaters, pubs, clubs, salons… in other words, I could possibly get a job with one of the businesses.
I parked along a street that held various shops, leaned over, and opened the glove compartment to grab some résumés to stuff in my handbag. Since the first move, we’d changed our last name from Gordan to Smith, and I’d removed any references from my résumé for potential employers to call. I prayed nobody even asked me for any since I’d discovered that the last place we’d been in, Sean had used my old employers to find me. It seemed he could either charm anyone or had people everywhere.
My heart plummeted. I wasn’t sure luck was on my side. I