My Deadly Valentine - By Valerie Hansen & Lynette Eason Page 0,7

to see her smile and chuckle.

“Don’t let too many folks hear you call us that,” she warned. “We may refer to ourselves that way but we tend to take exception to having outsiders do it.”

“I’ll be careful. So, how about it? Will you go to church with me and introduce me around?” Waiting, he was afraid she’d refuse so he goaded her. “Unless these childish threats have you ready to hide from life and turn into a hermit.”

“Me? Hide? No way,” she insisted.

“Good. Then tell me where you live and what time you want me to pick you up Sunday morning.”

“I never said I’d go.”

“No,” he drawled, “but you didn’t say you wouldn’t, either.”

The look of alarm on her face was priceless. Jace hoped she could tell that his interest was purely platonic because he didn’t want to create a false impression that he was actually pursuing her.

Moments later he stopped worrying. After all, how much more innocent could their time together be? He did want to find a home church and since the Good Lord had placed Rachel in his life, he figured it was only sensible to kill two birds with one stone.

That analogy immediately chilled him to the bone. Any mention of killing brought his thoughts back to the threatening notes. And to the looming danger that he had yet to identify, let alone counteract.

FOUR

Sunday morning dawned bright and sunny, although the temperature was predicted to rise no higher than forty degrees by afternoon. Rachel wasn’t surprised. There were slim daffodil fronds peeking out of the ground and a few crocuses and hyacinths had already bloomed. Other than that, there was little sign that winter was past.

Shivering, she pulled her wool coat over her pale blue sweater and skirt, picked up her purse and bible and stepped out onto the front porch of her modest brick home to wait for Jace.

Chilly weather wasn’t the only reason she was trembling, she realized with chagrin. Going back to church after having been absent for so many months was bound to cause a stir. So was being accompanied by a handsome newcomer.

That thought made her smile in spite of her misgivings. She knew it was wrong to gloat but she could hardly wait till the news of her arrival reached Lance Beech and his cohorts.

“Some loving Christian I am,” Rachel admonished herself. “Shame on me.”

Sighing, she closed her eyes and said a quick prayer for forgiveness. She and Lance had parted amiably, at least as far as she was concerned. Why he had grown so antagonistic afterward was beyond her. She had phoned several times and tried to get him to discuss their breakup but he had always hung up on her, leaving her to come to her own conclusions.

The thing that hurt the most was that so many folks had sided with him. At least that was how it had seemed. In retrospect, she wondered if her own guilty conscience about the breakup had colored her perception or made her imagine negative reactions from other people that were not really that bad.

Noticing the slow approach of a white pickup truck, Rachel’s heart leaped. Was that Jace? If so, he was right on time.

She waved. The truck pulled into the circular drive and stopped in front of her. Before the driver had time to jump out, let alone circle to the passenger side, Rachel was already climbing in.

“I would have opened that door for you,” he said.

“Sorry.” Her tingling cheeks warmed under his scrutiny and the slanting rays of the sun. “I was in a hurry because it’s so nippy out this morning.”

He rubbed his hands together and blew on them, creating a cloud of steam inside the truck’s cab. “I know what you mean. I didn’t care that my truck’s heater was broken when I lived in California. I haven’t been this cold since I went to ski camp in my teens.”

“I’ve never been skiing,” Rachel said, thankful that he was making small talk rather than being too serious.

“So, how long will it be before we see summer around here? I can hardly wait.”

“You won’t be saying that when it’s over ninety degrees with one hundred percent humidity.” Rachel laughed when he made a silly face. “I’m not kidding. It gets good and hot during the middle of summer in Arkansas.”

“Thanks for the warning. I’ll remember that. Any other tips you can offer a California transplant?”

“Well, stay out of the long grass and weeds as soon as the temperature