Second Act - Diana Xarissa Page 0,7

and Terri took a deep breath as they walked out of the building.

“It smells like fall,” Lucas said in her ear.

“Falling leaves, apples, cinnamon, cool air, with just a hint of pumpkin,” Terri said. “I love autumn.”

“Douglas said something about a Harvest Festival?”

“It’s a two day celebration of apples mostly,” she explained. “Most of the local restaurants, including many of yours, will compete to make the best apple-based dessert. There will be apple-bobbing contests, an applesauce competition, and several varieties of apple cider and apple butter to taste and purchase. There’s also a harvest parade with a harvest king and queen.”

“I’m not sure if it all sounds fascinating or horrible.”

Terri laughed. “As a former big city dweller, I totally understand where you’re coming from, but it’s actually charming and, if you let yourself enjoy it, it can be a lot of fun.”

“I suppose I’ll just have to see for myself,” he said.

“I’m surprised you’re staying here for that long,” Terri replied bluntly.

“When I arrived, I wasn’t sure how long I was going to stay, but I’m increasingly fascinated by Ramsey and its residents,” he told her.

They’d been strolling slowly through the parking lot, now Terri stopped next to her car. “This is mine,” she said, gesturing. “Thanks for walking me out.”

“It was an entirely selfish act,” he replied. “Thank you for helping me escape from everyone.” He glanced around the empty parking lot and then took a step closer to her. “Some of Ramsey’s residents are more interesting than others.”

She looked up at him and felt her heart skip a beat when she thought she recognized the look in his eyes. There is no way Lucas Hogan is interested in me, she thought desperately. He was incredibly rich and he only ever dated young, beautiful women. She had to be misreading him very badly.

“Thanks for dinner, then,” she said, swallowing hard. “I need to get home.”

“Is your son home alone?”

“No, he’s sleeping over at a friend’s house tonight. They needed to work on a science project together, and the friend’s mother was willing to let them stay up all night doing it.”

“So you don’t need to rush home,” he said, putting his hand on her arm. “Maybe we could go somewhere and get a drink.”

“I have to work in the morning,” she replied.

“One drink?” he said softly.

As he took another step closer to her, Terri took a step backwards. She opened her mouth to say something, but her brain seemed unable to process what was happening as Lucas reached up to touch her cheek.

“Hey, man, aren’t you Lucas Hogan?” a voice broke the spell.

Lucas muttered a curse word under his breath as he spun around. “Good evening,” he said tightly to the young couple who were rushing toward him.

“I told you it was him,” the man told his companion. “Wow, this is amazing. I didn’t think you ever even came to Ramsey. Oh, hey, hi, Mrs. Briggs. What are you doing here?”

“Jake, hello,” she replied. “I had dinner with a friend and Mr. Hogan was kind enough to walk me to my car after my friend had to leave suddenly,” she explained.

“Oh, right, whatever, well, um, it’s nice to see you again.” Jake glanced at Lucas. “She was my freshman English teacher. I worked my ah, er, butt off in her class and I only got an eighty for the year.”

“She’s a tough teacher, then?” Lucas asked, sounding amused.

“Tough, but fair,” Jake admitted. “I could have worked harder.”

“And on that note, I really do need to go,” Terri said quickly. She unlocked her car and climbed behind the steering wheel before anyone could speak. Lucas, Jake, and his date moved out of the way as Terri carefully backed out of her parking space. Rolling down the window, she called a quick “thanks, again” to Lucas before she drove away. As she glanced in her rearview mirror, she noted that he was watching her go with an odd look on his face.

Chapter 3

Terri drove into her garage and parked, waiting until the garage door had shut before she climbed out of the car. The house felt oddly empty as she walked inside. It was too late to call Camille to talk about what had happened after she’d left, but she sent her a quick text message. If Camille was still awake, she’d reply and then Terri could call her.

Hope Molly is okay, was all that she texted. Everything else was far too complicated. When Camille didn’t reply, Terri got ready for