Free Take Another Look by Rosalind Noonan Page B

against her breasts, covering up as she pointed the way.
    â€œA little late for modesty,” he said.
    â€œI don’t even know your first name.”
    â€œFrank.” He picked up his gun belt and took it with him to the bathroom. “I’ll be right back.” He walked down the hall, brazenly naked.
    While he was showering, she gathered her clothes and went into the bedroom to grab her robe. As she passed by the mirror, she dropped her clothes to the floor and took a good long look at herself. When had she become beautiful? Taut, rosy nipples and an hourglass shape. The tan lines from her bikini emphasized the dove-pale hue of her breasts and the healthy golden glow of the rest of her skin.
    The slight embarrassment she’d felt at having sex with a stranger began to fade. She was a healthy woman, old enough to make her own choices. And given the choice again, she would definitely take another ride with Officer Frank Dixon.

Chapter 6
    T he trauma of Frank Dixon had nearly destroyed her. Fear might have overcome her if it hadn’t been for the baby. Funny how she couldn’t muster the strength to protect herself, but once she learned that an innocent life relied on her, she had found a way to escape. After she made it to Seattle and found an obstetrician to treat her, the news that she was expecting twins was even more incentive to stay away from California, remove herself from her family, and begin a new, anonymous life.
    Like prey in the forest, she covered her tracks and always looked behind her. She got rid of her cell phone and used a pay-as-you-go phone for years. She changed her last name. And when Marnie got a call from Frank, who fished around for information about Jane, it became clear that Seattle could not be Jane’s final destination. Marnie wanted her to stay, but she understood. If Frank was hunting her down, Jane had to keep running.
    See Jane run. Run, Jane, run!
    The old first-grade primer struck a macabre note for her in that first year or two, when her dreams were full of chase scenes. Frank popping up in the backseat of her car. Frank following her down the cereal aisle in the supermarket. Frank chasing her around the park while her baby sat, wide-eyed, on the bottom of the slide. What a relief to bolt up in bed and realize it was a dream. Even if her chest was exploding from fear, even if Harper was crying in her crib, the harshest reality was better than those nightmares.
    For nearly a decade Jane had focused on making a life for herself and her daughter. Most people assumed she’d been married before, and she did not correct them. Harper had grown up believing that her father was dead—a difficult lie for Jane, but when she considered the alternative, she couldn’t bear the possibility of Harper’s one day tracking Frank down. That confrontation would certainly blow up in their daughter’s face. Frank would toy with his daughter, torture her, harm her. No, Jane couldn’t risk that.
    With all her energy focused on her daughter and her teaching job, Jane befriended moms of Harper’s friends and only engaged in family activities that involved Harper. While eating her bag lunch in the teachers’ lounge, she shared amusing stories about raising her daughter, but she avoided asking personal details of her colleagues, and she did not join in the happy hour gatherings at local restaurants. Her body language clearly transmitted that she was not interested in a relationship, and people respected that.
    Then came Luke. Scientist and teacher, philosopher and geek. He was as good at online gaming as any high school senior, and yet he was social, too. His tales often reduced faculty members to laughter, and other teachers in the science department sang the praises of the curriculum he created. Although Jane remained leery of men, Luke kept proving himself to be exceptional as she watched him studiously. It wasn’t just his earnest attitude; Luke was