Free Still Waters by Shirlee McCoy Page A

calling Tom again as she walked. The backyard was as silent andempty as the front. She glanced around, noting a bucket and a coil of hose sitting near the mudroom door. These disturbed her more than the emptiness of the yard. Tom never left supplies out.
    The mudroom door was unlocked, the room cool. As Tiffany moved toward the kitchen, Bandit squeezed by and stood on his hind legs, lapping up drops of moisture from the utility sink.
    “You have been out a while, haven’t you?” As she spoke, Tiffany filled Bandit’s water bowl and scooped out some kibble for him to eat.
    “Tom?”
    “We’re in here.”
    Brian’s voice was an unexpected, and not entirely welcome, surprise. No doubt he wanted to discuss their relationship in person. Though why he hadn’t called ahead, Tiffany didn’t know. Sighing, she attempted to brush wrinkles from her skirt as she made her way to the living room.
    Brian stood beside the love seat, hovering over Tom like a malevolent scarecrow guarding a field of corn. Tom, sullen and angry, sat hunched over his knees, staring at the floor. He looked up when Tiffany entered the room but glanced away when she smiled in his direction.
    “Hi, guys. I hope you haven’t been talking about me.” Tiffany’s attempt at humor fell flat. Tom continued to stare at the floor, while Brian eyed him with contempt.
    “I didn’t notice your car out front, Brian. I’m surprised to see you.”
    Brian’s attention shifted to Tiffany, his dark eyes flashing with frustration. “I jogged from the diner. I wanted to drop off the Sunday school materials for next week. I didn’t get a chance to pick them up last Sunday since I worked my shift at the clinic.”
    “That was nice, but—”
    “When I arrived, Tom was fooling around in your office.”
    Tiffany’s gaze darted to Tom. His body was taut, his cheeks tinged red with anger or embarrassment. The rebellious turn of his lips made it difficult to tell which. “Is that true, Tom?”
    Brian spoke before Tom could answer. “Of course it’s true. I caught him going through some of your papers. He’d knocked a few things off your desk while he was at it.”
    “I did not.” Tom’s voice was sullen and defensive.
    “Oh, come on. I came in the house, heard noise in the office and found you rifling through Tiffany’s desk.”
    “I wasn’t going through her papers—”
    “You were!”
    Tom jumped up, fists clenched. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    “Are you calling me stupid, boy?”
    “Don’t call me boy.” Tom stepped toward Brian, violence in every line of his body.
    “Wait!” Tiffany’s near shout cut through the argument, silencing the feuding pair. “Why don’t we all sit down and try to cool off?”
    Brian shrugged and sat in a chair as Tom lowered himself back onto the love seat. Tiffany sat down next to him. “Now, Tom, why don’t you explain what happened?”
    “I made a mistake and was cleaning up after it. I’m sorry.”
    Brian shot Tiffany an I-told-you-so look, before picking up a magazine and leafing through it. Though he pretended indifference, Tiffany could see the tense set of his shoulders and the white-knuckled grip he had on the magazine.
    Trying to ignore him, she turned her attention back to Tom. “What do you mean, you made a mistake?”
    The angry flush on Tom’s cheeks deepened and hisglance slid from Tiffany to the floor. “I was working on the side of the porch near your office, finishing up the trim. I thought if I sprayed everything down today it would dry and I could start painting tomorrow. I put all the stripping stuff away and got out the hose. I was just washing everything down, but Bandit came out and he was barking at the hose, chasing the water and stuff.” Tom paused and Tiffany nodded encouragement.
    “Well, I got kind of carried away and I didn’t realize the window was open and I sprayed right into your office. So I ran inside to see what got wet. I was drying some of your