"They're here." Felicity jumped away from the window and let the curtain fall back into place. "What do we say? What do we do?"

"Don't do anything other than say h.e.l.lo," John Earl advised. "She'll probably want to go to her room, and she may not want to interact with any of us, other than your mother, for a while."

"I think bringing that girl into our home is a mistake," Faye Long said.

"Grandmother, how unchristian of you." Felicity glowered at Faye.

"I think it's awful what Missy's father did to her," Charity said. "I don't blame her if she did kill him."

"We'll have no more talk like that," John Earl told his elder daughter.

"Did she ever tell you what was going on?" Felicity skewered her sister with her sharp glare. "You two are friends, and friends tell each other secrets. If Missy really is the Fire and Brimstone Killer, maybe she'll confess to you."

"Oh, shut up!" Charity shook her head in disgust. "Don't you dare say stuff like that to Missy." She looked to her father. "Daddy, warn Felicity that she'd better behave herself."

Before John Earl could caution his younger daughter, she answered her sister. "I'll behave. I like Missy. But I have to admit that I don't know why Mother was willing to give up her craft room to make Missy a room of her own when I've been having to share a room with you all my life."

Charity glared at Felicity, who promptly stuck her tongue out at her sister.

The back door opened, and Ruth Ann called, "We're home."

John Earl took a deep breath, gave both of his daughters a quick be-on-your-best-behavior glance and prepared himself for the first day of their new life.

Ruth Ann led Missy into the family room, her arm around the girl's slender shoulders. Everyone waited, barely breathing, all of them wanting to put Missy at ease.

"Welcome to our home," John Earl said. Then quickly added, "Welcome to your new home."

With a wide, deer-in-the-headlights look in her eyes, Missy glanced quickly from John Earl to Faye, who forced a smile and nodded, to Felicity and finally to Charity.

"Hi, Missy." Felicity lifted her hand and waved.

"We're glad you're going to be staying with us," Charity said.

"Missy's had a rather tiring morning," Ruth Ann told them. "I think she'd like to go to her room and rest for a while before lunch."

"Certainly, certainly." John Earl recognized that desperately lost and frightened expression on Missy's face. He remembered only too well that same look on Ruth Ann's face shortly after her father died in the fire that had destroyed her home.

As soon as Ruth Ann escorted Missy through the family room and into the hall that led to her former craft room at the back of the house, everyone else released the anxious breaths they'd been holding.

"Boy, she looks like a zombie," Felicity said.

"If you'd gone through what she has, you'd look pretty rough yourself," Charity told her.

"Girls, keep your voices down," John Earl told them. "Sound carries down the hall, and you do not want Missy to hear you talking about her."

Felicity shrugged. "If show time is over, I'm going outside to sit in the gazebo and listen to my iPod."

"Lunch will be ready in about an hour," Faye reminded them. "Sitting down to our first meal with that pitiful child will be an ordeal for all of us. I still say it was a mistake for Ruth Ann to-"

"Mother!" Ruth Ann stood in the doorway, a hostile scowl on her face. "I'm ashamed of you." Her gaze scanned the others in the room, going from one to another and then settling back on her mother. "Missy prefers to have lunch in her room. I'll fix her a tray after we've eaten." She fanned her hands in a shooing manner. "Go on about your normal routines. Keeping things as normal as possible will be good for Missy, and it will certainly make the transition easier on all of us."

John Earl went over and kissed his wife on the cheek. "Erin has been handling things at the office, but I should head on down there soon. I think I'll skip lunch. I had a big breakfast this morning."

"You go ahead, dear," she told him. "And take Erin some of those oatmeal raisin cookies I made last night. I know she likes them."

"I'll bag up a few on my way out the door."

John Earl was using a busy schedule as an excuse to leave, but he knew that Ruth Ann was better equipped than he was to help their daughters and her mother adjust to the new situation. After all, they were all women, and women understood one another in ways men never could.

Punishing Donnie Hovater for his many sins had given her great satisfaction. Of all those whom G.o.d had chosen for her to destroy, none was as worthy of the Lord's fiery wrath than the man who had repeatedly raped his own daughter. She knew now that, without any doubt, he had been evil personified.

She knew evil. She was a product of evil, and yet, through G.o.d's gracious and forgiving love, she was blameless. G.o.d's Son had atoned for her sins when He died on the Cross, and even those such as she, born from sin, born in sin, were washed clean and would be allowed into the eternal sanctuary of heaven. She would sit at the right hand of G.o.d. She would be blessed among the saved, for she had done the Lord's bidding while here on earth.

"What, Lord? Yes, I hear You. I know my work is not done. There are others who must be punished. I believe I know the name of the man You have chosen for Your angel of death to visit next."

She closed her Bible and placed her hand atop it where it rested in her lap. Breathing in the fresh, sweet outdoor air surrounding her, she recalled the genuine pleasure she had known as she had watched Donnie Hovater writhe in agony and scream for mercy. He had burned quickly, his cries for help going unheeded. Had he, in those final moments of his life, repented of his sins, or had he gone to the hereafter an unrepentant soul?

Did it truly matter? She believed that there was no atonement for men such as he. His evil had been too great, the damage he had inflicted unforgivable.

"Yes, Lord," she whispered, a feeling of power encompa.s.sing her as she allowed her Savior to send the Holy Ghost into her heart and mind and body, to fill her with the strength of His righteousness.

Quietly, reverently, she recited the words from the first book of Revelations, the words G.o.d had placed on her lips. " And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and h.e.l.l followed with him.'"

She closed her eyes, smiled, and continued talking to G.o.d, plotting the demise of another blasphemous false prophet.

Chapter Twenty-nine

During the weeks since Donnie Hovater's murder, life had returned to normal for almost everyone in Dunmore, even for Cathy to some extent. But the normalcy was shadowed by doubts and fears and the ever-present certainty that it was only a matter of time before the Fire and Brimstone Killer struck again. Personally, Cathy felt a little guilty for being so happy. Jack spent every weeknight with her, and Seth spent weekends. And last Sat.u.r.day, the three of them had shared the entire day together. Jack had borrowed Mike's boat, and they'd gone to the river. She had been amazed at how well her two guys had gotten along. But why shouldn't they, when they were so much alike?

But there was a problem with the way her son seemed to be bonding with Jack-how long before Jack figured out that Seth was his son? Lorie kept telling her that she needed to tell them both the truth sooner rather than later.

"I need more time," she'd told her best friend. "I need to be sure about Jack, about our relationship."

"Don't put it off until it's too late," Lorie had said. "You don't want either of them finding out some other way."

This morning-this glorious Fourth of July Sat.u.r.day-Cathy had decided that she would tell Jack the truth tomorrow evening, after Seth had returned to his grandparents' home. But for now, she didn't want anything to interfere with their day-long celebrations. Jack would be here soon to pick them up and drive them to Spring Creek Park for the holiday festivities that included barbeque and chicken-stew dinners for sale, cold beer and soft drinks, family picnics, country bands playing late into the night, baseball games, fireworks displays and blankets spread out under the stars.

"Mom?"

"Hmm?" Cathy placed a package of napkins on top of the overstuffed picnic basket and barely managed to close the lid.

"I've been thinking about when school starts in August," Seth said. "I'd like to come and live with you full-time then. Do you think Granddad and Nana will be okay without me?"

Cathy drew in a deep breath and released it slowly as she allowed the joy of the moment to encompa.s.s her. "Yes, I believe they'll be okay. After all, it's not as if you'll be cutting them out of your life. You can see them whenever you'd like, and they'll always be your grandparents."

Will they? an inner voice asked. an inner voice asked. How will J.B. and Mona react after I tell Jack and Seth the truth? Will they still be able to think of themselves as Seth's grandparents? How will J.B. and Mona react after I tell Jack and Seth the truth? Will they still be able to think of themselves as Seth's grandparents?

"What's the matter, Mom?"

"Huh?"

"You've got this really peculiar look on your face."

She brushed aside her concerns. Time enough to deal with the aftereffects later. Today was going to be a good day, one more building block in the foundation of the life she hoped to construct with Jack and Seth...if she was lucky-very, very lucky.

"It's nothing really," she lied. "I was just wondering how you'd feel about Jack staying here occasionally."

"Oh."

"I know it might be awkward for you and Jack, at least at first, but-"

"Are you going to marry him?"

"Uh, I don't know," she replied, not the least bit surprised by her son's question. After all, he'd been raised to believe in the sanct.i.ty of marriage and that living together out of holy wedlock was a sin. "Jack and I haven't discussed marriage."

"Why not? You love him, don't you?"

"I care deeply for Jack." You love him. Admit the truth to yourself even if you can't admit it to your son. You love him. Admit the truth to yourself even if you can't admit it to your son. Yes, she loved Jackson Perdue, with all her heart. And if he asked her to marry him tonight, she would say yes, a thousand times yes. Yes, she loved Jackson Perdue, with all her heart. And if he asked her to marry him tonight, she would say yes, a thousand times yes.

"Hey, I'm not saying get married right away or anything, but anybody can see that the guy's nuts about you. And I think he's okay. You know, as far as stepdads go, Jack wouldn't be all that bad."

"Oh, he wouldn't, would he?"

"We get along okay," Seth said. "We actually like a lot of the same things, sports and stuff like that. And he really listens to me when I talk to him. He doesn't treat me like I'm some dumb kid."

Cathy smiled. "That's because you're not a dumb kid. You're a smart kid."

They heard a car pull into the driveway. Seth went to the back door and looked outside.

"It's Jack." Seth lifted the heavy picnic basket loaded down with food and supplies and carried it with him as he met Jack at the back door.

"Ready to go?" Jack asked when Seth opened the door for him.

"Sure are," Seth replied. "I'll take this on out to our car." He hoisted the basket up to show Jack, then headed outside.

Jack came over to Cathy, leaned down and kissed her. She returned the kiss, and when he raised his head, they both grinned. He scanned her from head to toe.

"Honey, you look good enough to eat."

She laughed. "Save your appet.i.te for food today."

"I'll try to be on my best behavior, but, woman, you look way too good in those blue jeans."

The car horn honking reminded them that Seth was waiting in the Jeep Cherokee. Jack slipped his arm around her waist.

If only every day could be like this.

Erin had come to the park with Clay. As far as anyone knew, they were merely acquaintances and this was just a friendly date. Her on-again/off-again s.e.xual relationship with Clay was their private business, something neither of them advertised. Love had absolutely nothing to do with how they felt about each other. All her love, every ounce her heart held, belonged to John Earl. He was everything to her. If only he would realize how much better she would be for him than that insipid Ruth Ann. The woman was practically a saint, or at least John Earl thought so. It wasn't enough that she was raising two children of her own, but now she had taken in Melissa Hovater and the entire town marveled at her kindness. Even Clay had made some stupid comment about what a great person John Earl's wife was.

"The woman has a heart of gold, doesn't she?" he'd said. "Can you imagine her becoming a foster mother to a girl who's suspected of killing her own father?"

Erin knew that John Earl wasn't 100 percent in favor of Missy living with them. He hadn't actually come right out and said it, but Erin was good at reading between the lines. Sometimes she could almost read John Earl's mind. He was concerned about the Hovater girl's influence on his own two daughters, and Erin couldn't say that she blamed him. Felicity was already a handful, a bit of a wild child who seemed to enjoy embarra.s.sing her devout, highly respected parents. And Charity, although quiet and rather moody, seemed to be a paragon of virtue, like her mother.

"Here's your peach ice cream." Clay held out the two scoops in a cookie-dough waffle cone, one of Erin's favorite desserts. "Better start licking." He chuckled. "It's already melting."

She took the cone from him, smiled and ran her tongue around the edges. "Thanks."

"It's hot as blue blazes. Why don't we find us a nice shade tree somewhere?"

She caught a glimpse of John Earl as he and his family settled themselves around one of the concrete picnic tables near the outdoor grandstand set up for the bands and singers. When the love of her life put his arm around his wife's shoulder, Erin cringed. d.a.m.n that woman!

"What's the matter, sugar?" Clay asked.

"Huh?"

His gaze followed hers, and he grunted. "Give it up, baby doll. Old John Earl won't ever be yours."

She snapped her head around and glared at Clay. "Never say never."

"You're living in a dream world. That man's not going to cheat on his wife, and even if he did, he wouldn't leave her."

"Maybe. Maybe not. You never know what might happen."

Ruth Ann might get run over by a bus. Or one day, John Earl could wise up and figure out what he was missing. The one thing Erin knew for certain was that sooner or later, one way or the other, he would be hers.

Ruth Ann had been reluctant about encouraging Missy to join the family today for the Fourth of July celebrations at the park, but John Earl had insisted. After all, if Missy had stayed at home, Ruth Ann would have felt obligated to stay with her. For the past few weeks, since that poor child had been living with them, he had noticed subtle changes in his entire household. His mother-in-law, seldom cheerful or easygoing, had become sullen and irritable. It was apparent that she disapproved of John Earl and Ruth Ann becoming Missy's foster parents.

"Don't you think you have enough to deal with as it is?" Faye had asked him. "I feel sorry for the girl, for what her father put her through, but G.o.d help us, it's unfair for anyone to expect Ruth Ann to be a mother to Missy. Don't you understand that she's reliving all her own horrible memories?"