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think you should stay away from him.”
    “Why?” Maggie’s heart fell at Andi’s
words.
    “I don’t know much about him,” Andi
admitted. “He got here just before you did, but he keeps to
himself. No one really knows much about him, but I’ve heard…” Andi
trailed off as if she was contemplating whether or not to say what
she knew which wasn’t like her at all. Maggie could feel her
anxiety building.
    “What?” She prodded.
    “He’s an ex-con.” Andi sounded
apologetic.
    Maggie’s mind immediately rejected the
possibility. Not her Aaron. Andi must be mistaken. But then again
he wasn’t “her Aaron,” was he? She barely knew him. Could it be
possible?
    “What did he do?” Maggie found herself
whispering.
    “I don’t know,” Andi admitted. “My uncle is
the Sheriff. He overheard me talking about how cute I thought Aaron
was the first time I’d seen him at the store. And he told me that
he wasn’t supposed to tell anyone because the records were sealed,
but that he’d definitely been in some serious trouble in the past
and he wanted me to stay away from him. He said he was dangerous.
That’s all he could tell me.” Andi shrugged sadly.
    Maggie couldn’t believe what she was
hearing. She didn’t want to. She couldn’t reconcile this man Andi
was describing, a loner with a sordid past, with the man she’d met.
Aaron was sweet and funny, he was polite and charming. There was no
way he could be an ex-con. This had to be a mistake.
     
    ~∞~
     
    The next morning Maggie woke to an awful
revelation. She was out of coffee. This day was not off to a good
start. She had a horrible headache, probably a result of the bottle
of wine she and Andi had polished off the night before. Plus she
hadn’t slept well. She couldn’t stop thinking about Aaron.
    In truth, she didn’t know him. Perhaps Andi
was right. Maybe it was best to stay away from him. That thought
coupled with the lack of coffee left her feeling very defeated. She
considered going upstairs and crawling back into bed. To make
matters worse, without a car driving to town wasn’t an option. Why
had she sold her car? She really hadn’t thought that through.
    Barney sat at the backdoor crying to be let
out. Even he seemed in a bad mood this morning. With shoulders
slumped she crossed the kitchen to the backdoor and opened it to
let the cat out. She was greeted with a surprisingly cool morning.
The sky was overcast and a brisk breeze was blowing. It wasn’t hot
at all. Maggie considered the walk to Sweetwater. It wasn’t really
very far and with this weather it might be kind of nice. There was
coffee in Sweetwater.
    With a renewed spirit and a plan she headed
outside to the garage in search of a basket or something that she
could carry with her to bring back a few groceries from town. To
her delight she found an old bicycle with a basket on the front.
This day was steadily improving.
    Maggie hadn’t rode a bike since she was a
kid, but by the time she’d reached the end of the driveway and was
turning onto the dirt road that led to Sweetwater she had the hang
of it again.
    It didn’t take her long to reach town, and
as she rode her bike through Sweetwater she took a minute to really
appreciate the quaint little town. The historic downtown buildings
were bustling with people coming and going and waving as they went.
The columned city hall boasted a large town clock that towered over
the main square where a farmer’s market was set up. Nearly every
corner held a steepled church and the large central park was filled
with beautiful magnolia trees.
    Maggie was drawn to a small cafe by the rich
smells of coffee and cinnamon rolls. She sat outside on the patio
and enjoyed her breakfast and a very large coffee as she watched
the small town of Sweetwater. The town was bustling with energy,
but the people were smiling. They were waving and taking the time
to stop and greet each other on the street. The stress and anxiety
of her life before had