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tough man who had been Charlie—
    Forget the future. Right now it was her job to help get Edna and the kids through this nightmare of a day.
             
    G ood-bye, Charlie.
    Kerry tossed the rose she'd been given on top of the casket and stepped back.
    Little Kim and Gary were clutching their mother's hands, tears running down their faces as they placed their roses on the coffin. Kim reached down and clutched the fur on Sam's neck. Thank God, the dog was behaving himself, Kerry thought. She was glad the burial was almost over. She couldn't have taken much more without breaking down. She tore her gaze from the coffin. Don't look at it. Think of Charlie the way she had known him. It was better to—
    She stiffened.
    There was someone standing in the shadow of the giant oak a good distance from the grave site. He was half behind the tree and his attitude was . . . surreptitious.
    Imagination. Everyone had loved Charlie and he had no secrets. Why would someone think it necessary to hide behind a tree to keep anyone from knowing he was watching Charlie's interment? Yet she was sure that—
    He was gone. First he was there and then he had slipped away into the shrubbery.
    “Can I ride back to the house with you and Sam?” Gary was standing beside her.
    She nodded. “If your mother doesn't mind.”
    “I already asked her.” Gary slipped his hand into hers. “She and Aunt Donna have enough to do taking care of Kim. She won't miss me.”
    “She will miss you. She needs both you and Kim. You have to take care of one another now.”
    He nodded. “I'll take care of her.” His hand tightened on Kerry's. “I'll do everything my daddy would want me to do. But not today. Okay?”
    She nodded slowly. She had been as guilty as Edna for not being aware of Gary's needs. He had to come to terms with his own grief, and the overpowering sympathy with which he'd been surrounded was keeping him from doing it. “Plenty of time. No one's hurrying you. Go get Sam and we'll get out of here.”
    She watched him hurry back to his mother before shifting her gaze back to the oak tree.
    No one.
    Why was it bothering her? There didn't have to be a reasonable explanation. It could be someone who worked for the cemetery, who didn't wish to intrude. Or it could be some sicko who hung out at graveyards to get some kind of macabre thrill.
    Silver.
    It was possible. She hadn't gotten a clear look at the man. She'd only had an impression of height and tension and a glimpse of a navy windbreaker and baseball cap.
    But she couldn't imagine Silver skulking behind a tree. He was too impatient, too bold. But what the hell? Everything connected to Silver was guesswork, and she'd deliberately blocked all thought of him since he'd left her house three days ago.
    But that hadn't stopped him from being the first man who sprang to mind when she had that moment of uneasiness.
    Because there was no one who made her more uneasy than Brad Silver.
    “Let's go, Kerry.” Gary was back, leading Sam. “Everybody's leaving.” He glanced at the grave and whispered, “But we're not really leaving him, are we? Mom says he'll always be with us.”
    “Mom's right.” She took his hand and started down the path. “As long as we keep the memory alive. Did I ever tell you about the first day I met your dad? He was mad as the devil because I'd been sent to replace one of his buddies, who'd been transferred to—”

3
                                                                                                                                                
    S tay away from here.” Kerry frowned sternly over her shoulder at Laura. “You brought me here to paint this blasted gazebo because the fumes made you sick. Now I can't keep you away from it.”
    Laura handed her a glass of lemonade. “I just thought you might be