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have someone give you a tour so you can get your bearings.”
    Feeling like a child in a playground, Lily practically bounced with excitement, and he chuckled at her. Warm color rose in her cheeks as she realized she was acting like she’d never seen fruit trees and gardens before…but the little house she’d been raised in was pretty basic. The one tree that shaded their rickety porch was an old pecan tree that had long since lost its ability to produce more than a few scrawny nuts. The soil was too dry and rocky for a decent flower or vegetable garden, and in spite of her father’s hard work at his decent-paying job, they’d never had much of anything. Only her father’s life insurance…and Jake Proctor had pretty much wiped that out, so her mom had been left with only the house.
    And the bastard had gotten that, too…
    The thought of her step-father left a foul taste in her mouth, and the joy at the prospect of her new situation seeped out of her, leaving her feeling weary and scared. She sank slowly back into her seat and stared at her white knuckles as she clutched her hands together. Would he find her here? Would he come for her? Would the son of a bitch take her back to the house that had long ago stopped being a home for her?
    It was almost too much to hope for, this new sense of freedom. It couldn’t last. It never lasted. But she would make sure she got some money together from this job, so that she would be able to buy herself a ticket out of Texas to a state where Jacob Proctor would never find her.

Chapter Four
     
    Lily sat in the big, sparkling modern kitchen, sipping hot chocolate and gobbling down a bowl of thick and delicious chili, watching the tall, lean woman who appeared to be in her mid fifties as she bustled about, pulling loaves of bread from an oven, then rinsing fresh eggs in cool water. Dora had welcomed a stranger into her domain with obviously mixed feelings, which she kept firmly to herself. Lily sensed that her sudden appearance on the scene was not something the woman particularly cared for, but she was polite and showed nothing of her misgivings.
    Lily didn’t blame the woman for her concern, especially when the housekeeper seemed to think of Flint as her own son. As she sat there in a borrowed bathrobe while her clothes were washed and dried, she kept her eyes open and her mouth shut unless Dora asked a question. Then she answered quickly and truthfully. She thanked the woman for the meal when her bowl was empty, and rose from the oak butcher block table to head for the laundry room that was just down the hallway from the kitchen.
    “I better see if my things are dry. The chili was delicious. Thank you…”
    Dora carried the big bowl of fresh eggs into the cooler, and stepped back out, wiping her damp hands on her huge apron. “You can put your mug and bowl in the sink. You remember how to get to your room?”
    Chastised, Lily carried her dishes to the big sink and took a minute to wash them and place them into the drying rack. “Yes, I think so. This house is so big, it would be easy to get lost, but I believe I can find my way. You don’t need to worry that I’ll get into mischief, ma’am.”
    She didn’t wait for a response. She hurried out of the kitchen and headed for the laundry room, her cheeks burning. She wondered how much Dora knew about the reason she was here. It was pretty apparent that the woman didn’t trust her as far as she could throw her.
    Her laundry was dry, and she pulled it out and folded it, stacking it carefully on the laundry table. Her back pack was damp, so she couldn’t load her stuff back into it. She had decided that she would get the hell out of this place the minute she had enough money to do so. She was tired of having folks watching her like she was crazy, or a thief. She still had to discuss wages and work with Flint, and he’d vanished the minute he’d introduced her to Dora. She drew in a deep sigh, and carried her pitiful armload