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while she sat on the front porch top step. Leaning against the railing, she’d hoped she appeared to be just resting and not the wilted-flower-waiting-impatiently-for-Josh-to-show-up person that she was.
    Granted, Josh didn’t know it was their first date, but damn it, it was six o’clock and the man still hadn’t shown. Remembering she’d heard the phone ring fifteen minutes ago, she called across the porch through the screen door, “Hey, Nan, was that Josh that called?”
    The screen creaked as Nan walked out, tugging her large denim purse over her shoulder. “No, hon, he hasn’t called. That was my sister confirming our dinner plans.”
    Her chocolate brown eyes held an apology as she pulled her keys out of her purse. “I feel bad leaving, but I’m meeting my sister to celebrate her sixtieth birthday.”
    Sabrina laughed and shooed Nan on. “Go on, enjoy yourself. Don’t worry about me.”
    “I’m sure it’ll seem quiet around here without Mace,” Nan said in a teasing tone.
    “The man does have a certain charm about him. I already miss his banter,” she replied with a smile.
    Nan walked down the stairs saying, “That’s Mace…always the one who knows just what to say to the ladies.”
    “He’s got it down to a science, I believe,” Sabrina agreed.
    Nan nodded to the screen door. “I left you a dinner plate in the fridge. Just pull it out and heat it up when you’re ready.”
    “Thank you, Nan. Now go have a blast with your sister. You only turn sixty once.”
    “I’ve turned sixty for the past five years. It’s called ‘sixty and holding’,” Nan said as she shot her a wide grin, then winked before walking away to her car.
    After the older woman drove off, Sabrina waited another half hour for Josh. The wind kicked up, blowing her long hair around her and giving her a break from the oppressive heat. That was another reason she was so hot. She’d left her hair unbound. Glancing at her cream linen miniskirt and baby pink linen top, she frowned at all the wrinkles.
    As evening approached and the wind whipped around her again, she glanced up to see dark clouds rolling in the night sky. Sighing, she decided she’d better go eat some dinner. When she shut the screen door behind her, the wind howled, causing the door to swing wide open and slam against the main door. Sabrina shivered at the loud sound and decided it might be best to close the main door, too.
    Opening the refrigerator, she pulled out her plate and stuck it in the microwave. As the smell of fried chicken and baked beans wafted from the microwave, she watched the trees bend back and forth in the wind and wondered why Josh hadn’t shown or at least called.
    Turning off the kitchen lights, she walked into the casual living room and flipped on the TV while she set the plate on the coffee table and sat down on the couch to eat. The TV’s sound in the background made her feel less alone. Nan was right. She did miss Mace and everyone else. The house seemed so quiet now that Elise, Colt, Mace and Nan were gone. When she thought of the reason for Elise’s absence, Sabrina said a little prayer for her friend’s father before she began to eat her meal. She hoped he made it through his surgery without any complications.
    A warning flashed up on the TV screen, making her turn up the volume out of curiosity.
    Earlier today, Eddie Clayton, convicted for the murder of his longtime live-in girlfriend, escaped the bus that was transferring him from his temporary cell to his permanent twenty-year stay in the state penitentiary. If you see this man, don’t go near him, please call 911. He was last seen heading south on foot as he ran into the woods off Highway 17.
    Sabrina shivered at the picture that flashed up on the screen of the menacing man with his long black hair, full beard and beady black eyes. Highway 17 was only a few miles from the Lonestar ranch. What part of Highway 17? she wanted to scream at the TV. When the news flash ended, she