mouth with her napkin and took a swallow of water.
"Hi, Jill. Good to see you again," Carrie greeted.
"Yes. I see you have your easel today. Watercolors?"
"No. Colored chalk. I usually just use my sketch pad but I had an inspiration for a larger
picture. I wanted to capture the trees and lake, maybe add a duck or two in the
foreground. If it turns out good with the colored chalk, then I'll do the scene with
watercolors." Then she opened her notebook and handed Jill a paper. "Here. Thought you
might want to have this."
Jill took the paper, noting the sketch she'd seen yesterday, the sketch of her on the park
bench. Carrie had added features to her face, making it obvious it was her, not just a
faceless woman in the park. It was beautiful.
"Thank you. It's lovely."
"Well, I had a lovely subject."
Jill smiled, not knowing what to say.
Out of her bag, Carrie pulled a half a loaf of bread. "I was about to go feed the ducks. Feel
like walking along?"
"Sure." Jill stood, motioning to the easel. "Will that be okay?"
"I doubt anyone will swipe it," Carrie said.
They walked along the trail, heading to the small piers where paddleboats and canoes were
tied. In spring and summer, you'd be hard-pressed to find one available as the lake would
be littered with them. But today, on this cool January afternoon, no one had braved the
water.
"I can't decide which time of year is my favorite out here," Carrie said. "I like the quiet of
winter, like today. But I miss the greenness of spring and summer. When I sketch in the
winter, I try to find something bright, something colorful. Like one of the red canoes on
the water, for instance."
"I've never seen you here before but I take it you're familiar with the lake," Jill said.
"I'm familiar with the lake, yes. I don't often come here to the park, though. Especially
during the summer. Way too many kids running around," she said. "Not that I have anything
against kids. They're just... disturbing," Carrie said with a laugh.
"Yes, I'll have to agree."
Carrie laughed. "Let me guess. You have a teenager."
Jill nodded. "A daughter."
"Oh, my."
"She's fourteen, thinks she's eighteen and acts like ten. Do you have kids?"
Carrie nodded. "Two boys. Josh is seventeen and will graduate in May. Aaron is fifteen.
Couldn't ask for better kids. Josh has always been mature for his age, and thankfully, they
get along well. Josh actually enjoys being taxi service for Aaron, so that saves me right
there. He's taken his role of big brother very seriously."
"Angie is at the I Hate My Mother stage," Jill explained.
"It's a girl thing," Carrie said. "My mother reminds me I was at that stage for fifteen
years," she said with a laugh.
They approached the swim area, deserted this time of year except for the ducks that
were sunning themselves on the sand. As if sensing a free lunch, no less than ten came over
to meet them. Carrie handed Jill several slices of bread and they went about the fun chore
of tearing it up and tossing it to the clamoring ducks at their feet.
"Oh, here she comes," Carrie said, pointing to a late arrival. "I call her Grandma Duck."
"Is she old?"
Carrie shrugged. "I have no idea. But she's more gray than brown, and see how she limps."
Carrie squatted down. "Here, sweetie," she murmured, tossing bread to the old duck.
Jill watched, smiling as Carrie shooed the other ducks aside so Grandma Duck could eat.
"I've seen her around for years," Carrie said. "She's a tough old broad."
The loaf of bread was devoured quickly, so they made their way back to the park bench. It
was a fun hour but it passed far too quickly.
"Can I ask you something?"
Carrie nodded. "Sure."
"Have we met before?"
Carrie laughed. "You too? I've been thinking about it since yesterday. You seem so familiar
to me."
"I know. But I don't think we've met." Jill allowed her eyes to linger on Carrie's pale blue
ones. "Surely we would remember."
Carrie's eyes turned serious. "Perhaps in another life," she murmured.
Jill was about to say she didn't believe in that sort of thing but the familiarity in Carrie's
eyes told her it might be true. "Perhaps."
Carrie smiled, her eyes softening. "And perhaps I'll see you again."
CHAPTER FIVE
Jill was surprised to see Craig's truck in the driveway when she got home that afternoon.
She knew he didn't have a game but they usually practiced after school. She noticed two
things when she walked into the kitchen. One, dinner was in the oven. He'd apparently
found the casserole she'd made the night before. And two, the washer and dryer were
both running.
"Craig?" she called.
"In here."
She found him in his recliner, the remote control in one hand and his cell phone in the
other. A basketball game was on.
"Thanks for starting dinner," she said as she walked behind him, lightly squeezing his
shoulder. "And laundry."
"How was your day?"
She smiled and shrugged. "Same as always." She rarely spoke about her job. On the few
occasions she did try to share something with him, she could tell he was totally
disinterested. If it didn't have to do with sports, his attention span was that of a tenyear-
old. "You?"
"Short day. I blew off practice. We were awesome last night. I told them to take a day
off."
"Well that was nice of you." She moved away. "Was Angie here? She had band practice."
"Yeah, I took her. She's going to catch a ride home."
"So I'm assuming she didn't give you grief like she did me this morning?"
Craig laughed. "The way I heard it, you gave her grief. My mother said Angie called her in
tears."
Jill sighed. "And what else did your mother say?"
"Oh, the usual. By the way, we're invited to dinner Saturday night."
"Can't wait," she murmured as she left the room.
Alone in their bedroom, she undressed quickly, intending to take a shower before dinner.
But Craig surprised her when he opened the door.
"We've got thirty minutes before Angie is home," he said, his eyebrows rising
mischievously. He smiled, causing his moustache to crinkle at the corners.
But she closed her eyes and shook her head< "I'm not really in the mood, Craig," she said
quietly.
He walked closer. "It's been a long time, babe."
"Yes, I know. It's been awhile since we've both actually been here at the same time."
"So? Is that a yes?"
Before she could answer, his cell rang. He looked at it, then back at Jill. "Sorry, babe, but
I've got to take this."
She shook her head, surprised at the relief she felt as he closed the door behind him. No,
she wasn't in the mood, but that hadn't stopped her before. But for some reason, this time
she couldn't muster the energy to fake it.
And instead of the quick shower she'd planned, she filled the tub with water, adding scents
and oils to the hot water. She lit the lone candle she kept there then turned the lights
down. It was a romantic setting. So before she slipped into the warm water, she locked the
bathroom door. Just in case.
She let the water envelope her, sinking down to her neck and closing her eyes. She wasn't
surprised when thoughts of Carrie Howell danced in her mind.
CHAPTER SIX
"That Howell? The electronics store?" Jill asked a few days later as they walked to feed