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She’d once been such a romantic. Falling for a man who’d swept her off her feet, made her his wife, controlled her to the point where she had no other life, hurt her and then — after she’d thought she was free of him at last — stalked her from one town to another, had pretty much killed any romance that might be left in her soul. No, she did not believe in happily ever after.

If Blake wasn’t rich, she wouldn’t worry about him so much. Without his resources he would’ve forgotten her by now and turned his attentions to another woman. A woman to charm, seduce, possess, control, hurt, and stalk. Maybe he had. He always had more than one woman under his control in one way or another. Maybe he’d tricked another woman into loving him while he was still hunting his ex-wife. He could multi-task.

Finding out she was pregnant had given her the courage to leave him. She’d put up with too much for too long. It had escalated so gradually, from adoration, to jealousy, to unnatural control, to his disappointment in her, to the infrequent bouts of rage, and finally to physical violence. She’d been willing to sacrifice a lot of herself in order to try to bring Blake back, to save him from what he’d become. She’d loved him, once. She’d believed he loved her.

Blake Pierce would never put his hands on their child.

If she dared to search his name or hers, even on a public computer like the ones at the library here in town or in Eufaula, he’d know. Someone who worked for him would know. They’d come for her, by the light of day or in the night. They’d kill her and take her baby, as her ex-husband had threatened the last time she’d seen him. She couldn’t take any chances…

Gabi was so lost in what-ifs she jumped when the door opened. Seeing Tyler Milhouse come into her shop, a toothy grin on his otherwise handsome face, did nothing to ease her fears.

“You got time for me this morning?” he asked.

She should say no, she should lie and tell him her schedule was full. But that would be easy to disprove, and besides, she needed the money.

For the past year she’d managed to get by without dipping into much of the cash she’d brought with her. In fact, in the past few months her business had increased and she’d managed to add quite a bit to her stash, which she kept in a fire-proof safe in her bedroom closet. She bought the occasional piece of clothing for herself or for Mia at one of the local boutiques. They didn’t carry much but always seemed to have just what she needed. She’d bought a stroller from the antiques store in town. In the back of the store they always had a few gently used items that couldn’t be called antiques. She’d furnished her house in the same way, one piece at a time. It was there that she’d found the safe.

All these thoughts about, and an actual planned date with, Silas, combined with renewed memories of Blake made her realize that Mystic Springs, perfect as it was for now, couldn’t be forever.

“Come on in,” she said, indicating the chair before her.

Tyler plopped himself down. He never let her shampoo his hair. It appeared to be freshly washed, but there was so much of it he always spent a good bit of time in her chair. His brothers were no better.

He chatted as she cut, talking about the weather, the spring festival, the coming full moon. Tyler was always fascinated with the phases of the moon. She was more than half finished with his cut when he said, “So, you’re seeing Silas Hollister. I heard y’all went out once before and it didn’t go well, so I was surprised to hear y’all were giving it another shot.”

She’d been expecting this from someone at some point, so it didn’t startle her. Still, her heart leapt a bit. “There are no secrets in Mystic Springs,” she said lightly.

“That’s true enough,” he grumbled, as if maybe he’d expected another answer. “Though honestly, don’t we all have one or two?”

The way he said it made Gabi’s spine tingle. Did he know her secrets? How could he? Impossible. It was a good thing she was almost finished with his haircut. Her hands started to tremble.

Tyler paid her, she smiled and thanked him for the generous tip, and then he left. When he was gone Gabi closed her eyes, held onto the back of the chair, and took a deep breath.

She liked it here. She felt safe, more often than not. But maybe it was time to leave Mystic Springs and start over again in another small town. She should go further north. She should change her name. Not Mia’s, that would be too confusing for the child, but Gabi could pick another name, first and last this time, and start over again.

If she had to spend the rest of her life running from her past she would. If Blake found her, if he knew where she was…

Her eyes were drawn to the window as the dogs ran past with Silas right behind them. He looked her way and nodded, even though it was impossible for him to see her standing here, with the glare on the front window, those big letters, the too-plain and less-than-perfect Beauty Shop, blocking some of the view. She saw him well enough. The way he moved as he ran was enough to make her mouth go dry. How had this happened, so fast? She’d dismissed him before. Why couldn’t she manage it now? Why couldn’t she cancel tonight’s date and keep trucking on? One foot in front of another, and then again. Head down, eyes and focus on nothing but her daughter.

Silas could be bad news. He was everything she didn’t want in a man. Sexy, with dark eyes that seemed to see right through her. Kind, the way he treated his animals, the way he always knew what they needed.

He didn’t seem to care that she was determined not to enter a serious relationship, but what if he changed his mind? He was probably very persuasive. She couldn’t imagine any woman saying no to him if he set his sights on seduction. Not even her.

If she found herself wavering in her resolve to keep things casual between them, she’d pack up in the dead of night and go. She’d disappear.

She’d done it before.

* * *

Springers relied on Silas for pet care, though to be honest those services weren’t often needed for much more than the occasional vaccination or checkup. The magic of Mystic Springs, the power that resided in the residents of their small town, was enough to keep their dogs, cats, and the occasional odd pet — Mike Benedict used to have a collection of snakes, and the newly retired Mayor Frannie Smith had once decided to harbor a family of possums — healthy. He also removed pests, on occasion. Bats, hornets, termites. He’d moved them all from homes to a more natural habitat.

Most of his local clients called him on his cell phone to make an appointment, but now and then someone would just show up.

On this cool afternoon, he wasn’t surprised to see Janie Holbrook’s little red car, a ’67 Mustang that would make any car-nut drool, making her way down his long driveway at somewhere around fifteen miles an hour. What a waste of horsepower. She was a friendly woman, knew everyone in town, and took very good care of her cats. At the moment she had four, if he remembered correctly. They were all wonderfully spoiled. And fat.

She pulled up to his front door.

He had a simple setup in one long building, with living quarters on one side and a larger office on the other. The doors of the dark brown building were side by side, home on the right, work on the left.