Perhaps he was being overly paranoid, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that their stalker was indeed a man and quite possibly nuttier than a pecan pie. Once he found out how easy it was to get a rifle (a few hundred dollars and a background check that took all of fifteen minutes), he figured the small investment was worth some peace of mind. The burly man running the rifle department took the time to show him how to load it, carefully going over all the bells and whistles (including a lot on the attached scope, something he was pretty sure he’d never use) and advising him to learn the owner’s manual by heart. Andrew guessed it was easy to see he was no experienced hunter. The man never questioned his reason for buying the rifle, something he’d worried about the entire time.

Little had he known he’d be firing it less than twelve hours later.

He knew Kate wanted to give him holy hell about it, but that would have to come later. He’d nearly scared her to death when he fired off a warning shot.

“Please don’t tell me you shot someone,” she’d said when he came back inside, his hands shaking uncontrollably.

“No. No. I just wanted him to know I wasn’t messing around anymore. I shot it into the air.”

The truth was, the more he thought about it, the less certain he was that he’d pointed the muzzle straight up into the sky. He’d been so amped up, he thought he might have shot straight into the woods. There was no reason to tell Kate that. He’d already done enough damage.

All I wanted to do was save her from all this anxiety, and I just made it worse. Why the hell did I shoot? The guy even said never to fire the rifle unless you clearly see what you’re shooting at. I didn’t see shit.

He looked out the window at the brightening sky, and then at the front door.

The moment you walk out there, our entire lives may be changed…and not for the better.

He was sick to his stomach, the knot of dread so enormous it physically pained him.

There was a chance whoever it was had run away the moment he and Buttons went outside. That was when all of the chanting and rock throwing had ceased. Buttons hadn’t strayed far from the porch, hadn’t gone off barking. Could it be there had been no one nearby for him to chase?

“Not that you’re very reliable lately,” he said to the dog, who lay on the floor with his head on his front paws.