“Thank you for coming to check on me,” Cathy said. “I never expected anything like this. I mean… I’m a stranger here.”

Alice just laughed. “Oh honey, in Blessings, no one is a stranger for long. Get some rest. Your personal phone number is on the rental application. I’ll call you sometime tomorrow and check in on you, just to make sure you don’t need me to run an errand, okay?”

“Yes, okay, and thank you for coming,” Cathy said.

Dan locked the door behind them as they left.

The house was quiet now, but Cathy didn’t feel so alone anymore. There were people here who knew her name, and who cared about her welfare. It was more than she’d had in almost a year, and the feelings washing through her were overwhelming. She reclined the chair again and closed her eyes, suddenly grateful she’d followed her kneejerk reaction to winter here.

* * *

Blaine Wagner had been AWOL from Vegas for almost a month, cruising along the California coast on a friend’s yacht, and then down the Mexican Riviera. They’d spent a week docked in Cabo San Lucas, then Puerto Vallarta, then as far as Acapulco before heading back.

He didn’t realize his ex-wife was no longer showing up anywhere in Vegas until he got home and checked in with Rand Lawrence, the private investigator he’d set to watching her apartment. The whole time he’d been gone, he’d been trying to decide whether to just let her be or remove the threat of her altogether.

He woke early, more than anxious to get back to the office and into his normal routine, but in the back of his mind, he wanted an update on his ex.

He ordered his driver for a nine o’clock pickup, and then showered and dressed before going down to breakfast. After weeks of rich food and more liquor than he’d like to think about, he asked his Chef for bacon and eggs and a couple of toasted English muffins, downed them with multiple cups of black coffee, and headed for the office.

As soon as he arrived, he issued orders to his secretary, checked to make sure the board meeting was still on for this afternoon, and then went into his office.

The scent of fresh brewing coffee met him at the door, and he poured himself a cup from the coffee bar before sitting down at his desk.

His computer was on and waiting for him to go through his personal emails, so he spent a couple of minutes scanning what was there before he reached for his phone to call Rand Lawrence, then counted four rings before je answered.

“Hello, Rand speaking.”

“Good morning Rand, this is Blaine Wagner. I’m checking in for an update on my ex-wife.”

“I don’t have much to tell, Mr. Wagner. I haven’t seen her come in or out since you left. I finally put up a security camera in the hall that’s aimed straight at her door and it hasn’t opened once since I installed it.”