Meadowview Acres (40 page)

“What’s going on in that crazy head of yours?” Darren asked.

“I don’t know,” she replied somberly. “Tonight made me realize that things are really going to change. I’m going to be leaving, Darren. Isn’t that weird to think about?”

“Well, I’ll be leaving too, Babe, but we’ll be coming back home. Your parents are still going to be here, and my mom. We’ll be home for weekends and holidays, too. It won’t be that bad.” He was trying to make himself believe it, but in his heart he knew that he would be miserable without her.

“I guess you’re right. I just feel like we lost so much time together. We need to make sure we don’t let anything like that happen again.” She leaned her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes. That was where she wanted to be. Was she crazy to think of leaving?

“Look, we have all summer long to be together. Then we’ll just make a plan. We’ll look at a calendar and plan when we’ll be together. We can do that, right?” He put his head on top of hers and smelled that citrusy Shasta smell. He would miss that.

“Yeah, we can do that. I’m sure it will all be fine. I guess I just got a little dose of reality,” she said.

“Yeah, stop being so serious. You’re ruining prom night,” he teased her.

“Hey, you can’t talk to the queen like that!” She laughed and stuck her crown back on top of her head.

Motioning to the bejeweled crown, he said, “I can tell that thing is going to be dangerous. I may have to hide it.”

They sat on the stoop looking at the stars and talking about their future. It looked brighter than ever.

Two hours south of Hallston, in the neighborhood of Plantation Springs, Rebecca Scott had just returned home from her night class at Dixon University. She didn’t mind the night class; it wasn’t as crowded as the ones she took during the day, but sometimes she wished she lived on campus instead. As she pulled into the driveway of her parent’s home, her headlights flashed on something at the end of the drive.

More curious than afraid, Rebecca put her Mustang in park and grabbed her book bag from the seat beside her. The thing outside had looked like an animal. Usually, they only got opossums or raccoons around Plantation Springs. The thing on the drive looked a little bigger than those, though.

She climbed out of the car and locked the door with the key fob. With a little more caution, she walked slowly toward the end of the drive. The moon was bright, casting shadows everywhere making the night seem more eerie than normal.

She peered into the darkness, trying to focus her gaze on the spot where she saw the thing in her headlights. Rebecca was taking smaller steps, she was starting to get a little afraid.

She remembered the tiny flashlight her Dad had given her to put on her keychain. She found it on the ring and pushed the button. A bright stream of LED light issued from the small opening. Pointing the bright beam of light at the end of the driveway, she moved it first left then to the right trying to see what was there…

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I’d like to thank my parents, Bud and Wanda McGaw for their constant support and encouragement during the writing of this book and for sharing with me a great love of reading, my husband Chuck and sons Chase and Eliot for giving me the confidence to continue this journey and for remembering who the Princess is in a house of men, my sister Terri whose written word has always left me speechless and whose strength is unending, my amazing friend Margy for her honesty after reading the first draft, my copy-editor Pam Shuster for her expertise, to my brother Chuck and sis-in-law Pam for their great sense of humor and fun in all situations, to Audrey for letting me borrow her nickname of “Bug”, and to Andrew, Samantha and David for each being inspirational to me in their own way.

Look for PLANTATION SPRINGS

Coming in 2013…

the story continues

Donna Cain lives with her husband, Chuck, just outside of Louisville, Kentucky. Her two sons, Chase and Eliot are currently in college. She spends most of her free time spoiling her dog, Moose, and writing her second book, Plantation Springs.