...The little girl slept in peace, unable to hear the thunder. Diana wondered if Emma’s dreams had voices.
Caressing aside the child’s tussled golden hair, she kissed her warm forehead and tucked the Sleeping Beauty comforter more snugly around her. Her slumber threatened, Emma ran her fingertips across the satin edge of the blanket, soothing herself deeper to sleep. “Ticklies,” Emma used to say.
Diana had done the same thing as a child, and now indulged herself in a few comforting strokes of satin before she left her daughter’s side.
Her own bedroom, a large gallery just across from Emma’s room, welcomed her with its comforting familiarity. As she undressed in the unlit room, Diana stood at the rounded, mullioned windows, which had such a magnificent view of the ocean during the day. She put on thermals and socks, and watched the bright flicker of lightning made blurry by water streaming down the glass.
Then something she saw during a lightning flash made her jump. Her breath caught in her throat. Her gaze flew to the reflection in the glass.
Someone was behind her!
A man!
In that split-second she’d been able to see the image of a man standing across the room, just in front of the wardrobe mirror.
Fear and a terrifying validation paralyzed her. Someone was there! She was no longer half-asleep or unsure, as she’d been with the shadow in the car mirror. This time she was positive she had seen someone.
Another flash of light, and, once again, the man was behind her. Now her eyes knew where to look and he became more distinct. He was tall with wide shoulders and short, light hair. The distance made it impossible to distinguish the color of his eyes, but his penetrating gaze was unmistakable.
He had looked at her with a mixture of sadness and longing.
With slow movements, shaking from head to foot and unable to breathe, she turned around. Just then another flash illuminated the room.
Nothing.
Even though Diana couldn’t see anyone in the shadows, she knew, with ever fiber of her being, that someone was in the room with her.