"Fire & Ice" by Gratiana Lovelace (Revised for Wattpad, 2015) (Completed)

Ch. 11: Ominous Tidings

Caroline: "So Trevor, what did you do with Mrs. Burns today?" She runs her fingers through her little boy's hair with a motherly smile. Her son Trevor is her life's joy--made even more special now that her love and Trevor's Daddy, Thomas, is in their lives.

Trevor: Between sips of his apple juice, Trevor tells his parents about his day.  "Oh, we went to the park. I played in the sand box and made a castle! Then Mrs. B and I swung on the swings!" Trevor's eyes are bright with recalling the fun he had today. Then he pouts a bit and sighs. "But we didn't stay long because she said that she was getting tired and her back hurt her."

Caroline: "Oh, that's too bad. Trevor, you know that Mrs. Burns is a little older and she needs her rest sometimes." She brushes his hair from her forehead and caresses his cheek.

Trevor: "I know." He nods with a toddler whine. "But, I think we left because s a man was watching us." Trevor reveals offhandedly while sipping his juice.

Both Thomas and Caroline freeze, worried for their little son's safety—given their concerns about Paul Foster. But, neither of them thought that they would have to defend their little family against Paul so soon.

Thomas: Choosing his words carefully, Thomas raises his eyebrow at Caroline. "Well, I'm sure that Mrs. Burns knows best. You know, Trevor, I haven't had a chance to really thank her for watching you today." Thomas smiles benignly at Trevor--belying his intense foreboding. "So, I'll just pop over to her apartment briefly to do that." Caroline and she nods at Thomas in understanding.

***

Thomas walks briskly out of his and Caroline's apartment and walks the twenty feet down and across the hall to speak to Mrs. Burns. He lightly knocks on her door with three sharp raps of his knuckles. When Mrs. Burns opens her front door, she seems relieved to see Thomas and eagerly invites him in.

Mrs. Burns: "Thomas, I'm so glad that I have a chance to chat with either you or Caroline privately. Something odd and a bit disturbing happened today that I wanted to tell you about." Thomas notices how worried Mrs. Burns [(2)] looks.

Thomas: Thomas nods his head, his jaw clenched. "We know. Trevor said just now that there was a man watching you in the park."

Mrs. Burns: Flustered, she apologizes. "Oh, I'm sorry that he noticed that. I tried to distract Trevor by saying that I was tired and my back hurt. I hope that he wasn't frightened. But that is what I wanted to talk to you about." Mrs. Burns motions for Thomas to sit on the couch and they do. "May I offer you some refreshments?" She asks graciously.

Thomas: "No thank you." Thomas replies politely. "Please describe to me what happened today that unsettled you." Thomas interrogates her like the trained intelligence professional that he is.

Being the widow of an ex military man, Mrs. Althea Burns is accustomed to Thomas' style of speaking--deliberate and no nonsense, with urgent undertones.

Mrs. Burns: "Well, as I say, it was odd. Since Trevor and I go to the park frequently, we tend to know who we'll see there—mostly other kids that he plays with and their parents. You see, adults there always have a child that they're connected to."

Thomas: "And this man wasn't with a child and that's what disturbed you?"

Mrs. Burns: She nods her head with a concerned and perplexed look on her face. "Yes. And I wondered if he was in the park to jog, why wasn't he jogging? He just seemed to be standing around. I may have been blowing things out of proportion, but you can't be too careful with little ones and their safety. You hear such terrible stories on the news these days."