Til Her Last Breath

Chapter 2

There were no streetlights near the cottage, Layla realized later. It was early evening, dusk, and she was standing at the end of her driveway, waving goodbye to the movers, and once they rounded the corner out of sight, she glanced up and down the street curiously. It was a lovely area, quiet, and she knew that very few children actually lived near her. Most of them were a block or two away, so she expected her own block to be fairly chaos-free. There was a streetlight on the corner, but it did very little to illuminate any of her property. That was fine with her. The whole point of not letting the real-estate people clear away all the bushes and other foliage was to foster a feeling of isolation. A streetlight would take away from that, so she decided not to worry about it.

"Hey!" a voice called, drawing Layla's attention to a woman crossing the street toward her. "You're the new neighbor, aren't you?"

Layla chuckled softly to herself. Steel trap of a brain, this one, she mused silently. "Yes," she answered out loud. "Layla Ross."

The woman stuck out her hand and when Layla took it, she pumped her arm almost violently. "Gina Greene," she said. "I live in the green house, over there."

Layla extricated her hand from Gina's grip and massaged her sore elbow. She looked where Gina indicated and laughed. "That should be easy to remember," she quipped.

Gina frowned at her. "Why?"

Layla hesitated a moment, wondering if she should attempt an explanation, then shook her head. Yep, steel trap. "Never mind. Did you need something?"

"Oh no! I just wanted to introduce myself. It's nice to have another woman on the block around my age. Is your husband around?"

Layla shook her head. "I'm not married."

Gina goggled at her. "Not married! Oh that's fantastic. I have a brother I'd love you to meet."

Layla fell back a step at Gina's intensity, thinking to herself that this was a personality that took up a lot of space. She shook her head. "No, thank you, really," she stammered, casting about for a feasible excuse. "I'm engaged!" she blurted, then nearly laughed out loud at the crestfallen expression on Gina's face.

"Oh, that's too bad!" Gina groused, then she broke out in a brilliant smile again, giving Layla whiplash from the speed with which she shifted gears. "That's okay. Maybe you two and me and my hubby could get together for dinner some time."

Wanting desperately to get away now, Layla tried to placate her. "That would be nice," she lied. "Well, I've got a lot to do. It was nice to meet you Gina."

She tried to turn away but Gina grabbed her arm, pulling her back. "Before you go, I thought I should warn you," she whispered, her voice dropping an octave or two, and Layla wondered wildly if she was about to impart the meaning of life.

"What is it?"

"The man who lives there," Gina said, pointing at the big manor next to Layla's cottage. "Stay away from him. They say he's a witch."

Layla did laugh then but stifled it quickly when Gina glared at her.

"I know you think I'm crazy for saying it," Gina said, "but I think it's true."

That's not the only reason I think you're crazy, Layla thought to herself. "I'll keep an eye out," she promised. "I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Just stay away from him," Gina cautioned. "We gals gotta stick together, you know."

Layla breathed a sigh of relief when Gina finally walked away, and with a final glance up and down the block, she turned back toward the cottage.

Halfway up the front walk she felt a cold drop of water on the top of her head and cast her gaze skyward. When had the clouds moved in? she wondered. She'd been so distracted with the move that she hadn't been paying any attention to the weather, and she was surprised to see how gray and angry the sky had become. While she watched, a brilliant streak of lightning stabbed earthward, followed by a sonic boom of thunder. Less than a heartbeat later, the clouds opened up and sheets of rain poured down, sending her scurrying through the front door and into her living room, laughing at herself.