The phone rang, deafening in the silence of a single woman’s townhouse. The answering machine picked up. Always the same message, this is Tessa and I can’t come to the phone, leave me a message…what a joke he thought to himself as if she would call him back. Steven Pruitt knew he had hurt her and that she would never forgive him. Tessa didn’t even know that he knew where she was. Steven looked at the phone sadly and walked out into the night. He had to find a way to make her forgive him.

A silver Lexus Sports Coupe pulled into the driveway and the driver waited while the garage door opened. It pulled in effortlessly and the driver emerged into a well-lit, organized garage with just enough space for the luxury car and the odds and ends that invariably wound up in a garage. She shut the car door and entered through a side door into a dark kitchen. The dark was what she hated most about coming home each evening. She tossed her briefcase on the table and turned on the lights. She soon had the apartment ablaze. Tessa Sharp was infallible, except for her fear of the dark. She was tired tonight and the thoughts seemed to torment her the most then. She glanced at the answering machine and saw the familiar flashing red light. She pressed play and listened as her younger sister’s voice filled the room. Lisa Dade never failed to cheer her up, chatterbox that she was. Where was she, was she coming home soon and why hadn’t she called? Always questions, never answers. She made a mental note to call her tomorrow; she didn’t want her to worry. The next message, as if somehow she knew, was just the silence and then the click. Was it? Could it be? She pushed the thoughts from her mind. Steven wouldn’t call; he didn’t even have the number. How could he? She had moved three times in the past two years to insure that he could not and would not find her. The thought was never far away though.

Two more messages, one from Deanna Mann, she would be running late and could Tessa be a dear and open the store? Then Robert Townsend’s soothing voice asking if she was okay, he hadn’t heard from her in three days. She had forgotten to call him today so it wasn’t unusual for him to call.

She walked to the French doors that opened off the kitchen onto a deck just the right size for two people. You could watch the sunset or look out over the city at night. The lights were glowing tonight as they had since she had moved to Phoenix six months ago. She didn’t see them, she never did. Tessa knew that until she returned to where it had ended the ghosts would never be laid to rest. She couldn’t go back and heart was firmly closed anyway, he had seen to that. She would never be a fool again. So she worked and had few friends, but never anyone close. Never again, she had picked up the pieces and went on with her life. Steven Pruitt was history. She had quietly packed up and left town that long ago morning with no thought as to where she would end up. She didn’t need the explanations she knew would come. Listening wasn’t Tessa’s strong suit anyway. She shut the thoughts off and went back into the kitchen.

Morning came too soon. The alarm rang; Tessa opened her eyes and stretched her long legs. Her blonde hair tumbled about her face in a halo of colors that the sun captured beautifully. She walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She had just stepped in when the phone began to ring. Damn. She let the machine pick up. Her usual routine seemed to take forever this morning. She took one last glance in the mirror and turned out the lights. She never seemed to see what others saw. Blonde hair perfectly arranged the green eyes that needed no help and the cameo face that one always wanted to take a second glance at, as if what you saw there could not be real. Tessa Sharp was a beautiful woman with little effort and all the grace that other women envied. But if one looked closer you would see the sadness there. You couldn’t help but see it, it never left. She picked up her keys, checked the clock and left. She never checked the machine.

Tessa arrived early at the store, Delightful, and was just making coffee when the phone began to ring. It was Deanna and she would be later than she thought. Tessa told her no problem, it was slow and she would be okay until Deanna got there. The store belonged to Deanna but Tessa loved working for her. She was easy going and Tessa was actually learning quite a bit. Deanna was a successful interior designer and a wonderful teacher. Tessa was starting to have the same keen sense of what worked together. She had desperately needed the serenity of a job like this. Her last job had been madness. That was how she had met Steven Pruitt.