Now she was older and wiser. She had to be smart. This time her head and her heart were in agreement. SC was exactly what she wanted. He was exactly the kind of man she would want to help her raise her children.
Giddy with excitement, she typed back that she would be thrilled to meet him tonight.
He texted back immediately to tell her to expect a package some time this afternoon, and that a limousine would arrive to pick her up at eight.
After wishing each other a fabulous day, Mila climbed out of bed feeling so energized she wanted to go running through the house screaming and yelling for joy. Instead, she kept her cool and headed down to the kitchen. There her kids were already dressed for school, and making themselves breakfast, they were such morning people. Totally unlike herself, if she could, she would sleep till midday then stay up half the night.
Emmy and Mac were the lights of her life. Although she often had major doubts about her abilities as a mother, somehow her kids had turned out great. Emmy was twelve, and it was hard to believe she would soon be the parent of a teenager. Her daughter was a straight A student, and an accomplished swimmer. Mac was nine and was already following in his sister’s footsteps with amazing grades and athletic abilities. Besides that, her kids were polite, caring, and well behaved.
“Hey, Mom.” Emmy smiled at her and brought over a plate of waffles. “I made these for breakfast.”
Could her daughter be more amazing? “Thanks, hon.” She took the plate and the three of them moved to the table. “So, how do you guys feel about spending the night at Dad’s tonight?”
Her daughter’s keen eyes met hers squarely. “Do you have a date?”
Surprised at Emmy’s perception but trying to hide it, Mila debated whether to tell the truth or fib. She had never lied to her kids before, well, besides the usual stuff about Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy. “Yes, I do.”
“I thought so,” Mac spoke up.
Mila couldn’t help but laugh at that. “You thought so? What made you think that?”
“You’re always on the computer talking to that man,” her son replied.
She’d thought she’d been so careful to hide her online chat sessions, but apparently she hadn’t. “How did you two know about that?”
“Mom.” Emmy rolled her eyes.
“Okay, okay, you guys are internet whizzes.” She chuckled, then sobered. “So, Dad’s tonight?”
“Is it serious?” Emmy asked.
As of right now it was, but she hadn’t met SC in person yet, so there was a chance that once they had their date, she would find out that they weren’t compatible after all. Again though she owed her kids the truth because this affected them too. “I think it could be.”
Emmy and Mac exchanged glances, and Mila was hit by the fact that her kids were growing up. They weren’t babies anymore. They knew that things were over between her and their dad. They knew that the divorce would soon be finalized. They knew that in all likelihood soon both her and her ex would move on to other relationships.
She wasn't sure how her kids would take her dating someone other than their father. They had been obviously upset when she and her ex had sat them down and explained that he would be moving out and that they were going to be getting divorced, but on the whole, they had held up well. But this was taking things to the next level. She would never do anything to hurt her kids, and if they needed her to take things slowly with SC because they weren’t ready yet then she would do that.
“Dad’s tonight,” Emmy and Mac said simultaneously.
Letting out a breath she hadn’t even known she was holding, Mila relaxed, her kids were the best kids ever. “I love you guys.”
“Love you too, Mom,” Emmy said, picking up her phone, ready to turn her attention back to her friends.
“Love you, Mom. Can I take my PlayStation to Dad’s?”
Her son’s priorities were the same as always. Great kids, a great guy who liked her and wanted to be with her, and spoil her, and make her feel like a princess, her life was going great.
* * * * *
9:03 A.M.
“What progress have we made?” Heidi asked as she and Matthew entered their boss’ office.
“Tracey ran tox screens on Tillie Schueman,” Rylla told Heidi. “There were traces of sleeping pills in her blood, so the killer didn't really have to worry about restraining her when he stabbed her.”
“It also means she probably wasn't really aware of what was happening,” Matthew added.
“Was that important to him?” Heidi asked. “He drugged Jeannie Jones before he threw her to the bears. Maybe it’s not important to him that they suffer, he just has to kill them because since they’ve seen him and spent time with him he can't let them go.”