***
Edie and Gail were sitting at the dining room table talking. Earlier, both of them and Chuck had been going over the diary and a few of the other papers. After sending Chuck to the sofa to lie down and rest, she started a pot of coffee, and sat back down at the table with Edie to wait.
Gail suddenly stopped, motioned for Edie to be quiet, listened again then tiptoed quickly down the hall to the living room where Chuck was resting on the sofa. She touched his arm lightly and his eyes flew open. “What’s wrong?”
“Somebody’s coming and they’re here to hurt us.”
At that moment, he heard something outside that sounded like an approaching car engine. He rose to one elbow and listened. Headlights appeared down the front driveway.
“Help me up, Gail.”
He got to his feet with Gail’s help then walked away down the hall and into the first bedroom. He unlatched the door to the gun cabinet, reached inside and removed an old British Infield .303 rifle. He pulled back the bolt checking the mechanism, then took several rounds of ammunition from a lower drawer and loaded the gun’s clip.
Gail appeared at his side and whispered, “It might be Blake or Bill.”
Chuck nodded. “I know, but let’s make sure. You and Edie stay in the kitchen and turn off the lights. If anything happens, take the car and get out of here fast. Don’t wait on me.”
The Beginning (Whispering Pines Book 1) Page 45