Chapter 26

Leo Merritt liked living at the edge of town. He liked open space around him, a piece of ground with no sense of being crowded. He was lucky. When he'd bought the land years ago it had been dirt cheap so he'd bought plenty of it. Never did anything with it except build the house he and Hilary lived in, but that was all he wanted. During the day he was surrounded by people. At night he liked the quiet and solitude with just the two of them.

They'd never had any children, he and Hilary. It was a fact that saddened them, but in later years their two dogs had become their family. Leo had spent his entire life working in the hardware store, eventually becoming day manager. It was a good job and gave him as much social contact as he wanted or needed. He looked forward to coming home to Hilary at the end of the day, sharing a drink with her on the back porch and just admiring the isolation of the area around them.

Life was good.