Raymond was on edge that night as he listened to Claire singing a lullaby as she tucked little Ray into bed. He heard Ray tell his mother that he loved her and several moments later he heard the shutting of a door and Claire walked back into the sitting room.

Claire wrapped her arms around Raymond's neck from behind his arm chair and kissed his cheek. Raymond loved this woman more than life. They had been married nearly twelve years before, after several years she had finally gotten pregnant with Raymond Junior and now little Ray was nearly seven and still an only child. Raymond was just thankful that God had given them at least one miracle.

"You act as if something is on your mind tonight." Claire said softly. Raymond grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her around the chair and into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist which was still just as tiny as it had been when they'd gotten married.

"It's nothing, dear." he replied and he could tell that she didn't believe him but she respected him enough not to question him further.

"Come on to bed, my husband, and I will take care of you." She said pressing her lips to his ear. He raised his hand to her soft red curls and smiled.

"Go on." he said. "I'll be there as soon as I get this place locked up." Claire nodded and stood up. He looked up at her warm smile and noticed the tiny wrinkles around her eyes and mouth that hadn't been there twenty years ago when they'd met. She was still the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.

"Don't take too long." she teased and then walked down the hall to their bedroom. Raymond sighed and rose from his chair. He had expected to hear from Thomas by now but still had heard nothing. He nervously looked out the curtains but the night was cloudy and dark and he could not see very far.

He checked the door to make sure it was locked and secured and was about to blow the lamps out in the sitting room and kitchen when he heard a thud in his and Claire's bedroom.

"Claire, are you okay?" he called out. Silence followed and he felt panic set in. He ran down the hallway and then screamed out in horror when he saw his beautiful Claire lying on the bed with a pool of her own blood around her head, soaking her red hair and the crisp white quilt.

"Claire!" he yelled, running to her and pulling her into his arms. She was sputtering but could not seem to form words as every bit of her life and blood poured from the long cut in her throat. Her dark eyes met his and he could see her pain and her fear.

"I love you, Claire. I am so sorry." Raymond said through his tears. He looked around the room for signs of whoever had attacked his wife but no one was there.

"Daddy!" Ray yelled from his room. Raymond's heart froze in his chest when he heard a familiar laugh.

"Let's go see daddy, shall we?" Thomas said. Raymond's heart fell into the pit of his stomach when Thomas walked into the room holding Ray by the arm.

"Mommy!" Ray screamed when he caught sight of Raymond sitting in the bed holding Claire's blood covered and now lifeless body in his arms. Raymond saw this son was pale and his blue eyes were wide and full of tears.

"It's going to be okay Ray." Raymond said trying his best to sound comforting. He looked up at Thomas.

"Please Thomas, don't hurt my son." he begged. Thomas smiled and Raymond realized that the man had lost his mind. Whatever small shred of humanity that Thomas had once had was gone. His eyes were wild and cold and there was not a sign of guilt, compassion or decency on his face.

"You knew the price you would pay, Raymond. I warned you about what would happen if Callie and Grayson got my money. And do you know what? They have my money. They are in my house and it is your fault.

"No! He stole the will." Raymond argued desperately though he could see that Thomas was beyond reason.

"You should have hidden it better." he said. "Now poor Clair and little Ray have to pay for your mistakes." Ray screamed as Thomas raised the bloody knife. Raymond leapt the from the bed, desperate to save his son but he was too late.

Thomas laughed as Raymond fell to his knees and cradled Ray's body in his arms. His wife's blood and his son's blood mixed together on his skin and clothes and became one.

"You're a bastard." Raymond managed to choke out through his tears and pain. Thomas laughed.

"It's your fault they are dead." he said. "I won't kill you, Raymond. We have been friends too long." Raymond wanted to stand up and beat the life from Thomas with his bare hands but he could not find the strength. His very reasons for living were dead and he was covered in their blood.

"Goodbye. Raymond." Thomas said. He tipped the kerosene lamp over and it shattered on the bedroom floor quickly igniting in the carpet. Thomas walked out of the room. Raymond stood, cradling his son against his chest and he crawled into the bed beside his wife. He held them both tight in his arms and as the flames grew hotter his body was wracked with heartbroken sobs. He told them both goodbye and screamed in pain as the flames consumed them all.

888

"How's it going?" Grayson asked walking into the house and wiping his sweaty face on his sleeve. Callie stood up and threw the rag she'd been to wipe down the kitchen floor back into the bucket of hot soapy water.

"I almost have everything cleaned up." she replied. "How's it going outside?"

"I got the porch patched up and the shutters fixed but I gotta run back into town and pick up some more nails." Callie nodded.

"We'll both go." she said. "I wanted to get some fabrics for some fresh new curtains." Grayson held his arm out for her.

"Let's go then." he said. Callie wrapped her arm through his and he led her out to where he had his buckskin hooked to the small wagon they had borrowed from James and Lauren the day before when they had made their first trip for supplies.

"Life is finally turning out how I always knew it would." Callie said as Grayson flicked the reins and they started down the road.

"How's that?" he asked looking out at the sun shining through the gaps in the trees.

"Well I'm your wife just like I always knew I would be. I finally have my house back that my father built and we are going to fix it back up and soon it will be just as beautiful as it was before my father died" Callie replied tilting her head back and letting a ray of sunlight shine on her face. Grayson felt his mouth go dry at the sight of her long slender neck and he fought the urge to pull the wagon to the side of the road and carry her off into the woods for a few hours.

"I'll do whatever I can to make your life everything you want it to be, Callie. I've said it before and I'll say it again, you are all I've got."

"You have Lauren and James." Callie reminded him.

"You are all I have that I could never live without." he countered. "I know that because I lived for five years without you and I thought about and missed you every single day. I could never live without you again."

"For such a big tough guy, you sure are a sweetheart." Callie teased laying her head on his shoulder. He chuckled.

"Let's just keep that between us, okay?" Callie yawned into his shoulder and found herself drifting off to sleep.

"Good morning beautiful!" Peter's voice woke her as Grayson pulled the wagon to a stop in town. Callie sat up quickly and blushed when she realized she had slept all the way to town. She looked up at Grayson but he was glaring over at Peter.

"Don't you have some other woman to flirt with today? One that isn't my wife?" he demanded. Peter thought for a moment and then shook his head.

"Nope, I can't think of any." he replied. Grayson growled and jumped down from the wagon. He helped Callie down as well and Peter looked at the dirt covering both of them.

"Either you've been working hard or you stopped off and had a romp in the woods." he said with a laugh. Callie rolled her eyes.

"Grow up, Peter." she said. "We've been working on that house."

"Can I help?" Peter asked.

"Don't you have something to do at the shop?" Grayson replied pointedly. Peter shook his head.

"Nope. And I'm going absolutely crazy! I'd bug Peggy Sue but she is still gone to her parents and so that leaves me stuck with you two."

"How special." Grayson said dryly. Callie laughed.

"Aww.. He's lovesick." she said. "You can help us Peter. We need all the help we can get." Grayson was still grumbling under his breath as he walked away.

"I don't think he likes me." Peter said wrapping his arm around Callie's shoulders as they followed after Grayson.

"I wonder why." Callie said looking at Peter's hand that was resting dangerously low on her chest. Peter just grinned his lopsided grin.

"We're not each others type remember?" he teased.

"Gray's not really that mean. He's actually a big softie, he just doesn't want everybody else to know." Peter looked at Grayson's broad back that was wider across than a tabletop and twice as hard and shook his head.

"There is no way that gigantic monster of a man is a big softie." he said. Callie slapped him on the back of the head.

"Yes he is."

"Quit talking about me, Callie. We were supposed to keep that between us." Grayson interrupted from in front of them.

"No we were supposed to keep the fact that you're a sweetheart between us." Callie reminded him. He sighed and turned to face them.

"Can I borrow her for a minute?" he asked Peter. Peter let her go and nodded. Grayson grabbed Callie's arm and pulled her tight into his arms.

"What am I going to do with you, Callie Fields?" he asked her gently as he smoothed her hair. She smiled up at him.

"Love me forever." He smiled and his green eyes filled with love.

"I think that's pretty much a guarantee." he replied. Peter rolled his eyes.

"You're right, Callie. A big old softie sweetheart." he said. Grayson glared over at him and Peter took a step back. His spirit was brave but his damn legs were nothing but yellow cowards.

"A big old softie sweetheart who could kick my ass with one hand." Peter amended.

The three of them got the rest of the supplies they were needing and as they were loading up the wagon and getting ready to head to the house, sheriff Potter came walking over.

"Grayson, I need to talk to you." he said, his voice and the look on his face full of seriousness.

"What seems to be the problem, sheriff?" Grayson asked calmly. He figured that either Raymond Collier had run crying to the sheriff over Grayson breaking into his safe or Thomas Whitaker had run crying to the sheriff over being kicked out of Callie's home.

"Maybe we should talk privately." sheriff Potter replied throwing a meaningful glance at Callie. Callie crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head.

"Anything you have to say to my husband, you can say in front of me." sheriff Potter nodded. Peter crouched down where he was standing in the back of the wagon so he could hear the sheriff more clearly.

"Raymond Collier and his family were found dead last night. Their house was burned to the ground while they were inside." Callie gasped and Grayson and Peter both shared a look of surprise.

"Was the fire accidental or was it arson?" Grayson asked. The sheriff shrugged.

"I don't think it was an accident but then again that's pretty hard to prove."

"What does this have to do with my husband?" Callie asked.

"Well, ma'am, I hear that you and your husband were the last clients that Raymond Collier saw yesterday and after you left he was on edge and nervous the rest of the day."

"You think Gray had something to do with their deaths?" she demanded. "I am sick and tired of people thinking bad things about my husband! He is a good man and he is not a murderer and if you would just quit being such a judgmental hypocrite you would realize that we got what we wanted from Raymond Collier yesterday and Gray would have had zero reason to want to hurt him or his family!" Sheriff Potter took a step back as he stared down Callie's temper. Her blue eyes were flashing and her cheeks were flushed as she swung her hands and stomped her feet to emphasize her words.

"Callie, I have to question everybody that could be a suspect."

"He is not…." Grayson put his hand over Callie's mouth to stop her from going on yet another rant.

"Callie, the sheriff is not out to get me. He has every right to question me and if you remember he stuck up for me with Phillip so he's not trying to make me out to be a murderer." Callie took a deep breath beneath his hand and nodded. Grayson moved his hand and Callie looked back at sheriff Potter.

"I'm sorry about that, sheriff." she said as she smoothed out her skirt. "It has just been hard since Gray got back, with all the insults and accusations that seem to be constantly aimed at him." Sheriff Potter nodded and Peter reached his hand down and patted Callie's blond hair on the top of her head.

"It will be okay, firecracker." he said in the kind of voice one would use to calm an angry child. Callie glared up at him but kept her mouth shut.

"Sheriff, I'm sorry to hear about Raymond and his family but I had nothing to do with that. Callie and I saw him yesterday morning and got a copy of her fathers will and that was the last time we saw him," Grayson said. Sheriff Potter nodded.

"I didn't think you had anything to do with it but I had to ask." he said. He tipped his hat to Callie and Peter. "Have a good day." he said and he walked away, happy to have escaped Callie's temper with no physical injuries, though he doubted he would have gotten so lucky if Grayson hadn't been there to stop her.

"Gray, what if Thomas killed them?" Callie asked as they headed out of town toward the house. Grayson's eyes widened when he looked over at her. He had been thinking the same thing.

"Why would he do that?" Peter asked from where he was riding his mare beside them.

"Thomas and Raymond had some kind of deal worked out over my money.. That is why they hid it from me. What if Thomas thought that Raymond hadn't held up his end of the deal and burnt his house down as payback." Callie said. Grayson thought about Claire and Raymond Junior and felt sadness at the thought that they were dead. Claire had always been a kind, warm woman and Raymond Junior was only a child and far too young to die.

"Callie, I'm sure it wasn't anything like that. I'm sure it was just an accident." Grayson lied. He was starting to suspect more and more that Thomas Whitaker was a very dangerous man who had killed before and would kill again. He was even beginning to think that it might have been Thomas's bullet that had struck his shoulder.

"Grayson's right, Callie. Thomas might be a perverted old bastard but I don't think he's a murderer." Peter added. Callie just kept looking straight ahead and chewing on her bottom lip while she was deep in thought. Grayson looked over at Peter and the two men shared a knowing look. Neither of them really believed that Thomas Whitaker was innocent in the deaths of Raymond and his family.