Danger In The Shadows by Dee Henderson Page B

the younger ones whom she had known for several months, and they giggled as she stole kisses on their cheeks. They were happy kids even though most of them were at the shelter because their homes had been torn apart by violence.
    She gathered the children around her in a circle and made sure each one of them got to look at the pictures as she turned the pages of the book she had titled God’s Butterflies . By the inflections in her voice she could make any character, any story, come alive. She had the children giggling and laughing and fully engaged with the book within minutes.
    She loved to watch a child’s face as he or she heard a story for the first time. It was a delight to see. She learned something new about her craft with each group of children. She learned she could write stories that were quite complex and still have the full attention of a three-year-old.
    She learned that while adults would look at the artwork and see a good picture, an overall image, a child would look at the artwork and see the details first, then the full picture.
    She had changed her style of artwork when she realized that. Now her drawings were quite detailed down to the legs on a butterfly, the raindrop on a leaf, the caterpillar on a stem. An adult would turn the page when the words ran out; a child would look at the picture a long time to see all those details.
    Dave stood by the doorway, watching as various mothers came quietly into the room also to listen to the stories. It was a women-only shelter, and he attracted a few curious looks that he answered with a smile.
    Sara saw Dave tap his watch. She nodded and took the time to pass out copies of her books so every child had one to look at.
    Outside the building, hands on her lower back, Sara stretched, looking up at the light fluffy clouds drifting by. “Since it’s such a beautiful Saturday, would you like to go horseback riding for a couple hours?”
    “If you don’t mind us inviting along some company.”
    Sara looked over at her brother, alerted by his tone.
    “Who did you have in mind?”
    “Linda and Adam.”
    “No way, Dave. You’re not setting me up on a date. I know you and Adam have become buddies in the last couple weeks—playing racquetball at the health club, jogging together, doing all that macho stuff to see who is in better shape—but no way am I letting you set me up on a date. Besides, it’s a security risk.”
    She’d been hurt to learn Adam had taken her at her word and made no further attempt to contact her, which was a contradiction in logic that made her mad at herself. It had been hard to admit in her daily journal how off balanced the situation made her feel. She wasn’t used to dealing with a crush, and that was exactly what she had—on a good-looking guy that half the ladies in the country would recognize on sight.
    She was coping by burying herself in work. In the days since she had last seen Adam, she had finished two more children’s books. Dave was in the habit now of coming to her office suite around 7 P.M. and ordering her to put down her colored pencils and come home.
    “Sara, we’re talking about a few hours horseback riding in the middle of nowhere. Yes, it’s a minimal security risk, but you know the Graysons or their staff would never talk about who we invite to join us.”
    “Then why are you suddenly willing to take the risk?”
    “Because it’s my job to consider what’s best for you. And getting you out of that tomb of an office is more than a need right now, it’s a necessity.”
    “I don’t need you to arrange my social life.”
    “You canceled out on Ellen twice. So say, ‘Yes, Dave, let’s go riding.’ I’ve got the car keys, so you might as well face the inevitable.”
    Sara knew she had to say yes. Dave deserved a day with Linda. Horseback riding with Adam…it would be embarrassing to ask him. “Do you know if he can even ride?”
    “He can.”
    “Then you call him. And make it very clear I had no part in