Shadow in the Pines by PJ Nunn

professor who had a real passion for his work. “Is there something you need me to do?” she asked.
    “No, I just saw you in here and thought I’d stop by,” he said, looking casually around the lab. Dani waited, not sure what to say. It wasn’t like him to have extra time on his hands. “You do good work,” he said after a moment.
    “Thank you,” she said. “So do you.”
    “You’re in master’s classes, aren’t you?” he asked.
    “Yes, sir.”
    “Decided on a project for your thesis yet?”
    “Not really,” she said, wondering if he was leading up to something. “I’d like to do something that would appeal to the Center for Disease Control.”
    “Hmmmmm. I thought I might put in a good word for you with Dr. Crane,” he said. “He’s had trouble getting enough help over there this fall.”
    That caught her attention. “At Ophidian?”
    He nodded, getting up from the desk.
    “That would be great!” she said without a clue what she’d work on over there. She just knew it might help her get some answers.
    “You’d like that?” he looked surprised.
    “I would, yes,” she nodded enthusiastically.
    “Good, then,” he smiled. “I’ll give him a call this afternoon.”
    “Thank you, Dr. Abraham,” she said as he walked toward the door.
    “I told you to call me Joe,” he smiled again before he stepped through the door.
    Wow. She might have a chance to work at Ophidian! She hadn’t even considered that it would mean being surrounded by snakes, just that she had to have some answers. She looked up to see David, her student, watching her with a knowing look on his face. “What?” she asked.
    “Joe?” he smiled and wiggled his eyebrows.
    Dani smiled back, rolling her eyes. “Get over it!”
    “Uh huh,” he grinned, clearing off the table. “I’m outta here! Thanks for staying late.”
    “No problem,” she waved good-bye as he walked out the door.
     
    Dani was on her own for the evening since Noah was working late and it gave her some much needed time to get caught up on housework and a paper she was writing for her microbiology class. Spending most of the day at the campus, then weeding her gardens as soon as she got in didn’t leave much time for anything else. Not if she spent her evenings with Noah, anyway. It also gave her some uninterrupted time alone with her thoughts, but she wasn’t at all sure that was a good thing.
    For one thing, it made her much too aware of how much she’d come to enjoy having Noah around. Was it possible she was really falling in love with this man? She’d only known him a little while. Maybe she was just trying to replace what she had with Mark. Or what she thought she had.
    Summoning what little will power she had left, Dani decided to continue the thought process while scrubbing the bathroom. She’d never resolve everything, but at least the bathtub would be clean. When she finished, she carried the broom into the bedroom and started sweeping up the dust bunnies that magically appeared overnight, but a gorgeous sunset called to her through the window. Fighting the urge to run downstairs and watch from the porch swing, she stood in the window, staring until the sun finally dipped below the tops of the trees.
    She was just chiding herself to get back to work when a movement beneath the trees caught her eye. Stepping closer to the window and squinting against the last rays of the sun, she saw a shadow that looked like a man standing between two trees directly across from the house. She stared intently, hardly daring to blink lest it disappear. Was it really someone watching the house? No, it was just a shadow, she told herself. But, when she blinked, it was still there, and it moved! Shadows don’t move. At least not when the trees aren’t moving.
    Realizing she was holding her breath, she inhaled deeply, hoping to slow her increasing heart rate. When it moved again, deeper into the trees, she took a couple of quick steps and grabbed the phone,