Worth the Wait

An Arachnid Files Novella

Arachnid agent Jim “Dix” Dixon specializes in takedowns of child traffickers. Though he denies it, his most recent raid has pushed him to the breaking point. His boss recognizes that and orders him to take a month off. At loose ends, Dix goes back home to the small eastern North Carolina town of Hayesboro.

While he’s home, he runs into Deputy Sheriff Tess Barnhardt. Years ago, he dated her sister, Tammie. There was always a spark between Dix and Tess, but decency and respect for his relationship with her sister forced them both to ignore it. Now, though, Tammie’s gone, killed in a car accident years before, and Tess is raising her late sister’s daughter, Molly. The spark is still there, so Tess and Dix cautiously explore it. As they grow closer, Tess notices the many uncanny ways Molly resemblances him. Her sister took the name of Molly’s father to her grave, but now Tess wonders whether he was right under their noses all along.