I stood in the front yard of our new house holding our two year old little girl on my hip. "Nicky will you just take the picture." I whined through clenched teeth. We have been living here for almost two years but Nick was so proud of his new work. He had refurnished, painted and did almost everything himself in redecorating the inside and outside of the cottage like house. He had put up a cute wooden fence, painted the outside of the house yellow, and he even put in a garden in the front yard. So there I was with our two year old little girl smiling painfully.

"Okay I just want it to be perfect. Smile Savannah" He called. The little girl looked up just as the light flashed.

"Happy now? Can we please go inside."

Nick laughed and packed up his camera. He had taken photography on as a hobby. He was still a Backstreet Boy and still a teenage heartthrob. He was only 21 years old so of course these 18-year-old or 19 year old girls wouldn't give up trying even though he had a wife and child.

I walked up our nice wooden steps and walked inside our house. Nick followed me. I sat Savannah down in her boaster seat and continued cooking some dinner. "Jewel honey, there is a letter on the table for you." Nick called coming in to hand me the letter.

I looked at the envelope, No return address, just my name... Seemed pretty strange. I shrugged and tossed it aside to finish serving dinner.

I looked at our little girl, she had pretty blue eyes like Nick, dark blonde hair like myself, she had my nose and Nick's lips. She was a perfect little girl that was always happy. I couldn't imagine life without her. I sat quietly chewing my dinner thinking about the strange letter on the dinning room table. I decided to take it upstairs and read it alone. "I'll be right back."

I got up and kissed Nick on his cheek. I slid the letter off the table and into my hands. I rushed upstairs. I tore open the letter. In black bold letters it read.

I'm Back Peaches.

I dropped the letter my hands were shaking. It couldn't be, it just couldn't be, I had sent him to jail over four and a half years ago. I looked at the letter just sitting on the floor. Quickly I picked it up and threw it away returning downstairs to Nick and Savannah.

I watched Jewel come downstairs quickly, she looked frightened. "Jewel, is everything okay."

She nodded quickly. "Yes, everything's fine, nothing is wrong." She sat down and looked around nervously.

I took another bite of my dinner and let it go. "Well I'm done." She took her dishes to the counter. She took Savannah's empty plate. "I'm going to take Savannah outside, you don't mind doing the dishes do you?" She asked.

I smiled, "Not at all, I'll be out in about a half in our."

She nodded and took Savannah's little hand and guided her to our swing set outside.

I pushed my daughter in her swing. How could he be out of Jail already? He was sentenced to life. The one night almost four years ago ran through my mind.

It was a dark summer night; Jeff Reynolds was my jock boyfriend. He was head of the football team and I was head of the cheerleading squad. He had taken me out to Lover's point, a make out cliff in Pittsburgh. Of course I fell for his charm yet again and climbed into his old black firebird. We drove up with the oldies station playing. He loved the oldies, he loved Elvis and Frank Sinatra, all the old love songs, and fifty sixty rock and roll. We parked above the entire downtown city, and watched the lights glisten below us.

Then he turned off the radio making sure that I heard the thumping in the trunk. He smiled and took me around back to see what it was. When he opened the trunk there was my brother tied with thick rope and gagged with duck tape. I wanted to scream, but Jeff had thought of that already. He had his hand wrapped tightly around my mouth. He held a knife in his right hand and held my mouth in his left. I watched as he murdered my brother. I never knew that he was insane. I watched my brother die in his black firebird. Then he told me if I wanted to keep the rest of my family I had to marry. So I agreed. We were married illegally in Vegas.

A week after we were married I told the police everything. Jeff was charged with the murder of my brother Asa Michael Mclean. The memory had shaken me up a little bit and I hadn't noticed the figure that wrapped their arms around me.

"Hey Nicky," I said thinking it was Nick.

"You have a beautiful daughter Julie, We could have had beautiful children too."

I turned quickly to see the familiar square jaw, the brown hair, and the white teeth. "Jeff" I whispered.

"Time to go home." He said wrapping his hand around my mouth and dragging me out of my yard down to a creme Porsche.

I looked at my daughter for one last time as we drove away.

I came outside to be with my daughter and wife. As I went to open the back gate to our yard, I was surprised to already see it open. Jewel never leaves the gate open when Savannah is in the back. I rushed in thinking maybe she and my daughter went for a walk, But I knew that was out of the question when I seen my daughter sitting silently in the swing. By herself...

I picked her up and looked around, thinking maybe they were playing hide and seek. But I had to be wrong again. I looked on the ground to see Jewel's necklace I had gotten her for our Second year anniversary. It was in the shape of a flower with four tear shaped blue diamonds. The chain was broken, I looked around frightened. I picked it up and took Savannah back in the house.

"Savannah go and play with the dogs." I said my voice still shaking with my nerves. My daughter smiled and ran wobbly into the playroom where three of our five dogs were sleeping.

I picked up the phone and dialed the police.

I stood in my living room with Officer Smith and Officer Kelly. The woman officer, Officer Smith, was asking most of the questions. "Would your daughter be old enough to identify the few minutes that her mother went missing?"

I shrugged miserably, "Go ahead and try" I called Savannah in the room and sat her in front of the two officers.

"Honey, what happened to your mommy?" Officer Smith asked.

My daughter smiled and tugged on her hat. "Hat, I want hat." She said.

The officer smiled and took off her hat, handing it to my little girl. "There you go, now can you tell me where your mom is?"

My little girl began to trace the rope that lined some of the hat. The officer sighed, "Well Mr. Carter, I think that's all we can do right now. We will file a missing persons report."

I nodded and watched them leave.

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