After a while, I thought Joe had given up. It felt strange, but the whole town seemed to be on my side because they knew me through my work and knew what I had done to the community, so it was almost as if they felt obligated to protect me. I thought maybe the "mob feel" of it had scared him away.

Things were starting to get back to normal. I didn't fear for every dark shadow anymore and I was able to go shopping alone without having to be alerted at all times. I was hoping that this guy was about to become just an uncomfortable bad memory that I could leave behind.

But unfortunately, he was about to become very real to me again.

When I entered one of the cabins at the Dude Ranch on a Tuesday afternoon, the door made a squeaking sound. I sighed as I couldn't believe Mitch still had not gotten around to fix it.

I pulled out my cell phone and sent him a text that said: "DUDE RANCH. DOOR." I hoped he would get my not-so-subtle hint.

As I was thinking about his forgetfulness and pulling out the dirty sheets, I heard the floor boards of the porch creak. I didn't bother to look behind me, because I thought it was Mitch.

"Well, that was fast", I commented snarly. "Get to it, I have people coming here tomorrow morning."

But when he didn't offer me a snarky comeback, I turned around to see if anyone was even there.

And unfortunately there was; only it was not Mitch, but Joe.

It felt like I was watching a ghost as he stood there, just staring at me. There was no expression to be read on his face, which made me feel even more uneasy.

"Joe..." I said, frozen in fear. I didn't even know how to continue, but being silent didn't feel like a good option to me. It was like by creating this silence, he was gaining more power to himself.

"It's good to see you, Lou", he replied.

I couldn't blink or even do anything else as I was too scared of what he would do. He didn't show it clearly with his face or with the way he moved, but I was sure he was here to hurt me somehow as his presence was naturally alarming.

And when he closed the door behind him and left me cornered, I wanted to cry. But I knew I couldn't, because I had to fight my way out of this.

If he had done something, attacked me in some way, I could have been able to distract him, but the way he just stood there without making anything, kept me frozen. It was like I was waiting, waiting for what would happen next so I would know how to react.

"What are you doing here...?" I finally asked. I was pretty sure he would not answer, but I had to move the situation along.

"I came to see you. I think we need to talk", he stated. He didn't sound friendly anymore, not like he had once been - if anything, he seemed angry. Like there was something underneath but he kept it under the lid to seem more intimidating.

"Talk about what...?" I asked. There was nothing I wanted to talk about with him. I just wanted him gone.

"You've been spreading rumors about me..." he said, blocking my way out. I didn't know if he had any weapons on him, so I didn't know if an attack would be my best defense. "And in a small community like ours, word gets around. Because of you, I'm not allowed to go anywhere anymore because people talk. They think they know me, they think they know us. But they don't."

Us? What the hell was he on about?

"Joe... There's no us... I don't know what you think I am to you, but we are nothing but strangers to each other", I tried to reason with him even though I feared there was only a slim chance he would start to make sense now.

"What are you talking about?" he seemed genuinely surprised, the tone of his voice changing. "You're my Lou..." There was some kind of twisted softness in his voice as he said, and I felt like I wanted to change my name because of the way he claimed it. "Or Samantha Louise? Should I call you that...? I kind of like that more than Lou. It's such a beautiful name..."

He smiled now, but it felt forced.

"Just let me go... You can still walk away..." I said, even though part of me started wishing he was actually going to hurt me somehow so I could have some evidence and make the police take him away. "This doesn't have to end badly."

"Who said it would end badly?" He was clearly living in his own world, not realizing how this made me feel. "I just wanna love you, Lou... I'm not mad, just disappointed. I'll forgive you for talking, if you ask nicely."

There it was again, the way he said my name. I shivered and turned my eyes away. He didn't even touch me, but he still made me feel like he was abusing me.

"You've got it wrong. If I ever was friendly to you, it was because you were a customer and I was a waitress - nothing more", I continued, still trying to make him see the reality. He had to be pulled out from his fantasy world.

"But you got divorced for me. Now we can be together. I could be father to your children. What sweet children they are..." he said.

He could threaten me all he wanted, even though it made me extremely uncomfortable, but as soon as he started to talk about Katie and Georgie, I lost it. I grabbed a small iron pitchfork by the fireplace and let him know I was going to use it as a weapon if he took another step toward me. "Leave my kids out of this, or I'll swear to God..."

"You swear what? That you'll hurt me?" He didn't even seem scared as he said it. It was like he was sure I wasn't going to do anything to him.

"I just might."

I knew that if I was pushed far enough, I could reach the breaking point and do anything. Anything for the people I love, especially for my kids.

"Lou, that's not like you... You take care of people, that's what you do-"

"Stop saying my name! You're not allowed to call me that! You don't know me. Just because you've read my book or my blog or browsed through my internet profile, doesn't mean you know anything about me", I told him, finally letting my frustrations out.

If he had finally came out of hiding, and I could unload the feelings and thoughts the terror had left in me, I wasn't going to hold back. I could not - and would not - let him have this kind of control over my life just because he thought he was entitled to have me in his.

I wasn't anyone's to own.

"But you're wrong. If you'd only give me a chance I could show you I know you better than you know yourself", he said, stepping closer.

I stopped him by pushing the pitchfork between us and kept staring at him. "That's not gonna happen."

"I know when you were born-" he tried, but I shook my head.

"Anyone with internet would know that", I told him, knowing it was on my profile.

"Okay, yeah, fair enough", he admitted. "But I also know how you felt when Peter was away. How you struggled to be a mother for Katie and Georgie. I know what it is to be lonely..."

"Stop talking about them as if you know them! You don't know them any more than you know me. You're delusional! You have to get yourself some professional help", I said.

Even though I was angry, I also realized that this would not end unless he would get himself sorted or die - or I would die.

But I didn't want to die, I would fight like hell if I had to. And since I didn't plan to kill him, even though I wasn't about to live my life in fear, there was only one way out.

As I considered the next move, I heard the porch's floor boards creaking again and he heard them too. He turned his head toward the door, shushing me. We waited in silence.

Listening, I realized I recognized the stepping of those boots behind the door.

It was Mitch.