I just figured out that I can watch movies on my laptop and type at the same time! Cool! So, I watched 'Resident Evil', while I typed up the second half of this chapter.

Chapter 3: Beach Day and Warnings

Mary walked down the path to the Church, singing to herself. She had been doing a lot of that lately. 'Being love sure does strange thing to people', she thought. Love? Where had that thought come from? She'd only had three dates with Jack. Okay, so maybe not quite love yet, but definitely like.

Mary arrived at the Church just as Carter was opening the door to leave. That was good, since she didn't have a free hand, and would've had to kick the door to get his attention.

"Good morning, Mary," Carter said, cheerfully. He held open the church doors for her. She was holding four books and glass jar of roses. "What is all this?"

She set them all down on the table in his office. "These are the books you ordered, and the roses are for decoration."

"Where did they come from? I don't think I've ever seen any roses around here."

Mary shrugged. "I have no idea. I've gotten at least three a day for two weeks now. There's always a note, but no one signs them."

"They're not from Jack?" Carter teased.

Mary blushed. "No. I've asked him. He's just as confused as I am. Do you think they might be from Gray? He has been acting really secretive lately."

Carter thought about that for a moment. "Could be. Or it could be someone outside of town. Are there any clues at all on the notes."

Mary thought for a moment. "Oh, yeah, on the back of one of cards it says 'Sherwood Florist'. And, on the 14th, I did get a box of 'See's' candy."

"I have a friend in the city. He may be able to find out who is buying the flowers. Would you like me to ask him to see if he can find out?"

Mary smiled. "Would you? Thanks."

"It's the least I can do."

"So, Carter is going to ask his friend in the city if he can trace who's sending the roses and candy," Mary told Ann, that night at the Inn. It was a slow night, and they hadn't been able to talk for a few days now. Mary was trying to catch her friend up on what had been going on over the past week.

"See, I told you you had a secret admirer."

"Well, it's starting to feel creepy. I mean, I've gotten roses every day for two weeks now. And they're always either red, coral, or lavender."

"And that's weird, why?" Ann asked, ducking under the counter for another washcloth.

"Well, I looked in this book about flowers and their meanings. For roses, red means "love and passion", coral means "desire", and lavender means "love at first sight". Who would send me flowers like that?"

Ann frowned. "Maybe you're reading too much into this. You always did have a great imagination."

"There's always a note," Mary reminded her. "And they always say some sort of variation of "I love you".

Ann thought of that for a moment. "And you're sure Jack isn't sending them to you?"

"I've asked him. He hasn't sent them."

"Speaking of Jack, you haven't told me about your dates yet. Has he kissed you yet?"

Mary could feel herself turning red. "After our first date."

"Really?" Ann squealed. "And you didn't tell me!"

"I haven't had the time! Besides, when were you planning on telling me about Cliff?"

"What about Cliff?" Ann asked, pretending she didn't know what Mary was talking about.

"Well, has he asked you on a date yet?"

Ann nodded.

"And?"

"I said yes," Ann said, nonchalantly, like she she did it all the time.

"Cool! Maybe we can double sometime." Mary was happy to hear that Ann had said 'yes'. She could see that her friend was very interested in Cliff.

"And here he comes now," Ann said, running in the back to get him some grape juice. Mary gave her friend an amused look. She already knew what Cliff liked to drink?

"Hi, Mary." Cliff said, as he sat down next to her. "Thanks for the juice, Ann," he said, flashing her a smile. Mary could practically see her friend melting.

"Oh, by the way, is this yours?" he asked Mary, setting a hair scrunchy on the bar. "I found it at the Church after you left. I thought it might be yours, since it's not really Carter's color," he joked.

The girls laughed and Mary picked up the scrunchy and pulled her hair back. "It's mine. I didn't realize that I dropped it." She slid off the stool. "Well, I have things to do. See you guys." Ann and Cliff didn't say anything. They were too busy staring at each other.

Karen was in a lousy mood. She still had a headache left over from the night before, and on top of everything else, one date between Jack and Mary had turned into two more. She had tried stopping at his farm daily, to get his attention, but he always said he was busy. 'He still manages to find time to visit the Mouse,' she thought, sourly. And now, it seemed as if Beach Day was going to be ruined for her as well. She was wearing her most sexy bathing suit and Jack hadn't noticed all morning. He had spent all day standing with Mary and Ann and Cliff.

Popuri had stepped away from Kai long enough to get some punch.

"Wrinkles!" she told Karen.

"I wasn't frowning," Karen said, frowning.

"Oh yes, you were. I could see it from way over there. Why don't you come hang out with me and Kai? It's better than trying to kill Mary with those looks you've been giving her."

Karen rolled her eyes. "Like I want to sit and watch you guys drool over each other."

"You could ask Rick if he wants to sit with you," Popuri said, wickedly.

Karen shuddered. "No thanks." Ever since she had come back from the city two years ago, Rick had been following her around like a puppy. The last thing she wanted was him hanging around, staring at her longingly.

"Well, if you change your mind, we'll be over at the dock, waiting for the swimming race to start." Popuri waved to Karen, then headed back over to Kai.

Mary and Ann left the boys for a minute to refill their punch cups. Karen quickly positioned herself in front of the punch bowl. When Mary and Ann walked up behind her to wait their turn, she turned around and "accidentally" spilled her entire cup of punch on the front of Mary's bathing suit.

"Oh, Mary, I'm so sorry," Karen said, with false sincerity. "I hope I didn't ruin your suit."

"It's fine," Mary said, softly. "I'm sure it was an accident."

"Oh, it definately was," Karen said, trying to look apologetic, and failing.

Ann pushed past Karen and stepped up to the punch bowl. "Jeez, Karen, you'de think with all the dance lessons you've had, you'de be more graceful."

Karen glared at Ann, and Mary turned around so Karen couldn't see her laughing. Finally, Karen stomped off to sit with Kai and Popuri.

Ann and Mary returned to their seats.

"What was that all about?" Cliff asked.

Ann filled them in and they laughed.

"She used to be really nice," Mary said. "Then here parents sent her to some special dance school in the city for a few years, and she's been really snobby ever since."

Throughout the rest of the day, Karen managed to "accidentally" either trip Mary, or spill things on her. Finally, Ann had had it. Being with Jack may have brought Mary partially out of her shell, but she was still shy in other ways, and didn't want to cause a scene, even if it meant defending herself. So, as her best friend, Ann felt it was her duty to help.

After Jack had won the swimming festival, Karen had manage to throw her arms around him and give him a big kiss. Rick started to cry and Mary cringed. Jack gave Karen a small push and she landed in the sand. Jack walked straight back to Mary.

"Sorry about that," he said, looking worried.

"It's okay," Mary reassured him. "She kissed you, not the other way around."

Jack looked relieved. "I'll make up for it anway," he said. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve, then kissed her.

"God, you guys! Nobody wants to see you do that!" Ann joked.

Mary came up for air, and punched her friend lightly in the arm. "Tough."

At the end of the evening, everyone was standing on the dock, watching the sun go down. Ann chose that moment to get Karen back for all she had done to Mary that day. She pretended to lean forward to get a closer look at the water, and "accidentally" shoved Karen off the dock.

"Oh, Karen, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

Karen didn't answer her, she just glared. Rick raced over to end of the dock, to help her up.

Unknown to the young residents of Mineral Town, someone had been watching the group all day. He shook his head. Would Karen ever learn to be nice to people, especially Mary? Couldn't Jack keep his hands to himself? And why couldn't Mary see that he was really the one for her? Granted, she didn't know who he was yet, but he already showered her gifts and notes, professing his undying love. Hmm, maybe a few warnings were in order.

The man sat at his table and thought. Warnings were only good if they were heeded, and if they were appropriate for each person, so much the better. Several hours later, he had it. He knew exactly what to do. First Jack, then Mary, then Karen.

The night after Beach Day, sometime after midnight, Karen weaved her way up to her room, drunk as usual. This whole Mary and Jack thing was starting to make her sick. 'There is not enough alcohol in the world to make that pairing acceptable,' Karen thought. Why couldn't Jack see that she was the one for him? She was definitely more exciting than Little Miss Bookworm, although Karen did have to admit that she was much better looking now that she got rid of those awful glasses.

She sat down on her bed to remove her shoes, then stood up to put on her favorite pajamas. Picking up a brush, she ran it through her hair. She set the brush back on her dresser, trying to be quiet so she wouldn't wake up her parents. 'Too late,' she thought, hearing a floor board creak behind her. Before she could turn around and apologize to whoever she woke up, someone grabbed her from behind, pinning her arms to her sides. Karen was too startled to scream. Her captor seemed to realize this and whispered, "Don't scream," in her ear.

He began walking them to the window. "Now, just so there is no mistake, this is for Mary. You could be nicer to her, but I doubt if you have it in you. You've changed since you came back from the city, and it wasn't for the better. This is your only warning, Karen; watch what you say and how you treat Mary." Then he pushed her, face first, through her closed, bedroom window.

Jack woke up the next morning, happy. Today was Monday and Mary would be coming over to spend the day at his farm. She usually went to search for herbs with her parents, but today she would be over to keep him company. She had done this once before, and Jack found that the time went by faster when she was there to talk to.

He fed and brushed his cow and horse, then went to feed the chickens. He stepped into the chicken coop and froze. All of his chickens lay dead on the floor of the coop. There was blood and feathers everywhere. One of heads of the chickens was missing. Something on the right wall caught his eye. There was a message written there, in red. After inspecting it, he realized it was just paint. STAY AWAY FROM MARY.

Mary opened the front door, ready to head for Jack's farm. A long box had been propped against the door and it fell when she had opened it. Mary picked up the box and brought it into the house. More roses? She untied the ribbon that held the box closed and lifted the lift. They were roses alright, but dead ones. And on top of them was a severed chicken head. Mary dropped the box on the floor. Who would do such a thing? She stood staring at the box in shock. A loud scream from down the street broke her paralysis. She ran out the door. The scream had come from Karen's house. There were already several people standing around Karen's and someone was yelling, "Get the doctor!" Mary ran to the back of the house. Karen was lying in a puddle of blood and glass.

Several hours later, Karen was sleeping peacefully at the Clinic, her knee and face bandaged.

"She's fine," Tim assured her parents, and the other people who were waiting at the Clinic to hear about Karen. "She broke her knee and her face is cut, and she may have one or two scars, but that's it."

"Who would do something like this?" Mayor Thomas asked.

"We may already have the answer for that, Dad," Harris said, coming in to the Clinic with Jack. "I found this in Karen's room, partially hidden under her bed." He held out the object. Gray's hat.

Okay, I decided that part of chapter 4 is better with chapter 3, so I changed it. Now, I'm not really sure if it's possible to get thrown through a window, but for the sake of this story, it has to be. I DO know that you can go face-first through a window and not end up blind or not have scars. It happened to my dad. (Only, in his case, he went through a windshield.)