[Por_sha911]

Thanks for all the info. I am still in TN. I would say that the color in the photo is pretty close to what I saw and I am not color blind to cream or tan. It was only a foot long or so. You can get an idea from the deck plank it was sitting on.
RPKESQ is spot on, its dead and gone! As a rule, IMO the only good snakes are dead ones so I am not going to get down and check out the shape of the eyes or check for fangs. Unfortunately, since it was at my deck door in the late afternoon with only the sliding screen in place and I like my house so it had to die (if the wife saw it we've have had a for sale sign up before dawn). I just needed to know if I need to be concerned about a more serious danger to the family.