Category: Fiction

CHAPTER 26: ELENA Dad’s porch light was on when I pulled up Thursday evening. Daisy saw the house and started whining before I’d even turned off the engine. “Yeah, I know. We’re here.” I opened the door and she bolted, bounding up the porch steps to where Dad was already waiting. He crouched down and

CHAPTER 25: MATT Ineeded wood stain. Dad’s porch railing was rotting in places, and I’d promised to fix it this weekend. Something to do with my hands that had a clear beginning and end. The hardware store was quiet for a Saturday afternoon. Just a couple of old-timers by the register talking about the weather,

CHAPTER 24: ELENA “Hold it steady.” Caleb’s voice was low, right behind me. I held the cabinet door in place while he marked where the hinges would go, his pencil moving with precision. “Like this?” “Yeah. Perfect.” He stepped back, examined the angle. “You’re good at this.” “I’m just holding things.” “You’re doing it right.

CHAPTER 23: MATT Mom was having a bad morning. I knew it the moment I came downstairs and saw Dad’s face. He was at the stove, scrambling eggs with the kind of focused intensity that meant he was trying not to think about something else. “Morning,” I said. “Morning.” He didn’t look up. “Your mother’s

CHAPTER 22: MATT Caleb’s truck pulled up at noon on Saturday, exactly on time. I’d changed my shirt twice. Put on earrings, then took them off. Daisy had watched the whole thing from the couch, head tilted like she was trying to understand what the problem was. I grabbed my jacket and headed out before

CHAPTER 21: ELENA Isaw Caleb’s truck pull into the parking lot through the window of my office. Tuesday afternoon, no appointment scheduled. That made it three times in two weeks. He was already at the desk when I came through, Scout sitting calmly at his feet. The puppy had grown, still the quiet one, still

CHAPTER 20: MATT The speed trap on Route 12 was exactly where it had always been. I sat in the patrol car with the radar gun pointed at the empty road and tried not to think about how different this was from detective work. No homicides, no interrogations, no late nights chasing suspects through alleys

CHAPTER 19: ELENA Ididn’t usually bring Daisy to the diner, but it was Sunday and she’d been cooped up in the truck for two hours while Lucy and I dealt with Mrs. Patterson’s mare. The foal had come early—two weeks early—and we’d spent the morning making sure both mother and baby were stable. Now Daisy

CHAPTER 18: MATT The suspect ran and I gave chase. Down the alley behind the pawn shop, vaulting over a dumpster, boots hitting wet pavement. My partner, Detective Lopez, was somewhere behind me, shouting something I didn’t catch over the sound of my own breathing. The guy was fast, but I was faster. Three years

CHAPTER 17: ELENA THREE YEARS LATER Iwas good at building things now. The sun wasn’t up yet when I unlocked the front door of Millbrook Veterinary Care, but that had been my routine for three years. First one in, last one out. I flipped on the lights and the clinic came to life around me.