She’d thought that everything associated with that night was gone and buried, but the first sight of fish bones on her top porch step had ripped open the past and brought it crashing back with sickening clarity. And the newspaper article—those two simple words—only confirmed her suspicion that the past wasn’t as gone as she’d thought.

* * *

Tyler was on his way home from delivering another load of hay to Mr. Olsen, Ruby’s head out the window, ears flapping in the breeze, when he rounded a curve and saw a commotion at the side of the highway. At first he thought it might be the crazy old farmer who’d held up traffic for hours earlier in the summer with a barbecue grill and folding chairs in the middle of the road, but as Tyler got closer, he saw it was a car with a flat tire. The old black car looked to be on its last leg anyway, and the deflated tire only accentuated its general dilapidation.

Tyler was glad to see someone else had stopped to help the unlucky motorist. That sort of thing happened all the time around here, and he would have passed on by with a wave and a nod to the good Samaritan if he hadn’t seen the girl. It was the same one from the diner, then the Figgs’ shop. She was standing back from the edge of the highway, deep under the shade, and her face was streaked with anxiety. The man who’d stopped to help stood next to her, his mouth this close to her ear.

Tyler slowed and the man raised his head, a veil of irritation on his face. Tyler threw his truck in Park in front of the man’s pickup and got out. Ruby ran ahead, sniffing the ground, then stopped a few feet from the man, her ears pulled back, her tail lowered.

The guy planted a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Hey, man, I’ve got this taken care of. No need to trouble yourself.”

“It’s no trouble.” Tyler kept his eyes on the girl. She was chewing on the edge of her lip, worry still pinching her features. “Anyway, I know her, so I can take over. Looks like you didn’t get far with changing the tire in any case.” He noted the hard glint in the man’s eyes, but he walked to the car regardless and leaned down to check the tire.

“I was gonna do it. I just wanted to introduce myself to her first.” He turned back to the girl. “Her name is Maya. Isn’t that pretty?”

Maya.

“Maya, why don’t you grab the jack while I loosen the lug nuts. I’ll fix this up and get you out of here.”

“I told you, I’ve got it.” The man left Maya and came to a stop next to Tyler. “I’m taking care of her.” It was impossible to miss the meaning in his tone.

“I don’t think so.” Tyler stood to his full height, towering over the guy, with only a few inches of space between them. “I’ve got it.”