There was so much reassurance in his words that Lane couldn’t respond. Not since Mathias had she felt so protected. As Charlie backed away and headed toward the squad car, Lane stopped at the gardenias Charlie had given her, which she had planted near her window. Every morning she noticed new blooms uncurling in the promise of a new day. Maybe her father was wrong. Maybe Charlie was Lane’s chance at a new day. A new hope. A new future.

SEVENTEEN

THE SCREECHING ALARM propelled Lane down the oak stairway of her home and into the café. Her nose instinctively sought the acrid smell of smoke . . . but there was none. As her eyes adjusted to the pre-dawn light filling the room, it took only a second for her to realize all was normal. Not normal. It wasn’t the fire alarm blaring but the security alarm.

Lane’s heart began an erratic pounding that only slightly distracted her from the alarm warning her that all was not normal. Her eyes tracked the first floor. Windows were still closed. Locked. The doors too. “Momma!” Noah came to her side, both hands covering his ears. “It’s hurting my ears.”

“I know, buddy.” Lane tucked Noah to her side. Why was her alarm going off? The memory of the man she had seen lurking on the side of her house came barreling back. Had he returned?

Glancing around once more to ensure nobody was hiding in the diminishing shadows, Lane went to the panel near the back door and entered the code. The previous owner had installed the alarm system, but Lane had never seen a need for it in sleepy-town Walton until the other night when she’d found the man peeking into her home. Odd. The alarm continued to blare.

Lane punched in the numbers again. In defiance, the alarm seemed to scream louder, growing more obnoxious with every passing second. Why wasn’t the code working? She was putting in the right code, wasn’t she?

“Momma!”

“I know, Noah.” Lane bit back her frustration. Why wasn’t this thing shutting up?

The phone in the kitchen rang. Great. Probably the neighbors complaining about the noise. Neighbors? Charlie. Would he know how to shut this thing off?

“Hello?”

“Lane, honey, is everything okay? I got a call from the alarm company—is that the alarm?”

“Yes, Ms. Byrdie.” Lane covered her other ear with her hand. She forgot she never updated the security company to call her instead of Ms. Byrdie. “It went off a few minutes ago, but I can’t get it to shut off.”

“I’m on Highway 17, I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

Lane hung up and tried the code again. Her head started to throb. Noah was rolling on the ground with his blankie wrapped around his head.