That’s not exactly all of it, she thought. There were other, less visible scars. She knew that the image of Jonathan’s body in the snow would stay with her forever, a cross for her to bear as she tried to find herself again. David and Jessie had even deeper emotional scars than she did, but they would heal, in time. She had to believe that they would.

The sandwich finished, she wandered into the living room and sat on the cream-colored sofa. Their new house was located in Santa Barbara. It was a pretty little ranch with a flowerbed running around three sides and a two-car garage. Most of Hydro Development’s assets had been frozen while the trial was being prepared (besides the money paid out for the cleanup), but David had received a healthy bonus and a promise of a later settlement for his trouble from the members of the board, who had no knowledge of Olmstead’s actions. David had been amazed and unwilling to believe that Thompson had been innocent of everything, but it appeared that he was not guilty of anything other than being an asshole. Which, Helen thought, was indictment enough in her book.

She stared out the window at the California sunshine, thinking of Jessie. She had started kindergarten a month ago, and seemed to be doing fine. They had been frightened at first; she hadn’t spoken for three days after the storm, and then one morning, she woke up and started again. She was a different girl, though, quieter and more thoughtful. All her laughter, all her childhood had been snatched from her. But at least the visions had stopped. Either that, or she just wasn’t telling anyone anymore.

It was hard for Helen to face what had happened, even now. When she thought about how close they all were to death, and when she had heard about the bodies found in the mine buildings and shafts, the deputy, a hunter and even the little girl from the poster (what was her name? Marie)…

She shuddered, and pulled a blanket around her shoulders, though the temperature outside was a balmy eightyseven degrees. It did her no good to sit here and think things like that. They were starting over now, with a new home, a new baby on the way, a new life. This new life had little room for the old regrets and fears.

But why did they have to carry along so much goddamned baggage?

David had been hit hard by all of it too. He felt responsible for what had happened. He had experienced severe mood swings for weeks after they left. Even now, he had some sort of dark side that didn’t want to go away, and Helen knew that he often hid things from her, things that he couldn’t understand himself.