Dani stood at the window, staring out at her neighbor’s pool. From this vantage point, she could only see a portion of it, but the blue water rippled invitingly. She fingered the locket at her neck, so glad to have it back. Mr. Chandler had called her the very next day after she’d dropped it off, and she’d gone immediately to pick it up. The locket was her lifeline to…to what? Her grandmother? To her innocence? She had felt naked without it. Naked…lost, adrift. Detached.

Lonely.

Alone.

Sadly, now that she had the locket back, back where it belonged, those feelings hadn’t changed much. She had stopped hoping Harper might call. Or text. Something. Harper had been so blatantly absent that Dani wondered if she would even see her when she returned to Dallas.

She’d heard from the FBI once, not much more than a courtesy call, really. She thought she might hear from Harper, if nothing else, to let her know about her suspension. After all, it was her fault that she was getting suspended.

Was that it? Was Harper angry? Did she blame Dani?

No. She hadn’t seemed upset about the looming suspension. It was expected and she had merely shrugged it off.

Then why hadn’t she called? Why hadn’t she replied to her text?

“Because obviously she doesn’t miss you.”

She pounded her thigh with her fist. She had to get over this. She had turned into nothing but a walking zombie. Even Shelly had stopped coming by. That, of course, had less to do with her mood and more to do with her announcement to her and Pamela that after the filming she would be “taking a break.” It was more than a break, of course, but she hadn’t told them that. She thought it would cause much less of a stir than to say she was quitting.

Right now, her plan was to head to Tennessee as soon as she was finished in Dallas. Head back home and see her family. Try to reconnect with them. After that, she’d decide what she was going to do. She had money. That wasn’t an issue. She had done nothing extravagant at all and had invested practically every penny she’d made. She could go anywhere, do anything.

She only needed to pick a place. She would eventually make friends. And maybe, one day, she’d meet someone…someone special. Someone who she could share her life with. She touched the locket at her neck. Yes. Someone special.

She closed her eyes for a moment, seeing Harper’s face. Not the picture of Harper, the photo that she’d stared at for countless hours, no. The image she had of Harper was the real thing. Sometimes serious, sometimes smiling…but those eyes never seemed to change—those dark, trusting eyes.