Jamie ushered me out of the room and back into the shop. There were a couple of customers, but the old lady had them well in hand.

“Thanks for bringing the vase. And for coming to say goodbye.”

“Sure.”

“She put us through a lot,” Jamie said. “But sometimes, I still miss her. I’m sure you do, too.”

I pressed my lips together and gave an ambiguous nod. And then I left. I got in my truck and drove back to my family’s homestead.

• • •

Did I miss Freya? Of course I did. But her death freed me from so many negative feelings. I was no longer racked with jealousy, envy, and insecurity. I didn’t have to worry that Freya loved Jamie more than me, that Maggie would usurp my position in her life, that Freya was taking advantage of my adoration. That’s not why I shot her; I was protecting Maggie. But I had released us all from her web of cruel manipulation.

And I now shared the most special bond of all with her, an eternal connection. I had taken her life. I had held her corpse in my arms and turned her beautiful body into ash. I was the only one who knew what really happened to Freya, and I had the melted bullet to prove it. Maybe I’d make it into a pendant and wear it over my heart.

She would always be close to me.

Acknowledgments

acknowledgments

TK

TK

Reading Group Guide

reading group guide

TK

Copyright

Scout Press

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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2020 by Robyn Harding

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First Scout Press trade paperback edition June 2020

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for.

ISBN 978-1-9821-4176-9

ISBN 978-1-9821-4178-3 (ebook)