Officer Hughes and I stared at her for clarification.

“Shelby and I can see each other on Sundays in church. No one will suspect a thing.”

“We’ll discuss it,” he said.

“No, we won’t. You have no say in what I do at church, especially since you never darken the door.”

He held up his clipboard that had the note attached. “I have my report to submit. I’m waiting here until you drive off. Then I’ll swing it by the sheriff’s office and pick up my bike.”

A bicycle would allow me to report in to the parole officer, explore the town, research at the library, find a printshop, stop by to introduce myself to my new employer, visit Pastor Emory, and even pay a visit at two boutiques. Such a long list. What I couldn’t get done today, I’d finish tomorrow.

I hugged Edie. There was so much I wanted to say, but not with Officer Hughes observing me through his microscopic lens. I dreaded the next encounter with him. But I’d be armed with my own stubborn resolve.

I needed Valleysburg. Not sure why, but I believed I belonged here. Someday, if I found favor, I’d call this town home and these people family.

Maybe not Officer Hughes.

7

DENTON

How strange to feel an emotional connection to a horse again. Not since I was a kid had I been attached to such a magnificent animal. Back in those days, my heart belonged to a quarter horse whose speed challenged the wind. Nothing compared to feeling like the horse and I flew as one.

In my twenties I exchanged the horse for a silver Camaro. Finished college. Fell in love and proposed to the most beautiful brunette on the planet. Planned a fall wedding. Joined the FBI. My youngest brother jabbed at my career choice every chance he got. So I committed to nail Shelby Pearce for life. My future slid downhill from there . . .

My life lay in shambles, and I blamed her. My parents wanted me to talk to their pastor, but why? God was using me as a whipping boy.

“Great way to spend the morning.” I brushed the sides of Big Red to cool my constant companion.

He shook his head to chase away a fly, but it looked like he agreed.

“What do you think of Shelby Pearce? I’ll tell you a few things first. Those blue-gray eyes, long honey-colored hair, and sweet voice might lead a man to distraction. Not me. When she was fifteen, she broke into her high school and vandalized the girls’ athletic trophy case. She also had two arrests for underage drinking and took a neighbor’s car joyriding. That’s just a drop. But I know what she did to her family, and one of her crimes remains an open case.”

My brain must have been hit by buckshot to talk to a horse about a string of crimes that happened over fifteen years ago. She’d pulled the trigger on a man, leaving her sister a widow and an unborn baby without a daddy. Add the disappearance of five hundred thousand dollars.