“Walking in the dark is dangerous.”

His words touched a part of me long forgotten. Not since my parents had anyone expressed concern for me—although his motives were selfish. Yes, he’d given me Joy, but the puppy wasn’t a gift of the heart. “Denton, I appreciate your offer but go back to bed.”

“I’m worried about your safety.”

Really? “Read my record. The present doesn’t change what I’ve done.”

“But you’re in a new place now.”

If only I were free to tell the truth . . .

At the café, Amy-Jo bustled with early morning preparations. Edie habitually stopped in for coffee after she took her kids to school. I’d met them at church, and they were mannerly. I loved kids as much as I loved puppies. My mind trailed to my fifteen-year-old niece. What was her name? Did she look like Marissa or Travis? She surely hated me for killing her dad, and she should.

When the customer line at the bakery ended, I approached Edie in a booth and told her I had a new phone.

“Has the other one died on you?” She shook her head. “I’m sorry.”

“Not at all. Sheriff Wendall suggested a phone that couldn’t be traced since it looks like someone is hacking the one you gave me. Please keep this new number to yourself.”

“Count on it. Like a book or a movie, you’ll use the burner when you don’t want the bad guy to know who you’re talking to.”

“Right.” I forced a smile, wishing my reality was part fiction. “Which means we can talk anytime.”

She lifted her coffee mug. “I’ll drink to friendship all day long. How’s the business model?”

“Finished. I have it on my original phone. The Spring Celebration Days in May will be a telling point. If sales are strong, then I’ll move closer to getting out of debt and establishing my designs.” I hesitated. “I’m tired of dodging verbal bullets.”

Edie blinked. “You’re doing great. Don’t get so down.” She took a sip of her coffee. “Got a minute? I need to tell you a few things about my brother.”

I checked with Amy-Jo and took a break. Although I suspected I already knew Edie’s content, I wanted to hear her version.

“Randy was fired yesterday morning,” she said. “Four years too late in my opinion, but Sheriff Wendall showed more patience with him than I ever imagined.”

Her story mirrored what the sheriff had relayed to me. “I’m sorry your brother shadows you.”

“Randy’s belligerent, and I never understood how he convinced his precious wife to marry him. She had no choice but to leave him after he became violent with her and one of their sons.”

“Family dysfunction destroys relationships.”

“Randy came after her, and their two sons pulled him off.” She clenched her jaw. “The younger one called the sheriff while the older one took a beating. The rest is immaterial except for the divorce, and that happened four years ago. And his fixation to watch over me and my kids as well as the community escalated into alienating him from his old friends. Our parents took him to counseling when he was a kid, even had him tested. He had learned how to tell the therapist what she wanted to hear. Nothing chemically wrong with him, just a bullying instinct.”