SATURDAY, 6:32 A.M.
BRIDGER-TETON NATIONAL FOREST
Charlie rested in her bed, staring out the window. She hadn’t been able to sleep. After the storm clouds had moved out, through a small opening in the tree canopy, she’d watched the night sky roll by. Her favorite part of the show—the blackest night sky revealed the brightest stars.
Beautiful.
But the scenery brought back a memory, and she didn’t much feel like reminiscing.
“You’re gonna be a star one day, Charlie. I can feel it.”
“No, Momma. I just want to ride horses.”
Momma smiled. “I have money to make that happen, honey. We’ll build a barn. Get some horses. But you’re going to learn how to take care of them first.”
Charlie pulled her attention from the window and the night sky and the memories. The money, Momma. Who did it come from?
She’d taken riding lessons and now cared for and trained the horses, under Mack’s careful guidance. She and Momma had made plans to build the barn. But Momma had insisted Charlie get a degree first—and then the horses would come. Charlie had to work hard and earn everything because nothing came free in this life. Momma said hard work built character.
She didn’t want to think about any of it now. She only wanted to sleep. Exhaustion ached through every bone, every muscle. Once she’d finally flopped on the bed, she should have gone under in ten seconds flat. Instead, her thoughts ramped into overdrive. Images of Sheriff Everett at the house stalked her, along with the deposits in Momma’s bank account. Who were they from? How could she find out?
Would Sheriff Everett look into the deposits if she told him she believed they could be connected to her mother’s death? Or was he involved?
Huffing, she rolled to her side. Fluffed her cheap feather pillow again. The sky had already started lightening, and she hadn’t slept a wink. She wouldn’t be worth half what Mack paid her at work today.
Birds chirped, stirring in the early morning, and irritated her, reminding her she needed to get up too. But it was much too cold to get out of bed. She hadn’t planned to be at this cabin when the weather started turning.
A new sound drew her attention. Wings flapped as birds dispersed. The woods fell silent except for this new unwelcome sound. She sat up slowly and angled her head to listen as something moved before dawn even broke.
A four-legged creature?
Charlie had never been afraid of staying here alone, though she wished Rufus had remained with her.
A shiver crawled over her.
Now she understood why she wasn’t able to sleep. Providence had kept her awake so she could hear him creeping toward the cabin. She edged toward the window and peeked out. Twenty-five yards away she caught a glimpse of someone between the trees.
Clyde?
Time for Charlie to run.