I gave him a kiss on the cheek. It hadn’t occurred to me that Violet might be seeing the mayor again, but I wasn’t exactly surprised. “I’m sorry you’re going through this, Mike, but I’m always here for you. You deserve better.” I pulled Ashley into a hug. “I have to go, but I’ll see you later.”

“Bye, Aunt Rose.”

Although we were almost out of food, I skipped going to the store and headed straight home with Muffy. Mason had his meeting, which meant he’d probably order something from Merilee’s, and my stomach was too worked up for me to consider eating. Instead, I grabbed a package of crackers out of the pantry and considered reading one of the business books on my nightstand, but something else was pulling me. I dug my birth mother’s diary out of the dresser in Dora’s old bedroom, where I’d originally found it. Muffy had chosen this bedroom for me when we first stayed on the farm, and it was the room Mason and I now shared.

When Mason and I were under protective custody, I’d taken the opportunity to explore my birth mother’s house while we waited for Crocker to be apprehended. It was the first time I’d ever been there. My uncle, who had been the executer of my estate until I discovered the truth about my birth mother, had kept everything almost exactly the way it had been when Dora left for work the day of her car accident. When I was less than two months old.

I’d found the diary and a box of photos and, most shocking of all, the nursery Dora had made for me. I’d read a few of her diary entries and examined some of the photos, but most of her private things were still untouched. I’d been busy after our nightmare with Crocker came to a close, so I hadn’t had time to properly explore these remnants. But now, as I waited for Joe to come and attempt to disrupt my life once again, I wanted to read the entries in which my birth mother grappled with the biggest decisions of her life.

Muffy hopped up on the canopy bed that had been Dora’s and curled into a ball in the middle of the queen-sized mattress. I’d kept most of the furniture in the house, only replacing the living room set. My sofa and chair were only a few months old and Dora’s had been uncomfortable. But now the bed looked enticing. It wasn’t even six yet, but I was exhausted after my crazy day. I lay down and rolled onto my side, opening the diary to the first page.

Dora had started journaling in high school. The first entries said the journal was a project for her junior English class. But she wrote in it sporadically through the rest of high school and even after she graduated.

Her first entry was general, but enlightening. Dora was an only child and her parents had died in a car accident when she was five. She barely remembered them, which bothered her more than she let on to most people. She’d moved in with her grandparents here on the family farm, but her grandfather had died her freshman year of high school. Her biggest fear was her grandmother dying and leaving her alone. Her greatest joy was her horses.

My eyelids were heavy, so I closed the cover and rested my eyes. When I woke up, the room was dark. I heard banging on the back kitchen door, followed by the sound of breaking glass.

I sat upright in bed, my chest tightening. Where was my phone? Fear shot through me when I realized I’d left it downstairs in the kitchen. I was on my own.

Muffy hunkered down on the bed and released a low growl.

I rested my hand on the back of her head and rubbed lightly. “Easy, girl.” If Muffy had been a bigger dog, I might have let her loose to try and scare off my intruder, but it would be too easy for someone to overpower my eight-pound dog. I couldn’t risk letting her get hurt.

When Mason and I had first checked out the house, we’d both walked right by the converted sunroom that was attached to the master bedroom. If Muffy and I hid there, we might go undetected.

I slid off the bed and was reaching for my dog when I heard my name shouted.

“Rose!”

I froze, recognizing the voice. “Joe?” I called out.

Joe had broken into my house.

I turned on the bedside lamp, then headed into the upstairs hallway.

“Rose? Where are you?”

The last thing I wanted was for him to come upstairs. “I’m heading down.”

A light flicked on in the living room, illuminating Joe, who was standing at the base of the stairs with a pistol in his hand.

“Did you break my back window, Joe McAllister?” I asked in disbelief.

He gave me an exasperated look as he shoved his gun in its holster. “Why didn’t you answer? I knocked and tried calling. I knew you were here because your truck’s out front. With the bank robbers on the loose, I was worried something might have happened.”

It was hard to be mad at him when he’d broken into the house with the best of intentions, but now one of my windows needed to be replaced. With money I didn’t have. “I fell asleep.”

Worry replaced his irritation. “Are you not feeling well?”

My stomach had been a mess of nerves most of the day, but I wasn’t about to tell him that. “I’m fine, just tired. Bruce Wayne and I had a big demo job today,” I said as I descended the staircase, Muffy bolting ahead to greet Joe.

He bent down to rub her head. “What do you mean, demo job?”

“You know how I hired Bruce Wayne and David to help me with the landscaping job at Jonah’s church?” Of course he did. He’d never approved of the decision. “Well, turns out that Bruce Wayne and I both love it. So we started a landscaping side for the nursery and we’ve had plenty of business. We ripped out a bunch of shrubs and bushes today and I got worn out.”