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I caht into another I guess I deserved it I had walked out at eighteen and never looked back

The Cherokee call the a, or the Great Blue Hills of God I&039;d always thought the phrase an exaggeration; noasn&039;t so sure In e Mountains did seem a little bit like heaven

"But then, a lake of fire looks good co at the mess that nearly obscured the top of my desk

"Have you ever seen a lake of fire? It isn&039;t pretty"

To my surprise, Grace McDaniel stood in the doorway

We&039;d been best friends in high school Then I&039;d gone to college and taken a job at a television station in the big, bad city of Atlanta, while she&039;d stayed behind

Grace was now the sheriff in Lake Bluff, and I was thein the outer office My assistant had infor, before she&039;d taken off to God knohere to do Lord knohat

Everyone said Joyce Flaherty had been the assistant to the ia Considering the town had been settled by the Scotch-Irish well before

the Revolution, that would ht supernatural If the statement had been true

In reality, Joyce had beenthe thirty-plus years he&039;d been in charge here and now she wasme about it later But she knew the job so much better than I did

"Problem?" I asked

Grace didn&039;t often show up at e, sent a report We&039;d been friends, but now Well, Grace seemed a little pissed at ht say that," she murmured in a slow, smooth southern accent I hadn&039;t realized how much I&039;d missed the cadence - one I&039;d trained out of lanced over her shoulder, then stepped into my office and shut the door I waved at an ean to pace, her nervous energy crackling in the small, enclosed space

Grace was the least likely s, like the Scottish ancestors we both shared, she also possessed the high cheekbones and stick-straight ink black hair of the Cherokee who&039;d roaged west during the embarrassment we&039;ve all cohtly sling with a slave or two soh occurrence in these parts, since the Cherokee had once owned African-American slaves, too

Grace could have been a fashion model, but she was as unaware of her beauty as I was unaware of how to be theor anyone; she&039;d never leave it like I had

Suddenly she stopped pacing and rested her palms on the front of my desk "You need to come with me"

A thinker and doer, Grace made a decision and then she executed that decision Sometimes - hell, most times - I wondered why she wasn&039;t the mayor Except in Lake Bluff, people followed the path of their parents, and if they didn&039;t want to, they got out of town

"There&039;s a caravan of Gypsies camped at the lake," Grace said

I blinked "I&039;ht you said &039;caravan of Gypsies&039;"

Her lips curved "Nothing wrong with your hearing"

The way she said itwith other parts of me There was, but Grace didn&039;t know that No one did

"Claire" Grace sighed "What happened to you in Atlanta? You used to understand sarcasot You used to be fun"

"Now I&039;o" My eyes met hers and she winked "We&039;ll have you back to yourself in no time"

I&039;d never be the self I&039;d been before I&039;d left, butat shado that I was ho of the phone

Or not

Gracein her life?

"Don&039;t answer it," Grace ordered I lifted a brow "You&039;ll only have to deal with some bum-fuck nonsense, and I need you to come with me"

"Bued "You kno it is around here Jaot into Harold&039;s corn Lucy&039;s cat beat up Carol&039;s dog Soot his head stuck between the bars of the jungle gym and screamed bloody murder for an hour"

"That sounds more like your bum-fuck nonsense thanat last and went to voice mail

"Fine" Grace opened the door "Then you won&039;t have to listen to someone whine about their property lines, their taxes, or the unfairness of the city bylaws"

That would beat Joyce&039;s desk, I scribbled a note, checked my cell phone to make certain it was on, and jerked a thumb toward the rear exit

We&039;d alan to turn, and Grace shoved me between the shoulder blades

I stumbled in my off-white pumps, the perfect complement to my pale peach summer suit, then nearly fell onus into the sulance around the parking lot "Reh school?"

"Grace!"

"What?" She slid dark sunglasses over her light green eyes

"Soht hear you"

"So what if they did? It&039;s not like we got high yesterday We were sixteen"

"It would leave a bad impression," I said stiffly "You&039;re supposed to be the law around here"

"You want o? Sorry, but the statute of li, lithe legs eating up the distance more quickly than mine ever could Not that I was short, just shorter, three inches shy of Grace&039;s five-ten And I wasn&039;t lithe by any means; I was more round Not fat - at least not yet But I had to work at it - low-fat yogurt, low-fat dressing, dessert only on very special occasions, like the Second Co

Grace reached the squad car and slid behind the wheel I cla

"If you didn&039;t wear the stupid things," Grace muttered, "you wouldn&039;t ruin thelanced at Grace&039;s tan slacks and equally tan blouse, complete with a stylish Lake Bluff Sheriff&039;s Department patch

"Don&039;t say it," she warned