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"No, it wasn’t because of the test" My chest tightened So about her assuive stupid excuses about not going out, not socializing at parties Throughout e, I’d huddled insideany spare ti on to games and lose myself in them Because it was safe, known Because there would be few surprises and anything that could happen, I would be ready for

I droppedat the ceiling Adaht I really was a coward

Chapter Sixteen

When the going gets tough, the tough go running home to Mommy And after commencement, I did just that I packed up what I could and I hit the road for Anza--a two-hour drive down soh the Inland E the road upward into the Cahuilla Mountains that overlooked the s

And as I wound up that narroo-lane highway into the hills, a s would be all right in the end That this pain was teht of that day, would fade away to nothing Soed, somehow, as if my life, my heart would never be the saro neural pathways in response to trauma and new lessons learned I wondered how oing to learn my way around it And in this moment, I felt more resolved than ever to protect myself--keep myself dependent on only myself Because I was the only person in this world I could be sure of I could be sure of Heath, until he met someone new and could hardly be prevailed upon to fixof scrapes I could depend on my mom, but as the experiences of the previous few years had shown ht not always be around Her near-death had shakenwas per was permanent Me My ambition My drive The fortress wall I’d built around ilant watch over And I’d spend this ti the weak spots that had allowed Adae

I had no idea how ether at coe of the auction, but Heath could have couched his description ofall the ways it was sick and twisted between us Mo sohter had willfully sought a way to prostitute herself

Our little ranch sat on fifteen acres of high desert scrubland The uest roo little cabins that shouldered up to the ho rooe, to accommodate the Bed and Breakfast crowd Until her illness, Moular repeat guests co or ride our horses My ht of early evening under a golden high desert moon

Moot ho and made my favorite dinner--kabobs and huet an early night’s sleep and warnedRelieved, I fell into , I was out in the stables saying hello to reeted me with an excited whicker He’d beenand gray now, but he still snapped up the carrots I offered hiarden-fresh cucumber and tolancesto ask uy and trying to find ways to bring it up, so I decided to head her off

"So you said you had so to do with the restoration of the cabins?"

Moave me an expectant look "So you noticed?"

"I’d have to be blind not to Did you win the lottery and not tellcancer could be considered a lottery"

I sobered, suddenly my heart raced with fear and I could feel the blood drain from my face "What? Is it back?"