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“Their mother’s sister, Karen, took theston in a little town called Clyde Park, but she sold her house and bought soh school McKenna and Quinn lived with her after Quinn was released from the hospital”
“And Rory?”
“He wanted to live with friends in Marietta He was a senior and a star wide receiver and everyone wanted Rory to have a nor The town rallied around those kids No one wanted to see theh, and even though they are no longer teenagers, those three still mean a lot to Marietta”
“So who did it?”
Louise shook her head “No one knows”
“No one has any suspicion? No person of interest that wasn’t charged for whatever reason?”
“There has been so h in It doesn’t help”
“I met someone today whose father was a ranch fore church that ca about that?”
Louise’s expression firmed “Pastor Newsoe, or some of the people he traveled with, and never went back”
“Could he have been involved?”
“He was leading a Bible study at the time so it wasn’t him, but he had some odd followers They were a little too zealous Wasn’t for reed”
“Hoere his followers odd?”
“Now you sound like Mr Finley He asked me that, too, when he interviewed me”
“People are upset about the book he’s writing Does his book bother you, too?”
She hesitated “I know Mr Finley’s work and the quality of his writing and research, so in theory, I don’t have an issue But as solas kids, and fretted over their well-being, it’s difficult”
“So you wouldn’t try to stop it”
“I don’t believe in censorship I’m a librarian” She smiled, and then her sreith Grace Gordon—that was Grace Douglas’ maiden name—and she was a very dear friend What happened to her, and her family, in that ho with Catherine Sheenan not long after the murders, and Catherine said, ‘That could have been me’ And Catherine’s words stuck with me, because I think every woman in this community felt that way”
Jet was usually quite co to E job, she knew the road well It was just one lane in each direction and traveling south, the Yellowstone River was on her left, a dark gliainst the patchy snow on the riverbanks
The sun was trying hard to shine through the heavy clouds that gathered over the Absarokas, and Jet appreciated the effort as she battled a fit of nerves
Harley would not be happy if she found out about Jet visiting Shane on the Sheenan ranch
But then, no one in the Sheenan family would be happy
Jet had never thought of herself as a rebel Yes, she’d always had asense of self, but she’d never broken “rules,” she hadn’t ever caused trouble Even as a teenager she hadn’t been contrary, too intent on excelling in school, too determined to be a success So Jet didn’t knohy she felt so compelled to see Shane She didn’t like conflict She didn’t want to stir things up And yet here she was, heading straight into potential heartache
Uncohts, and the butterflies in herher deeper into the rolling hills The save way to larger spreads Rustic signs and cattle guards marked the entrance to different properties One of them was the entrance to the MacCreadie ranch Another was the entrance to the Douglas’ And then the Sheenan’s, the big iron “S” dangling from a wooden beam the only indication she’d reached the entrance to their property She knew fro the Sheenans talk the ranch had been in the family for almost a hundred years The first Sheenan had arrived in Montana in the 1890s but didn’t have the money to buy the current property until the 1920s It was a big property, too, and the only other family spread that rivaled the size of the Sheenan ranch was the Carrigan’s, owners of the Circle C, the ranch east of the Sheenan place
Jet followed the dusty dirt road a quarter of acabin ranch house A relatively e weathered barn Corrals flanked both sides of the barn
The house wasn’t particularly inspiring Constructed of hand-hewn logs, the house looked solid but lacked what a real estate agent would call curb appeal The front porch was s to protect one from rain or snow, but the smallness of the porch and the steepness of the brown roof all looked practical rather than char Even the trim on the s and front door were the same shade of brown as the roof There were no homey touches, but also, no clutter
Shane opened the front door before she’d even had a chance to knock
“Hi there,” she said, s he looked ridiculously handsome in his soft, faded Levis and cherry-red Henley shirt He’d pushed the long sleeves up on his forear the intricate ink on one arm She’d love to see the tattoos without his shirt, curious as to how much of his body they covered Was it just the arm, or did they extend over his shoulder, too? She didn’t think he had tattoos on his chest At least, the round neckline of the shirt didn’t reveal any, just smooth taut skin and the top of his muscular chest He was built Muscles everywhere
She sed hard “I’m not too early am I?”
“Not at all Welco the door wider so she could enter the house
She felt nervous all over again as he closed the door behind her “Where did you go skiing?” she asked, trying to sound cal and her confidence was dipping “Bridger Bowl?”
“I went skate skiing Over by Miracle Lake”
She was impressed She’d tried to skate ski once and it was hard “Did you come home tired?”
“The good kind of tired Definitely more mellow”