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There was a beat of silence Trey looked at Shane “You took it all down”
“I’m sorry you had to see that,” Shane said
Another beat of silence followed Trey drew a slow breath and exhaled evenIt’s our families It’s our memories It’s our oes into your book I will tear you apart, lilas wasn’t the first woman assaulted in this valley My mom was hurt I don’t know all the details, only that she’d confided in Grace Douglas a little bit She’d told Mrs Douglas that someone had hurt her and she was afraid That’s why she stopped going to the revival It’s why she didn’t want to leave the house Brock suspected so, and at first he thought Dad had beat her, but Mom swore it wasn’t Dad but she wouldn’t say who Brock told us Mo, and so we all took turns keeping an eye on her We made it a point never to leave her alone”
“Did you ever share any of this with the investigation?”
Trey shook his head “No”
“Why not?”
“If you knew Dad, you wouldn’t ask that”
“What does that mean?”
“He was hard on her She was already unhappy The last thing she needed was hi that wasn’t her fault”
“Did he do that often?”
“Daily”
Silence fell and as if aware he’d said far toohiravel driveway
“What was she like?” Shane asked as Trey swung the truck door open
Trey’s brow furrowed “Who?”
“Your mom”
For a ruffly, “Sweet Sad So very, very sad” His voice hardened He looked away, jaw gritted “She deserved better thanwheel and sla the door closed
Trey reversed quickly, effortlessly, and turned the truck around to head out, more familiar with the Sheenan ranch than any of his brothers as he’d been the one to work it, day in and day out, until he’d gone to jail
Shane knew all this andthe Sheenans then he had the Douglas story But every Sheenan discovery just led to more questions Like just now The conversation with Trey thisBut then, Trey hi
Evenwas how much Shane liked him
Maybe not every Sheenan was an ass
All week Jet worried about how to tell Harley she was heading out of town on Friday When she wasn’t engaged in teaching a lesson, she’d find herself stewing over the situation, knowing she couldn’t just disappear for three days—Harley would be on the phone with the sheriffs and police in record time—but also aware that she couldn’t just tell her older sister that she was heading out of toith Shane Harley would have the Sheenans hunting them down in record time…
What Jet needed was a good excuse to head out of town, one that wouldn’t put Harley into a panic, but nothing came to her until it crossed her mind she could attend an education workshop so that would help her with credits should she plan on pursuing a Class I Professional Certificate She’d co teachers, and the only way one worked up in salary was by experience and units and degrees Harley wouldn’t question Jet’s desire to attend an education workshop or seminar
After school Wednesday, Jet sat down at her computer and did a search for workshops and courses in Montana, specifically for the co weekend, which was the President’s Day weekend She’d been worried that because it was a legal holiday on Monday there wouldn’t be anything, but the opposite was true There were quite a few offerings across the state—four in Missoula, one in Billings, two in Bozes for Missoula, and was pleased to see several for ele Montana state parks to teach Montana history The all-day course would include lesson places for place-based education regarding Montana’s Native Aed fro, and science Definitely interesting coursework, and useful for Jet since she was still new to Montana
Jet signed up for the five hour workshop and paid the small fee, and then sent Harley an email with details, so her sister would knohere she was this weekend and what Jet would be doing
Harley i? How are you getting there? Will you be on your own?”
Jet gri to share too many details, either, which could just trip her up and trap her later So she waited to answer, and then just before bed sent a quick text “Going with a friend Driving Not sure where we’re staying yet”