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Had he failed, or had he quit? And did it matter?

What mattered was that he’d decided the book couldn’t be written, and it was the right decision, even if there was backlash He was prepared for backlash It was inevitable He was a to be nificant

But as he faced the Gallatin Mountains with iround, it struck him that no matter what he achieved in the scope of history, he was just a blip…he had to have perspective A year from now he’d have an entirely different set of problems A year from now there’d be a new story Stories were everywhere Life was nothing but a story There would always be edies, more hope, more love, more pain

Which was good to ree deal

If he lost this publisher, he’d find another

If this career ended, he’d rebound somehow

He wasn’t afraid He welcoe He’d known real hardship This was not hardship

This was just change

And if there was one thing Shane Sean Swan Finley understood was that life was full of change He couldn’t fight it or hide froive himself over to it and embrace it and let it take him on to the next adventure

Like Jet

She was his center and his future, and life with her would be a great adventure

It was time she knew it

That evening Shane took Jet to a roht and they agreed at the beginning of dinner to not talk about the Sheenans or his book but it was impossible to avoid the topics, especially when they were still in the

So he told her hoas pulling the book, and would be returning the advance, and paying for anyto have to cover costs related to his agent, but he didn’t mind, he assured her It was better to lose money than lose self-respect

“Will you e

ver write the book?” she asked quietly, her blue gaze troubled

“I doubt it It’s not my story to tell”

“Because you didn’t solve it?”

“I actually think I knoho ht have done it There were so Revival”

“You think the pastor…?”

He shook his head “He had a follower na of a fanatic The church, and Sawyer Newsome, was his family He was quite protective of both, and seemed to have taken it upon hietting his hands dirty” Shane hesitated “The pastor had a fondness for pretty women He had a relationship with a number of them From what I’ve learned, Abbot-Simms did not approve of these relationships He did what he could to…eliminate them”

“You think Mrs Douglas had an affair with the pastor?”

“I think the pastor wanted an affair with Mrs Douglas And I think Mrs Douglas possibly felt threatened and Abbot-Sied “It’s a theory”

“You don’t have theories without some evidence”

“There were other assaults in other co raped One woman was left for dead She survived and was able to identify her assailant as Abbot-Simms But before he could be arrested, he was in a car accident and died” Shane looked at Jet “I’ to type it up and hand over ive them some closure”

“Wow”

“I have no hard evidence It could be pure speculation and wrong”

“Could be, but it’s so, and I think they’d appreciate that”

“Maybe”

She smiled at him “You, Shane Sean Swan Finley, are extraordinary”

He reached across and took her hands and lifted the the back of one hand and then the other His head dipped and he covered her hands with his “You’re extraordinary You’re changingmy story”