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safety of my bedroom and went in with Mark. We sat in awkward muteness, staring at the television. When the program went to a commercial break, Mark turned off the TV.
    Oh boy . . .
    “Em, I’m sorry for what I said last night,” he said. “It was wrong, and I didn’t mean to insinuate you had anything to do with the incidents.” He hesitated. “You and I have always been able to talk, but I have to say it’s harder now. It was much easier when you were a little girl, but you’re technically an adult now. I’ve known for the last couple years we were heading into areas that weren’t going to be comfortable for either of us. But, this is different . . . this is something I wasn’t ready for. I don’t know what to do here, kiddo. The sheriff is committed to finding and punishing who did this, and you seem to be the scapegoat.”
    “I’ll put on a bell and start chewing on some paper.”
    “I do believe you, you know? I don’t think you are a part of this.”
    “Thank you.”
    “But . . .”
    Why was there always a “but?”
    “But . . . there is something going on with you. I’m really worried. I know how hard it’s been for you, losing your mother like that. I can’t imagine how tough it was going through what you did.”
    I looked down. “I know this hasn’t been easy for you either.” 
    He didn’t say anything for a while. I thought I’d said the wrong thing, but when I lifted my gaze, tears glistened in his eyes.
    “Some days I feel like I’ll be all right, and some days it hurts so much I can’t even breathe. I miss her so much, but it’s nothing compared to what you lost. You’ve lost your mother, who was also your best friend . . .” 
    “You lost her too.”
    “I know, but losing a mother is a different kind of loss, especially your mother,” he said, his eyes still glistening. In that moment, I saw how lonely he was. He thought “until death do us part” meant when they were old and gray and he would go first. “I worry about you, Sunny D.” 
    I smiled. He hadn’t called me that in a while. Devlin was one of my middle names. Mom told me it was from my biological father’s family. I had never been an overly cheerful little girl, always choosing sarcasm and biting wit, even at six-years-old. So Mark found it amusing calling me Sunny D.
    “I’m fine, Mark,” I lied. “I’m just dealing with a lot lately.”
    He studied me. “Okay.” His expression made it clear the topic was not going to be dropped, just suspended for now. 
    Mark decided to go for a run to clear his head. I knew how he felt. The forest behind our house called to me. So while he went running, I went to clear mine under the canopy of the trees, which protected me a bit from the relentless rain. I loved it out here. There was something about nature that instantly calmed me, made me feel complete. I sat down on a rock and ignored the wetness soaking through my jeans. I picked up a leaf, tracing its veins. 
    A whisper floated with the wind. 
    “Ember . . .” 
    My head snapped up at the sound of that voice. 
    “Ember.”
    A crawling sensation crept down my spine when I realized this time I heard the voice in my mind, instead of out loud. 
    My eyes darted around the forest and the canopy. The air that shimmered between a break in the trees grabbed my attention. Like ocean waves, the air danced and bobbed between the trees with increasing urgency. It twisted and rolled until a tall, broad, gorgeous man with piercing blue eyes stood there. A high pitch noise escaped me as I stared at him in fear. He was dressed in black leather pants and a black fitted shirt, which hugged every muscle to perfection. He was the vision from the dance, but this time I could see all of him clearly. And, wow, even though I was scared to death, I could appreciate the man’s breathtaking looks and toned physique. 
    He looked to be in his mid-to-late twenties, although there was something ageless and ancient about him at the