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say “thtupidly,” I’d give you a piece of my mind.
    She turned to face him. For a moment he said nothing, just looked into her eyes. Then, “Ready to check out the barn? There’s something I need to show you, and I don’t think you’re going to like it.”

 
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 4
    D ear D iary:
    We moved ag ain. this place is ok. it doesn't smell as bad as the last one. mommy sa id the new job she g o t pays more and that we can go shopping at Value Village for some school clothes in a couple of weeks. Then she t ook off the moon neklice she al ways wears and put it on me. she t old me to ha ng on to i t and t o not let her sell i t no matter what, because it was the only thin g of any value she had, axcept for me, of course. She smiled when she said i t , so i t must be true.
    Evangeline—ag e 9
    I nside the barn, Max got down on his knees and ran the beam of his pocket flashlight around the perimeter of the gaping hole in the floor. Without taking his eyes from it, he said, “Does anybody e lse come out here besides you? ”
    Evie paused before answering, looking down at the yawning chasm like it was going to expand and engulf her once and for all. Licking he r lips, she said slowly, “When I’ m in town, teaching, vacation, whatever, Edmund feed them, take care of them. Me and him, only.”
    “Did you know there was a cavern underneath the barn floor?”
    She shook her head. “No.”
    Tapping the flashlight rhythmically against his thigh, he said, “The frame under the boards is made of two-by-fours, probably pine. The one-by-five planks have been na iled over it to form the floor. ” He swept some of the straw away. “See here? The nails have been removed and the planks set back in place across the foundation struts.”
    Evie frowned at the wood, then at him, confusion and shock plain to see in the depths of her blue eyes. She swallowed.
    “The wood is healthy, Evie,” he continued. “No sign of rot. There are marks from a claw hammer where the nails have been pried up and removed. Before Tuesday afternoon when you fell, when was the last time you walked across this floor?”
    “Don’t remember.” She paused a moment, licking her lips, pressing her fingertips to her jaw.
    He hated to do this now, knowing she was in pain, but he had to find out what had happened.
    “Hardly ever go to the back,” she said. “No need.”
    “Why did you do it on Tuesday?”
    “Oat bucket.” She gestured to the tin bucket hanging on a peg a few feet away. Shaking her head, she said, “Didn’t put it there.”
    It wasn’t rocket science. “So someone placed it way over there to get you to walk across the floor, and fall through.” Shining the light down into the chasm, he said, “Yesterday, while you were sleeping, I went down there. It’s just a big rock cavern. The bottom is sandy in places and was covered with a few inches of seawater, so it must seep in from somewhere, maybe only during really high tides or storm surges.”
    In silence, she frowned, studied the bucket, the floor, and the ragged planking surrounding the hole through which she’d fallen. Without a word, she turned and walked out of the barn and into the sunshine.
    He let her go. Snapping the flashlight off, he sat on the floor, resting his elbow on his knee, and watched her. Against his better judgment, he allowed himself to appreciate her quiet strength and intelligence. It was attractive. She was attractive.
    She stood in the sun, her back to him, her arms crossed, thinking. She had an alluring, feminine shape, soft lines, cambered hips. With her dark red hair, gentle blue eyes, a dash of freckles across her nose, she probably captured the heart of every little boy in her class on the first day of school.
    But at the moment, his eyes were focused on the way her blue jeans cupped her butt. Her perfect butt. Crass, disgusting, lusty male that he was, he’d have been dead not to notice how sexy the woman looked from behind.
    He