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curvy, paved road she walked on turned north. Instead of following the pavement, she walked straight into the muddy ditch. She limped across a meadow to the far side and entered the thin strip of woods separating the paved street from the twisting gravel road her mother lived on. She’d used the same shortcut countless times as a kid, and the well-worn path comforted her feet like an old friend. Maybe Luther, she thought, ducking under a low branch. Maybe. But, no. I didn’t cross—
    She stopped, heart hammering, as a mud-flecked Boone County Sheriff’s car sped north on the gravel road ahead of her. She ducked, crouching behind a tree, but it had already passed. She heard the cruiser leave the gravel to pull onto the paved road. Still crouching, she turned to track its journey. Lights on but without a siren blaring, it sped away, heading toward Boone.
    Were they looking for me? Did they come to warn Mom about me?
    Mindy let her heart rate settle before she crept forward, then crouched again near the edge of the woods to watch her mother’s house. Her mom’s familiar SUV sat in the drive, and the house looked the same, but Mom had planted red and white petunias out front instead of her usual peach colored impatiens.
    Tears stung Mindy’s eyes. Oh, Mom, you know those are my favorite! You never stopped hoping I’d come back!
    Another car approached, and Mindy ducked behind a scraggly bush. The car pulled in the drive and stopped, tires skidding on gravel. Her younger sister, Danielle, scrambled out. Dani was pregnant, her dark hair cut short, and she ran to the house.
    She eased back to sit on her heels, her mind churning. Dani. Pregnant. At Thanksgiving she thought Mikey was about to ask her to marry him. Maybe a Christmas engagement. Maybe Valentine’s day. But soon. They were so cute together, so happy.
    Mindy stood. Almost three years is a long time. I don’t know what happened to me, where I was, but I’ve missed so much.
    She smiled and limped out of the woods onto her mother’s front lawn. She expected to see their aging golden retriever wander around from the backyard, slow but happy to see her. Instead, a small dog barked from inside of the house.
    Three years too long, she thought, feeling a tight pang of sadness at the absence. What was I thinking? He would have been twelve, almost thirteen. Far too old for a large dog.
    Mindy had not yet reached the deck when her mother yanked the front door open. She’d been crying, her haggard face blotchy and red, and her rich brown hair had become white with flecks of steely gray. She was emaciated, a mere husk of her soft self, and leaned on a cane like an old crone. Mom. Who’d been a laughing and vibrant fifty at Thanksgiving.
    “Get off my property before I call the sheriff!” Mom screamed. “They were just here, and they told me all about you! Swindler! Cheat! Trying to ruin the memory of my Mindy!”
    Mindy winced at the decaying shell her mother had become. “Mom, please,” she said, tears welling in her eyes as she grasped the stair rail. “I’m so scared, I don’t know—“
    “You’re not my daughter, and don’t you try to trick me!” her mother screeched. “My Mindy died! She DIED and you’re a filthy bitch for even thinking you can—“
    Dani tugged on their mom’s arm. “Come on back in the house.”
    I died? Mindy thought, knees threatening to buckle even as she reached toward her mother, still so far away. I really died? Oh, Mom! Please don’t leave me here alone!
    Dani said, “I’ll take care of this, okay, Mom? Your heart… You know what the doctors—“
    Mom wrenched her arm free and snarled, “You get off of my property right this minute, or I’m calling the sheriff. You hear?” She stomped into the house, leaving Dani staring down at Mindy.
    “You better go.” Dani crossed her arms over her chest. “I’ll drag you to the end of the driveway myself if I have to. She’s sick. She doesn’t need this stress.”
    Mindy