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going in?”
    “Cait, you don’t have to go…”
    “I want to go, Ri.” Cait looked determined. “This is affecting my family too, and I want an end to it.”
    “You want an end to what?”
    We all turned. Kade stood at the doorway watching us.
    “An end to Laria’s haunting,” Cait said in response to his question.
    He stepped out onto the battlements, came up behind me, and slid his arms around my waist. “I agree. It’s time for this to stop.”
    I leaned back against his strong chest.
    Cait took Maddy by the hand and headed for the door. “Come on, squirt. Let’s give these two some space.”
    “You’re not in this alone, you know that, right?” Kade pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “I mean, I was serious when I told you I wanted to help you. I don’t want to be left out of this. If it affects you, it affects me.”
    “I’m grateful for your help,” I said, staring off at the hillside.
    “So…what were you guys doing up here?”
    I glanced at him. “Laria is buried up on that hill.”
    He frowned.
    “Apparently that’s just one more reason for her to be angry.”
    “Does she forget that she killed Ian and that’s why his family wanted revenge?”
    I’m sure she didn’t forget what she had done to Ian, or what Ian’s family had done to her, for one second.
    “But what can you do about her being buried where she’s at? I mean, does she expect you to find her body and have it moved?”
    “I don’t know what she wants, but the grave obviously has something to do with all of it.” I turned in his arms. “I don’t want to talk about her any more.” Honestly, I was so sick of Laria controlling my life. The moments of peace I had were so rare, and I just wanted to be with Kade without looking over my shoulder.
    He smiled at me. “How about a motorcycle ride before dinner?”
     
    ***
     
    The motorcycle was of the dirt bike variety. I slid the helmet on that Kade had handed me, and he brushed my hands out of the way to buckle it. The sides of his mouth lifted in a soft smile, and my heart gave a lurch. I liked feeling cared for.
    “Are you scared?”
    “Not at all,” I replied. My family owned dirt bikes that we used at our property in the Columbia River Gorge. Shane and I had spent hours a day on those minibikes, blazing trails through the hundred acres of national forest that backed up to the cedar vacation home where we had spent nearly every weekend during the spring and summer when we were younger.
    Sliding a leg over the motorcycle seat, I settled in behind Kade and wrapped my arms around his narrow waist. I liked the intimacy, and as he kicked the engine over and hit first gear we were off.
    He started off slowly across the lawn, shifted into second gear, and waved to Maddy and Cait who watched us from the courtyard. The minute we were up over the hill, he hit third and then fourth gear, and we were flying across the green grass, parallel to the river.
    Exhilaration rushed through me. I had forgotten this incredible feeling—of the wind against my face, the freedom of being a part of nature, part of the landscape.
    A small stone bridge crossed the river ahead of us.
    I became nervous that we were headed that way. I didn’t trust Laria, and being on that side of the river, and getting closer to the hillside where she’d been buried just made me more uncomfortable.
    Thankfully we didn’t head up into the hills. In fact, there was a small little track that was just far enough off the road to be invisible from traffic passing by. After a dozen laps, he pulled off the track and stopped. He glanced back at me. “You want to go solo?”
    It had been years since I’d ridden a bike, so I was a little rusty, but I was also excited. “Sure.” I only hoped I didn’t make an ass out of myself.
    I killed the engine immediately, and when Kade stepped forward to help me out, I put the bike in neutral, flipped out the kick starter with my hand, and putting all my body weight into