Melanie and the students had even started a major project on their own that would benefit the shelter for years to come.
Thank goodness, because Safe Haven wasn’t in nearly good enough financial shape to handle anything outside the basics of feeding and caring for the animals. But at least they’d made significant headway by turning the operation into a not-for-profit organization that was finally eligible for grant money and more substantial donations. All thanks to Shea. She’d helped Annie with the paperwork, but her participation meant much more. Shea was the name and face of Safe Haven.
Just remembering the days before Annie had asked Shea to serve as Safe Haven’s chairman of the board made Annie tense. the future of the sanctuary had been at stake. Annie couldn’t use her real name on any government document. Since she was an unpaid volunteer, she wasn’t noted at all.
The rest of the board positions had been filled with longtime residents of Blackfoot Falls, and they were one hell of an ornery bunch. Their first meeting would be next week, and wasn’t that going to be a corker. Annie would be there to run things—Shea had made her promise—but with an official and legal board of directors, Safe Haven would continue even if Annie had to disappear in a hurry.
That thought sent her mood plummeting. Better get busy before she had too much time to brood.
It wasn’t light out yet, but she’d have to start the first round of feeding shortly, so she booted up her computer and checked her email. She didn’t get much. A few volunteers liked to keep in touch between visits, some ebills had to be slotted for payment. Shea had sent pictures of yesterday’s party that she’d posted on the Sundance website.
The fourth one nearly stopped her heart.
It was a picture of her. For anyone to see. Including the New York district attorney.
TUCKER WAS ALREADY IN THE sunroom, waiting for his mother to join him for lunch. He never minded spending time with her, but he wished he could do something more to lift her spirits.
Finding Leanna Warner would help. Irene wanted so badly to bring Christian back into her life that Tucker would do just about anything he could to make that happen. Proving Christian’s innocence was no guarantee that he’d see past the pain of being abandoned as a child and give his mother and Tucker another chance. But it was Tucker’s best shot.
Tucker had gone through his own pain and doubt during his parents’ bitter divorce, but he’d been the lucky one. He’d ended up with his mother, a man he admired as his new father and a legacy of wealth and privilege to live up to. Christian had been the bargaining chip for Rory Andrews to grant Irene her divorce. She’d never dreamed that Rory would vanish, would subject Christian to a nomadic life following the horse-racing circuit and running from debts.
That Christian had gone to college and received his master’s in finance was a testament to hard work and determination, because there’d been no support from his dad. Now, to have this cloud of suspicion over his reputation was another kick in the teeth Christian didn’t deserve.
Every time Tucker thought of the grief Leanna Warner had brought down on his family it angered him further, but he’d never been one to act rashly. By the time he turned that woman in, he’d make damn sure his brother would be exonerated completely.
Irene entered the room with her head high, and a smile on her face. It was all for show, but sometimes he thought the facade was the only thing keeping her going. That and hope.
THE MORNING WENT BY IN FITS and starts, and Shea was late. Her phone was going straight to voice mail, which meant she probably hadn’t remembered to turn it on again. Annie had gone back to the computer several times, just to make sure she wasn’t freaking out over nothing, but she wasn’t. Her picture, along with her first name being associated with Safe Haven, was plenty to worry about. Shea would know how many hits the site had logged, and that page in particular. A high number would be more reason to run as quickly as possible. A low number meant it was far less risky for Annie to stay.
God, she wanted to stay.
The irony wasn’t lost on her. She’d been so intent on becoming a mover and shaker in Manhattan that she’d gotten herself into the worst trouble she could imagine. Now, she was desperate to live in a cabin that made her first New York apartment look roomy, and had fallen in love with a life of pitching hay and nursing everything from piglets to Brahma bulls. But she’d better stop romanticizing the sanctuary and her life, because that would make running even harder.
“Annie? Can I ride Candy Cane after class?”
Shaken out of her slide toward panic, she smiled at one of her favorite students—a small girl for a senior—who was deeply infatuated with horses. “You have a ride home?”
Stephanie nodded. “My mom said I could stay for an hour if it’s okay with you.”
“You bet. Candy needs a little exercise.”
The girl ran back to the work of mucking out one of the birthing stalls as Annie heard a car crunching over the gravel driveway. Her heart beat furiously as Shea parked her truck.
“Sorry I’m late. I ran into Doc Yardley and we got to talking. But I remembered to bring the—”
Annie grabbed the bag of medicine from Shea’s outstretched hand. “I need to speak to you,” she said. “Inside. I’ll be right there.”
Shea’s expression had gone from pleasant to worried, but instead of shooting back questions, she simply closed the truck door behind her and headed for the cabin.
Annie trotted to Melanie, who was helping one of the kids distribute feed to the goats. “Can you watch things for me? Something’s come up.”
Melanie, who had once considered becoming a vet, agreed at once.
It struck Annie hard that she knew so much about this quiet woman who’d made such an impact at Safe Haven and with her students. In fact, Annie knew a great deal about many of the people in this quaint Montana town. She’d meant to avoid all this. To keep to herself. Getting involved hadn’t been part of the plan, and this was why.
She forced a smile for Melanie, then turned, wanting to run to the cabin. But it wasn’t that far, and she could use the extra minute to calm herself. Since she’d seen the picture, she’d worried about a million things that could go wrong, but she hadn’t bothered to think through what she was going to tell Shea. As little as possible, yes, but where was the line?
Shea looked up from the kitchen area when Annie walked inside. She was making a fresh pot of coffee. Annie wished she had something stronger.
“What’s wrong?”
“I need to ask you a favor.”
“Okay.”
Annie studied the woman she’d gotten too close to. “The picture you posted on the Sundance website, the one with me in it? I need you to take it down. Please.”
Shea didn’t react, not even a lift of her eyebrows. “All right,” she said calmly as she sat in front of Annie’s computer. Shea typed very quickly. Logging into the Sundance website, it took only a few clicks to find the photo and delete it.
Annie sighed with relief. “Did you put it up this morning?”
“No. Last night,” Shea said, returning to the desktop picture of the corral at sunset. “Late. Just before midnight.”
Twelve hours. Annie’s face had been freely available for twelve hours, but then the odds of someone from her past checking out the Sundance dude ranch website were miniscule. She didn’t