THE JOURNEY FROM BRANTON to Oakhurst took a little under an hour, and a few minutes longer to get from there to the Wright farm. Zack drove into the yard that fronted the farmhouse – there was no gate for him to get out and open, thanks to Oliver Ryder – swung the Land Rover around, and pulled up near to the front door.
“Well, here you are,” he said, glad to have the awkward journey over with. It wasn’t that he had not enjoyed Emily’s company, but he was still uncomfortable after their conversation, which had made him painfully aware of every instance in which his eyes strayed to the teen at his side – why his gaze kept doing so, he couldn’t explain, and no matter how hard he tried to stop it doing so, he couldn’t; it made no sense to him, she was attractive enough, for someone who was on
