4
Roan
“Where are you headed?”
I shoved an extra shirt into my backpack. “To check on Annie.”
Ma didn’t reply right away, and I finished packing enough things to see me through for at least a week. Plenty of time to hike down river, do as I’d promised Jessie, and return home.
Heart guarded up tight against the only woman I wanted.
A friendly neighborly visit—if she didn’t peer down the length of a shotgun barrel the second I stepped onto Charran property.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
I zipped my backpack and turned to find Ma studying my face, concern in her eyes.
“She broke your heart all those years ago,” she continued when I didn’t answer, “and if I’m being honest, you haven’t been the same since.”
Being honest… Maybe telling Ma the truth might help ease the ache in my h
