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I landed in Austin.” Blair was an old friend from the University of Texas, a fiercely ambitious failed debutante who didn’t give a flip about the genteel past. After finishing her doctorate, she taught for a few years, then became the star writer of a glossy popular news magazine called Texas Life, working out of the Austin bureau.
    Jessie was aware of the irony of looking for an assignment at this point, but she needed all the work she could get, and she needed it now. More than that, she needed the solace of work, which for so much of her life had been a refuge from issues she didn’t care to face. When she took pictures, she could disappear into the camera lens and travel to sharp-edged, dramatic places where the real world turned into fantasy.
    â€œYou called Blair but not me?”
    â€œI had to let her know I could use some work.”
    Luz relaxed a little; Jessie knew her sister understood practical matters all too well. “With her connections, she’s bound to have tons of assignments.”
    â€œThat’s what she said. When I mentioned Edenville, she found a dead lead for a local story, and promised to see if she could revive it.”
    â€œThen it’s as good as done. I wonder what it’s about?” They stopped at the bumpy path that led to the three cabins on the property. “Not exactly the five-star hotels you’re used to, is it, Jess?” Luz asked.
    Jessie laughed, shaking her head. “You have an inflated view of my glamorous international lifestyle.”
    â€œAt least you have a lifestyle.”
    â€œAt least you have a life.” Jessie laughed again as she said it, but she could feel the tension thrumming between them, as fresh as if she’d never left.

CHAPTER 4
    Carrying the half-full bottle of wine and a borrowed glass, Jessie made her way along the path through the woods. She was eager for bed, hoping to push past the dizzy exhaustion of jet lag.
    When she was little, the forest had held a thousand unseen terrors for her, and if she had to cross the woods at night, she would hold her breath the whole way for fear of inhaling the evil spirits that inhabited the darkness. She found herself holding her breath now, and the same old terror clawed at her, but unlike that frightened little girl with the messy braids, she knew what scared her. It was a lot more real than monsters hidden amid the sighing maples, shaggy mesquites and bony live oak trees.
    Ian had brought in her bags and turned on a couple of lights and the window unit. Manufactured air that smelled faintly of mildew blew gently into the room. The cabin had a kitchenette, sitting area with a lake view and small bedroom and bathroom in back. A little, contained world, one that held neither threat…nor hope.
    â€œHello,” she called out.
    â€œIn the bedroom,” Ian said.
    â€œThen I’ve got you right where I want you.” Although everything had changed, Jessie forced herself to tease like the fun-loving girl he’d known so long ago. In the pine-paneled room, she found her sister’s husband struggling with a hyper-elasticized mattress pad that didn’t quite fit the queen-sized bed.
    â€œRight,” he said, flashing her a grin. “Give me a hand with this, will you?”
    She eyed the messy wad of bedclothes. “But you were doing so well on your own.” She grabbed a corner of the mattress pad and wrestled it in place. On the other side of the bed, he did the same. But each time they got one corner covered, the opposite one sprang loose. Finally Ian lay spread-eagled on top of the thing, holding down the corners while Jessie tucked them in place.
    â€œThe things I have to do to get a guy in bed,” she muttered, finally succeeding with the mattress pad. She wrinkled her nose. “You were right earlier—you do smell like yard work.” They worked together in companionable silence, and she was grateful for the ease she felt