I couldn’t imagine how a man who had stood so loyally beside my family through our darkest hours could be tied to the terrifying secret Brandon had taken to his grave.

At six o’clock in the morning, I put the letter in a small envelope, slipped it into my coat pocket, and made up my mind.

I needed to see the north bend of that trail with my own eyes.

The old mountain road was less than an hour from our house, though I had deliberately avoided the whole area ever since the accident.

We had sold the family cabin two years ago because my daughters could no longer bear to visit it, and I had convinced myself I had no reason to ever go back.