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to get in the saddle. Usefulness, that was the answer.
    “It’s that he’s still such an idiot. It makes no sense at all to have me out on that trip. Obviously, he needs to be training one of the new guys. I’m not going to be riding any of the trails on this side of the valley. I’m sure Leo will shut his idea down and send someone who actually needs to know the stopovers.”
    Her brother smiled.
    “What?”
    “You know it’s that common sense that makes Dad think you’re destined to run the ranch. You have a business sense of the big picture that I’ll never have.”
    “Don’t you dare tell him,” Kristine said, punching him.
    “No. It’s our secret,” he said, holding her eyes. He hesitated, but then continued, “You sure that…”
    She waved him off with an excuse of wanting to get the stock over to the Aspens.
    As she drove back, a wave of guilt crashed on her. She understood how angry and hurt Gabe would be if he found out what she’d been hiding all these years. At first, she’d been too scared to tell him. Then too embarrassed. She felt guilty for keeping him in the dark but saw no easy way to tell him now. It was so long ago.
    Do you even have a plan? Her father’s words mocked her. She had no plan at all. Had she come back specifically to confront Nard? The tangled knot in her stomach betrayed that she’d rather not. She’d returned for Gabe, she reminded herself. In helping him, she hoped to remove some of the sting from when she’d left. If she was able to work the summer through to the end, she hoped to redeem herself, at least in her own eyes. She wondered whether that was possible without having to dig up the past.
    Kristine reflected on how things were when she’d run home to Quincy so unexpectedly six years ago. It was clear that her dad hadn’t fully believed her explanation. She’d worried so much that he’d push for more details, more answers about why she didn’t finish out the trip. At first, she was relieved that he’d let it go, but then the fact that he did so actually hurt. He’d always taught her to tough it out, but when she’d bailed, he hadn’t pushed the issue. The way he’d dropped it confirmed for her that he saw his daughter as a weakling. She’d been battling that perception ever since and needed to prove to herself that she wasn’t.

Chapter Eight
    Gloria punched in the numbers of her calling card and relished the sound of the ringing that said her call had finally gone through. She’d spent too much time wandering around the campgrounds trying to find a cell phone signal, and had given up and headed for the payphones at the Lodge.
    “Hey, Ma,” she said when her mother picked up.
    “What’s wrong?”
    “Nothing’s wrong. I can’t call you?”
    “You send cards. That’s what you do. I got your last one, by the way. Lovely, lovely place. But you don’t call unless something’s wrong. Bear attack?”
    “No.” Gloria pinched the bridge of her nose.
    “Stupid campers?”
    “Same as usual.”
    “Something wrong with the camper? You need to talk to your father?”
    “Mom. I’m fine. The camper’s fine. Can’t I just call to say hi?”
    There was silence on the line as her mother processed all of that. Just as Gloria thought she would let it slide, she began to laugh. “No. Your evenings, you hunker down with your work or a book. What’s got you worked up enough to find a place to make a call? This isn’t your cell. Are you up in Mammoth?”
    “At the Lodge, Mom. There are payphones here. The cell coverage is spotty.” Gloria rested her back against the building, watching the activity at the corrals, looking for the real reason she’d walked over. She couldn’t stop thinking about Kristine. Unanswered questions had been buzzing around in her head, especially during her quiet evenings. Though she realized that Kristine was at the Aspens most days, Gloria still walked over to the Lodge around six thirty, hoping that Kristine might have