Page 1 of A Moon Lake Christmas Hero

ERIN

My phone rang, and I grabbed one wired earbud, praying once more that this shitty excuse for a car, which smelled like old cigarettes and something unidentifiable, would make it the last couple of miles.

Though it brought me this far.

Despite that clanking sound, which started an hour after I left the city limits—and my life—behind, it was still going strong.

I tried to down-regulate the fan, which was blasting at full speed—stuck on freezing cold—of course, the heating would be the one thing that didn’t work—was that where the clanking came from?

“Hello.” Jessie Blake’s melodic voice sounded in my ear—Radley, her last name was Radley now.

“Hey.” I relaxed the muscles in my stomach, which had tightened involuntarily.

Nobody had this number.

He didn’t have this number.

Nobody knew where I was going—except for Jessie and Alan Radley, my future boss.

I’d talked to Jessie earlier today when I left the crappy motel I’d stayed in overnight. At least one person knew I was taking this trip to Moon Lake.

We’d lost contact there for a while, but when she contacted me after she heard about my parents’ deaths, the instant connection and easy camaraderie we had back when we were working in the same healthcare facility immediately came back. And it somehow gave me the hope and the courage to run, to start new, to leave everything behind.

She reminded me of who I used to be.

Of the life I’d lost.

So much loss.

I rubbed my chest. The thrumming pain about losing my parents had molded together with the guilt I’d been carrying.

Like a big, fat chunk of radiating cold, it sat right in the middle of my chest.

I still couldn’t shake the feeling it was my fault, no matter what the investigation report was saying. I brought Bob into our lives. And somehow, I was sure he’d had something to do with that fire.

Had done this to target me, to hurt me.

He’d always complained about me taking care of my parents. Me not being available for him. Me not loving him enough.

And he was right.

He’d lost my trust and my love when he started the gaslighting, when I caught on to what a manipulative, lying bastard he was.

When I finally ended things, he didn’t take it well. It started with angry letters, demeaning text messages, barely veiled threats.

I didn’t react.

At all.

Had hoped he would get over it.

And then the fire…and the message scribbled on an innocent piece of paper.

Never forget, you are mine.

A shudder swept through my body and left me ice cold.

Did he do it? Was he somehow behind the fire?

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