Change of Heart Read Free Page B

the rear patio with Agent Todd following close behind.
    “Can you just leave me alone?”
    “I’m sorry, Mrs. Brandt. My orders are to keep you in my sight at all times.”
    “You honestly think I had anything to do with any of this?”
    He shrugged. “Stranger things have happened, ma’am.”
    “Not to me.” Evelyn sat on a deck chair and let her head drop into her hands. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
    A rustling in the bushes pulled her attention. She stood just in time to glimpse a man with a camera pointed at her.
    She spun around, head whirling, black dots at the edges of her vision. She struggled to breathe. This time she couldn’t keep the panic away. It was too strong. Every coping mechanism she’d learned in therapy eluded her, and she dropped into the chair, willing away the worry.
    Her heart felt like it was being squeezed. Her airway, blocked. Her mind spun out of control, unable to latch on to one sane thought.
    For a split second she was in her parents’ house again, hiding under the bed, hoping her father didn’t find her. He wouldn’t abuse her   —not physically   —but he would tell her what a disappointment she was. He would point out that she wasn’t living up to her potential, that what she needed was hard work and discipline. He would make her feel like the failure she was.
    I’ll never be good enough.
    “Mrs. Brandt?” Agent Todd leaned in. “Are you okay?” He turned to the man with the camera and shooed him away. “Get out of here. I can arrest you. This is private property.”
    The cameraman rushed off.
    “He’s gone, Mrs. Brandt.” Agent Todd stood a few feet away. “Do you need a doctor?”
    Slowly Evelyn’s panic subsided. It had been months since she’d had a panic attack, but they never got any easier. “I’m fine. I just want to be alone.”
    He lingered for a moment as if to assess her condition. “I’ll wait over here,” he said finally. “By the door.”
    But knowing she remained under his watchful eye was enough to prevent her from relaxing. That, coupled with the fact that her entire world had just come crumbling down around her, made Evelyn feel like she might never truly be at peace again.

CHAPTER
2

    T HE FENCE AT THE BASE OF W HITNEY F ARMS lay in pieces at Trevor’s feet. He’d been meaning to fix it for months, and last night one of the cows got out, so today it had become top priority. He hadn’t spent a fortune raising grass-fed cattle just to have them wander off in the middle of the night.
    The whole electric fence needed to be replaced, but the family farm had seen better months. Better years, if he was honest. Sometimes he wondered if there was any point in keeping the old place up and running, but every time the idea of shutting it down entered his mind, he heard his dad’s voice clear as day:
    “It’s not much, Son, but it’s ours. Our legacy. And that means something to us. It’s yours now. Your turn to carry on the Whitney name.”
    He shook the memory from his mind and hammered one of the broken slats to the post.
    He’d almost finished his repairs when an old blue four-wheeler appeared over the hill. His aunt Lilian stopped the vehicle a few feet away.
    “Where’s your helmet, Aunt Lil?” Trevor teased, prepared for whatever sarcastic remark she’d throw his way.
    When none came, he stopped his hammer midswing.
    She killed the engine. “You need to come inside.”
    Trevor frowned. “Why?”
    “Just come on. There’s something you need to see.” She started the engine back up. “It’s important, Trevor.”
    He didn’t like this one bit. Made him feel a lot like he did the day he got the call that his dad had passed away. And again, just two years later, when Mom followed him to heaven. He checked his pocket to be sure he had his phone with him. Had something happened to Peter? Jules? His siblings had chosen to leave Loves Park, but they still checked in now and then. When was the last time he’d spoken