CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Jasper saved my life.
In spite of every precaution I had taken in order to protect myself, it didn’t keep my past from coming back to haunt me.
If such were the case, then what the hell was I hiding from?
It took the sound of a dragonfly’s wings buzzing past my ear to make me realize I was hugging myself hard with my hands jammed into my armpits. The ooze of creek bed mud and decomposed leaves squished under my toes as I approached the shore. I could smell the sun-warmed bank as I moved toward the patch of light on the waterside and pulled a tart salmon berry off the vine that hung down over my folded clothes.
“f**k it, I’m done being afraid.” I shoved my legs into my jeans after toweling off and quickly zipped them up.
Fully dressed and warm, I let my thighs carr
