Carson showed up at the homestead the next morning, right on time. Just because he’d been uninvited to lunch and then spent the afternoon and evening alone didn’t mean he wasn’t going to do his job. And Scarlett had asked to meet with him this morning. He yawned, stifling it quickly when she called, “Come in.” He couldn’t let anyone know that he’d lain awake for a lot of the night. The rest of it, he’d wandered the ranch under the glow of the moon, wondering where he’d gone so wrong. His anger and frustration with God had returned in full force, and he’d spent hours trying to figure out why he’d had to lose his ranch in Montana. Why his mother had left him alone with his dad and brother. Why, when he’d done everything right, they’d still gotten a reward and he’d been forced to leave the

