Chapter 1Anastasia Hunter anticipated the alarm clock’s warning even before it cut through the morning quietude. She had just finished her light breakfast of a whole-wheat bagel and freshly squeezed orange juice when her internal alarm clock coerced her out of the kitchen chair and propelled her up the staircase. Sure enough, as she entered her bedroom, the buzzing from the clock on the nightstand began. She tapped the OFF button and eyed the 6:45 emblazoned in red letters across the digital readout.
In truth, Ana had been awake for several hours, anxiously awaiting this moment. Ever since moving into the rented beach house along Georgia’s coastline, it had become her habit. Setting the alarm, that is.
Before returning to her native state for a much-needed vacation, she had grown accusto
