Chapter Four
Charlie stood in the stirrups as the gray mare raced through the darkness, her knees bent to keep her balance over the saddle, trying to outrun her pain. Every aspect of her life was in perfect order, with the glaring exception of courtship and love, and she had managed to ignore that until today. The air blew into her face, and tears streamed toward her ears with the forward motion. Something about Elizabeth Hepscott had touched an old wound, ripping the scab off an injury she thought scarred a long time ago.
Phoebe.
Charlie pulled the horse to a stop by the creek, the babbling drowning out her sniffling. She roughly brushed her face, then gave up the struggle and let the tears flow.
At that moment, she was again a young woman in her front parlor, tenderly holding the dar
