Free Whirlwind by Alison Hart

most insurance companies have investigators they can hire who specialize in fraud.”
    “I’ll mention it to Mr. Jenkins. Thanks—for everything.”
    “No need to thank me.” He stared sideways at her, Wonder’s leg secure against his bent knee. “It’s my job.” Pointing the dirty hoof pick at her, he drawled, “Because I’m Bond. James Bond.”
    Jas laughed. “You have seen
Goldfinger
way too many times.”
    Sam followed Jas down the rocky driveway. Hope, who was finally out of quarantine, trotted by her side on a leash. The mobile home was being delivered this morning, and Jas was checking to see if the truck had arrived.
    She stopped at the sign by the entrance: S COND CHANCE    ARM . No one had gotten around to fixing it. Jas ran her fingers over thebumpy black wood letters, remembering the day the social worker had driven her to the farm. She’d compared everything—fencing, barns, horses, and pastures—to High Meadows and found it sadly lacking. Now she was happy to call the tumbledown place home.
    And she wasn’t going to let Hugh ruin it.
    Yesterday, Jas and Miss Hahn had met with Mr. Jenkins. Not only had he agreed to pursue charges against Hugh, but he was also assigning an investigator to the case. He handed Jas a card that said M. BAYLOR . “Best in the business,” Mr. Jenkins had assured them.
    A truck rumbling up the road interrupted Jas’s thoughts. She waved at the driver to stop. “Turn left at the open gate,” she instructed. “Follow the lane to the top of the hill. We’ll be waiting.”
    Jas hurried back up the driveway. Miss Hahn and Grandfather were sitting on the front porch swing. “It’s here!” she called as she ran past them to the side yard. A path led into the field. The trail branched—left to the pond, right up the hill.
    When she reached the top, the truck waswinding toward her from the main road. Several days ago, one of the farm’s donors had bulldozed a flat spot. Then electric lines had been run, a well dug, and septic tank installed. Yesterday, Jas had used the string trimmer and Chase had used the Bush Hog to cut the unruly grass and weeds.
    A dog bayed, and Tilly and Reese bounded through the brush. They greeted Jas with eager licks, as if they hadn’t seen her in days. Hope pricked her ears. But then she plopped to the ground and placed her chin on her paws.
    The little dog was eating better but still seemed sad. Officer Lacey had set a Havahart trap at the meth dealer’s place. He’d baited it with hamburger, hoping to entice Hope’s friend—if there was one. So far, all he’d trapped was a possum.
    Jas heard wheezing and panting. Sam was hobbling up the hill, his tail wagging with each step. Grandfather and Miss Hahn straggled behind him.
    “You made it.” Jas trotted down the slope to meet them. Linking her arm through her grandfather’s, she pulled him the rest of the way.
    While he caught his breath, they watched the driver haul the mobile home to the top of the hill. “Where ya want it?” the man shouted.
    “Right there.” Jas pointed. Their new home would overlook the barns, pastures, and pond. On the right, a grove of locust trees would shade the kitchen. In back, there was enough sun for next year’s vegetable garden.
    “What a gorgeous view,” Miss Hahn said. In the distance, they could see the wavy blue line of the Allegheny Mountains.
    Jas squeezed her grandfather’s arm. “What do you think, Grandfather?”
    “It’s perfect,” he said, tears shimmering in his eyes.
    “Yes,” Jas whispered. “It is.”
    The driver shifted gears, and the mobile home jerked forward. One tire bumped over a protruding rock, and a piece of window glass shattered and crashed to the ground.
    The driver flashed a toothy grin out the open window. “Needs a little TLC,” he hollered.
    “Sir, watch out for the—” Jas shouted.
    Too late, the front tire lurched into a rain-washed rut they’d trimmed around. Swearing loudly, the driver braked.