Free A Time for Home: A Snowberry Creek Novel by Alexis Morgan Page B

been hanging around the yard while he’d been over at Callie’s. If he found anything, he’d be having a talk with the police chief for sure to see if that uncle of Spence’s was back in town.
    The solid feel of his gun in his hand was a comfort, familiar, although he would have preferred to have his rifle with him. Even without it, though, he’d be fine. It wasn’t himself he was worried about. What if it had been Callie coming back through the woods alone in the darkness? The possibilities had him wishing he had a handy target for his anger.
    Because no matter what the risk, he’d do whatever it took to make sure Callie was safe. And he wasn’t doing it just because he owed that much to Spence. He hadn’t risked his own life and seen his friends shot and killed in that hellhole half a world away just to come home and put up with some bastard threatening a woman, and especially Callie.
    No way and on no day.
    There was nothing more to be done tonight, but tomorrow the hunt would begin.

Chapter 9

    T here should be a law against phones ringing before . . . What time was it anyway? Callie raised her head to glare at the clock. Okay, it was almost eight o’clock, but still. It wasn’t as if she had to be anywhere by a certain time.
    Rolling over onto her back, she grabbed her cell phone off the nightstand. She had a fair idea who it was because none of her friends would ever call her this early. Even if Callie had been up, she had a hard time communicating until after her first cup of coffee. Sometimes it took a second or even third cup before she could function at full speed.
    She covered her eyes with her other forearm to block out the bright light. “Hi, Mom. What’s up?”
    “Oops, sorry. Did I wake you?” Not that she sounded at all apologetic.
    “Yeah, but I should probably get moving anyway.”
    In a couple of hours. “So what’s going on? Are you and Dad enjoying your time in the sun?”
    “Yes, we are. Your dad is due out on the golf course, but he wouldn’t go until I called you.”
    There was a note in her mom’s voice that had Callie sitting up. “Why? Is something wrong?”
    “No, well, not exactly.” Then she broke off to talk to Callie’s father. “I will! Give me a chance.”
    A sick feeling settled in Callie’s stomach as she waited for her mom to get to the point.
    “You see, honey, I got an e-mail from Rosalyn McKay this morning. She wanted to know if either of us would be interested in being on a new committee she’s putting together to work on bringing new business to town.”
    All of that came out on one long breath. And none of it had anything to do with Callie. “So why the call, Mom? Surely she wasn’t asking if I wanted to be on the committee or anything.”
    “Not at all.” Now her mom was sounding a bit too casual. “It seems she’d been talking to the new police chief. Do you remember Gage Logan? Well, he moved back to Snowberry Creek to take over for Chief Green when he retired.”
    Again, nothing to do with Callie. “Yes, I knew Gage was back in town. We’ve talked a couple of times. What does all of this have to do with me?”
    “Well, he happened to mention to Mayor McKay that he’d noticed the grass at Spence’s house had been recently mowed. She was surprised to find out that you have someone living there now. To be honest, your father and I weren’t happy to be the last to know.”
    Sometimes Callie forgot how fast the grapevine worked in a town the size of Snowberry Creek. “I doubt you’re actually the last. There must be someone in town who hasn’t heard the news.”
    Okay, sarcasm wasn’t the smartest response, but Nick’s presence next door was nobody’s business but her own. As tempting as it was to point that out, Callie kept that last part to herself.
    “Anyway, your father is worried about you being there all alone with a total stranger living right next door. Do you want us to come back home? Or better yet, you could fly down to