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Saturdays usually weren’t as hectic unless the quartet she played in had booked a daytime wedding and an evening cocktail party. The only day she took off was Sunday—unless their quartet scored a gig, which seemed to happen more frequently lately. Starving artists didn’t have the luxury of saying no.
    â€œI know this is a lot to take in,” her dad said. “But do you have any questions?”
    â€œWhat would I do all day in Wyoming?” she asked him.
    â€œBesides keeping an eye on your grandmother and figuring out the cowboy protector’s angle?” He shrugged. “I don’t know. You could play it by ear.”
    Jade laughed. “Hilarious. A musician’s reference that I can’t comprehend because you know I’m a planner and a list maker.”
    â€œI’m sure once you get in that drafty old house piled with years’ worth of stuff that GG will have plenty to keep you occupied,” her father said dryly.
    â€œWhen would I have to leave?”
    â€œTomorrow.”
    She closed her eyes. Giving notice at her receptionist’s job wasn’t a big deal since she worked for a temp agency. The restaurant had two other prep cooks, so that wouldn’t burn an employment bridge. Both the quintet and quartets had backup players for emergency fill-ins. So once she made the calls, she could load up her car and just . . . go.
    But could she do it? She’d never been impulsive, so this was asking a lot.
    This isn’t impulsive; this is a last-minute family emergency.
    â€œI’ll do it. Under one condition.”
    He raised an eyebrow.
    â€œThat you won’t make any decisions about GG’s future until I give you my opinion.”
    â€œDone.”
    Jade stood and kissed the top of her dad’s balding head. “I’ll start packing.”

    Since Jade hadn’t ever done a cross-country road trip, at first she’d buzzed with excitement about experiencing a rite of passage. But as the miles wore on, she realized it wasn’t fun to do alone. Plus, she wasn’t a great driver, so she’d white-knuckled it the first day to the point that her hands and forearms actually hurt after a day of driving.
    The next day she’d made a conscious effort to try to relax. Her subconscious reminded her this trip was as much about the journey as the destination . . . until her father’s voice chimed in with this parting advice. “Don’t dawdle. Don’t take risks with the speed limit or your safety, but you need to reach Wyoming in a timely manner before GG does something we can’t undo.”
    So she hadn’t stopped to see any of the sights that interested her. She spent fourteen hours a day behind the wheel, rested for ten hours and then got up to do it all over again. So it wasn’t unlike her normal working days. Time passed in a blur of hitting shuffle on her iPod, stopping for food, gas and bathroom breaks. She’d snapped out of her daze when the GPS instructed her that her destination was two miles ahead.
    She’d made it. And for the first time since she’d left home, she allowed herself to be excited. If nothing else, she’d get to spend time with her grandma in her world. And looking around at the topography? Wyoming was a world unto itself.
    For hundreds of miles there’d been nothing but flat land. Little in the way of trees, just sickly-looking bushes. She’d been tempted to pull the car over after a tumbleweed—an actual tumbleweed!—had blownacross the road. But before she pulled out her phone to snap a picture, the wind bounced it over a fence and into a group of cows.
    After cresting a hill, Jade noticed a long line of trees that didn’t fit in this rugged setting. The rest of the area was craggy, with rock outcroppings here and there. She slowed on the gravel road and turned onto a driveway—also gravel—that bisected the tree line.
    When