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who’s never met an emotion she didn’t express.”
    Her siblings loved her. Annie knew that. But understand her? Hardly. And if her own family didn’t, what made Annie believe some stranger out there would be able to? In all her life she’d found only one person who seemed to get her. And though she loved him, he wasn’t… well, “the one.”
    Oh, grow up, Annie! There is no knight in shining armor. And even if there was, he’s not going to ride up and sweep you off your feet.
    “He’s out there, Annie.”
    She almost choked on her coffee. “What? Who is?”
    “The right man for you.”
    Annie set her mug down. Was her sister reading her mind?
    “He’s out there. I know it. I feel it, deep inside.”
    What was this? Miss Practical getting sentimental? Annie couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen Kyla get emotional.
    Oh. Yes, she could. When they stood beside their brother as first his wife, then his two children, were buried.
    But since then? Not even close. Kyla was as stoic as a woman could be. But there she sat, eyes actually glistening with unshed tears as she patted Annie’s arm. “When the time is right, God will bring him to you. You just can’t give up.”
    “I. won’t.”
    Annie squeezed her sister’s hand, asking God to forgive her for the lie. Because what she hadn’t told Kyla—couldn’t bring herself to admit out loud—was that she’d already done so.
    A long, long time ago.
    By the time Annie got back to her computer, she was so tired her eyes would hardly stay open. Good thing she only had one more e-mail to check. She just couldn’t decide whether to open it. It seemed to be from her nephew, but it wasn’t Jayce’s usual address.
    It was probably nothing. Jayce was forever opening new accounts. No reason to think it was another …
    She shook her head. Enough. The more she thought about it, the more tense she became. She steadied her fingers on the mouse and clicked.
Just open the stupid thing and be done with it—
    Shock. Dread. Revulsion.
    They coursed through Annie as she read the ugly block letters in the post. The message was short and anything but sweet:
I KNOW WHAIR U ARE.
I CN GET TO U.
    Shivers tripped along Annie’s skin as she studied the words.
    Not again.
    She’d received two others like it last week. But something about this e-mail stood out. This time there was a picture.
    Of her and Kodi.
    That fact alone was disturbing enough, but there was something more. Something that made Annie’s stomach clench.
    A big red X slashed across the picture.
    Annie’s fingers trembled as she slid the cursor to
Delete.
One click, and it would be gone. Just one click …
    She let go of the mouse and pushed her chair back. As though sensing her mistress’s alarm, Kodi stood from where she was lying next to the desk and used her long snout to nudge Annie’s hand onto her head.
    Annie scratched her worried dog’s ears. “It’s okay, girl.”
    Pity she didn’t sound too convincing, even to her own ears. She stood and paced to the window, peering out at the street, studying the parked cars. But she couldn’t tell if anyone was inside them.
    “Knock it off, Annie!” She grabbed the cord to the blind and jerked on it; the blind dropped like a guillotine, blocking the window. “Nobody’s out there. You’re being paranoid.”
    Yeah, well just because I’m paranoid doesn’t mean someone’s not out to get me.
    Kodi’s whine cut through the silence, and Annie settled back into her chair, leaning over to bury her face in the shepherd’s soft black fur.
    Okay, fine. The e-mails gave her the creepy crawlies. Who on earth would send such things to her?
    A
crazy person.
    Well … yes. But where did said crazy get her private e-mail address?
AJnK
, for Annie Justice and Kodi. She reserved that e-mail address for her family and closest friends. They knew better than to share it with anyone, which meant this address never got spammed.
    Which was why although she hadn’t