With the burial of her father behind her, she went to her room to change and then paced at her window. She was grateful that Lorena was out. Beth quickly ruled out the option to stay on the Blazing B and go along with her mother’s plan. She was legally outmuscled, and once done, developing this land would be an irreversible choice. If her father would send her to find Garner Remke, it meant that Garner Remke could be found. And it didn’t really matter that Rose had symbolically buried the man. Her husband’s wishes should count for something. With her bedroom door locked to dissuade Lorena from entering unannounced, Beth packed a small backpack that wouldn’t draw attention if anyone saw her driving off with it. A change of clothes, money, her laptop and cell phone, a map that showed the location of Burnt Rock, a Swiss army knife. It would have been nice to have a full week to prepare for a weekend away from home that might turn into a winter away. Instead, she stuck with her original intention to leave in the dark hours of Sunday morning, as if she were going to work as usual.
