Girl in the Shadows (Shadows 2)

was quiet, but then she suddenly put the knitting down

and turned to me. "I know I'm not long for this world,

April. My daughter's unexpected visit has brought

home clearly what that means."

"Now, Mrs. Westington..."

"No, no false hopes, no promises, no head in

the sand any longer. I can't have Echo left in the lurch

and I certainly can't have her at the mercy of her

selfish mother. I want to talk to Tyler about getting

Echo placed in one of those schools quickly and then

I'm going to talk to my lawyer about future custody,

the money I have in trust, all of it. I'd like you to help

me with it all."

"Of course I will," I said.

"Thank you." She lifted the knitting and fixed

her eyes on me. "So don't go thinking about picking

up and leaving," she added.

I laughed. Either I wore my heart on my sleeve

and had a face that was made of glass with my

thoughts printed on the inside or she was just a good

mind reader.

"Like I told you," she said. "your coming here

was meant to be."

"Maybe so," I said, thinking about everything.

especially Tyler parking his car in the shadows on the

road and making his way through the darkness to meet

me in the motor home.

"If you want, turn on the televison."

"No. I'm fine,I'm going over to the motor

home," I said. "I still have things to pack. I'll be