Earthbound Creatures

Dig into the past, and you're destined to change the future. Rory Fielding just closed the door on her 20-year marriage for a long shot at living out a childhood dream. Now, she's got a bitter ex-husband, a resentful teenage son, three horses, two dogs, and four short months to convert Whistler Ridge Farm, 30 feral acres of once-prime farmland, into a commercial horse boarding operation. Everything's on track for Rory's successful transition from corporate exec to Southern Point farmer-until her Labrador puppy, Rocket, retrieves a disturbing find in the woods. Friends and neighbors offer up macabre theories about how the human remains that Rocket exhumed from a makeshift grave landed on Rory's property. Even Rory's babysitter, Sandy, has a story to tell. And, Sandy's sinister tale may just be as plausible as it is far-fetched. Dan Deal, ex-police detective and owner of the local feed store, steps in to guide Rory through the swarm of investigators, media-and one cranky archeologist-who have invaded her farm and stopped her barn project cold. Dan's easygoing manner and just-shy-of-swagger confidence chip away at Rory's guarded exterior, leading to a passionate affair. But their deepening relationship also triggers memories from Rory's traumatic childhood-memories poised to destroy the love she never thought she could find. As all of Southern Point holds its breath, the police investigation moves toward an explosive breakthrough. Time and money have run out for Rory Fielding. What happens to her next depends on secrets held fast for three decades, deep in the earth of Whistler Ridge Farm.