Page 2 of Devil Within

Vette continued to ramble on, but at that point Shiloh tuned her out. She stared out the window at the view of her new home city. Never in her wildest dreams did she ever think she’d leave Missouri, let alone move to Wyoming. The only place she’d visited outside her hometown was St. Louis.

When she’d been in the sixth grade, she had won two tickets to a Cardinals baseball game, and her dad had driven the hour and a half to the stadium, even though they didn’t know a thing about baseball and didn’t really care to learn. But they’d had a great time eating hot dogs, drinking gigantic sodas, and making up silly stories to the asinine hand signals.

It was the last happy memory she had of him. The next weekend he died. Shiloh’s mother, in her grief, had sought to understand why God had been so cruel, and that’s when she found Lawrence. Within months, her mother had been indoctrinated and was expecting Shiloh to fall in line.

She pushed those memories aside, unwilling to walk down that lane. Instead, she focused on Cheyenne. The busy streets of the downtown area were lined with beautiful historical buildings. From what little research she’d done, she learned it had rich roots in frontier history, cowboy culture, and ranching. It was six thousand feet above sea level, and it sat at the base of the Rocky Mountains.

I could lose myself here. Be someone else. Say good-bye to the old Shiloh.

Vette pulled onto a driveway next to a white rancher trimmed in black. The front yard was neatly trimmed, and a porch swing hung from a sturdy, load-bearing beam. Flowers lined the walkway of flat rock slabs that led up to the house.

“This is so pretty,” Shiloh said softly.

“Yeah, I love it.” Vette smiled at her. “My parents wanted me back home, but I couldn’t return to that place.”

“I know how you feel.”

“Your mom?”

“She’s born again, with help from her husband.” She snorted in derision. “Tried to brainwash me, but apparently, I’m a dark soul.”

“What garbage.” Vette shook her head. “That’s the exact mentality of why I moved away.”

Unexpectedly, Shiloh’s throat closed up as her emotions threatened to spill over. She took a few deep breaths, forcefully pushing down any kind of feeling. They never did her any good.

“Thank you,” she said. “Thank you for letting me come and live with you. I had nowhere to go, so you threw me a life preserver. And I promise not to get in your way—”

“Shiloh, I’ve been waiting for you to move out here with me for a long time.” She reached over and took her hand. “Do you remember freshman year? When I had that crush on Earle Pitt? He was a senior and captain of the football team.”

Shiloh nodded.

“And I wrote that stupid love note to him that he decided to show everyone how stupid I was?”

Again, Shiloh nodded.

“I knew we were going to be friends forever when you punched Earle in the face and got detention for a week. I vowed, if you ever needed me, I’d move heaven or hell to be there for you.”

Shiloh squeezed her hand and hoped Vette knew that was code for you are now stuck with me for life.

“Come on,” Vette said, smiling. “I’m excited for you to see your room.”

Shiloh grabbed her suitcase and followed her into the house. The foyer had the living room and kitchen combo on one side of the house, and the bedrooms and bathroom on the other side.

“The indoor outhouse is all yours. I have an ensuite.”

“This is awesome.”

Vette beamed and led her to the bedroom in front. “And this is your space!”

Shiloh stepped inside, and something calm settled over her. She dropped her suitcase on the bed, overwhelmed with happiness.

This was now my home. Mine. I had a door I didn’t need to lock. There wasn’t one crucifix to be seen, and I don’t have to worry about my things disappearing.

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

Vette clapped her hands as she jumped up and down. “Okay! Well, pick out your best outfit because we are going to celebrate your arrival.”

“I don’t know—”