Wind River Refuge

Jax runs for her life and is apprehended by the police. She’s sentenced to a juvenile detention facility, at the tender age of twelve. Lockup becomes an unexpected sanctuary for the traumatized child. It affords a safe harbor from her abuser, but she’s plagued by nightmares well into adulthood. Fate and her Grandmother step in to successfully reduce her sentence, and she’s paroled into a distant cousin’s custody, and relocated to a cattle ranch in Wyoming. The young parolee finds the transition difficult at first. She spends the next nine years learning the ropes, making friends, and a couple of powerful enemies. She’s been on her own since the age of ten and has of necessity become a fighter, but her aggressive in your face attitude hides a fragile, mistrustful soul. She’s unnerved when instead of her long time friend, a dark imposing stranger shows up at the Denver airport to fly her home. Garrett left home to attend college under a cloud of suspicion for a brutal crime. He returned more than a decade later wounded from a chopper crash in Vietnam. At odds with his father, he jumps at the chance to get away. His agreement to do a friend a favor changes his life. Jax discovers that Garrett is the sheriff’s prime suspect for the multiple attacks on her. She confronts him with the lawman’s accusation. Garrett turns on her, but he refuses to confirm or deny the law officer’s charge. The sheriff calls in the FBI to assist with the case. Bodies are unearthed, and the hunt is on to apprehend a murderer. Harper Blackelk is in the minority among the residents of the Wind River Valley. He doesn’t think that Jax is mentally unbalanced. She’s troubled, but he also believes her to be brave, resourceful, and loyal. He alone knows that she will need all of her bravery and resourcefulness to navigate the dark pathways of the spirit world.