Page 36 of One Merciful Moment

"Could it be heat?" Mace asked.

"No." She shook her head. "The weather's been steady, day and night. There's no sign of disease. No mold, no rot, no spotting."

Boone put his hand on the small of her back. "Then what's doing it?"

She looked over her shoulder at him. "I don't know. It's not natural stress. It's not environmental. It's not anything I can explain."

"Bullshit." Rex, who was a head taller than everyone else, scowled.

"I'm telling the truth." She lifted a bean leaf and turned toward the men. "Look at this. The veins aren't discolored, but they're strained. Bruised. Like the plant was pushed into a shape it didn't want to hold."

Finn cocked his head. "Pushed? By what?"

Her stomach rolled. She hated to say it, but they needed to know.

"It looks like someone purposely ruined the crops." She reached back for Boone's hand and held on.

The men stiffened, turning accusing eyes on each other. Her heart hammered. It was the reaction she expected. That's why she'd taken time to study the plants. If she was wrong, it could upset the whole town.

"Someone touched them?" Levi clenched his fists.

"No," Ashley said quickly. "Not physically. But something intentionally put strain on them from the inside out."

"Impossible," Nolan muttered.

"I know." She nodded. "But it's the only thing I can figure out by studying the plants."

Copper stepped forward. "It's Everstill. The town reacts when balance shifts. When something changes. When the veil prepares to move."

Her pulse quickened. "So this is the veil showing itself?"

"No." Copper's voice was calm, but edged. "This is Everstill protecting itself."

Ashley gawked at him. "If Everstill is doing this, how do we stop it before it kills everything else?"

Copper gazed at her for a long moment, the weight of the town's secrets settling between them. "You don't stop Everstill," he said quietly. "You figure out what it wants."

The answer sat on her chest like a stone. Everstill wanted something, and it was using the garden to say it. What did it want from her?

"The veil pulled you in for a reason. It doesn't bring people here without purpose." Copper lifted his chin toward Finn. "Much like Kallie, who believes she walked down the road and simply appeared in Everstill. There was a reason she was allowed to come."

"What reason would there be for me?" Ashley sighed heavily. "I crashed my truck."

Even as she said it, she knew how ridiculous it sounded. Crashing a vehicle didn't bring her to Everstill.

"You're the only one who can fix the garden," Copper said.

"How can I fix it if I don't know what's going on?" She stared at him, stunned he'd put that responsibility on her.

"You will," he said simply. "Everstill responds to you. That's why the veil brought you. You turned the garden around once. Do it again."

Ashley shook her head. "But if Everstill is doing this, how do I stop it before it kills everything else?"

Copper's expression hardened. "If the garden fails, the veil destabilizes. It won't open. Not safely. Maybe not at all."

Ashley fell back a step, bumping into Boone. He caught her hips, keeping her steady.

Copper continued, "But if you succeed and can restore the garden, the veil can open without collapsing."