Chapter 6 Skylar
SKYLAR
Easton and I haul our bags toward the farmhouse, Bronwyn trailing behind us. She complains the entire way, her voice a low drone I try to block out.
It’s even easier to dismiss her when I focus on the farmhouse and the two smaller houses beside it. Up close, the details match the photos from the website. Weathered siding, warped from heat and years of neglect, yet still standing, refusing to collapse.
One house in particular catches my eye. The one I’ve seen with the tarp that’s tacked on as an extension, sagging like a makeshift tent.
Something about it calls to me, pulling me closer.
So that’s what I do, breaking from my group and edging toward it.
The first thing that hits me is how much more pungent the smell is up close.
As awful as it is, I’m not deterred.
He’s calling me. Without words, without ever seeing him, he’s telling me to come to his home.
The lights are off in the house I’m drawn to, but I just know he’s there, wide awake.
That knowing is what terrifies me the most.
Up until this evening, my life has been ruled by science and facts. Notions, premonitions…I never believed in those. I never thought I’d feel an invisible collar around my throat, tugging me forward on an invisible leash.
I do now, as my feet carry me toward his door. The air thickens as I get closer.
My duffel is heavy on my shoulder, the charm warm against my skin.
As my hand curls into a fist, ready to knock on the oversized door, I catch myself.
What does he even want with me?
He could drag me into his darkness.
And I might like it.
On the off chance I don’t… Well, I can always scream. Bronwyn and Easton won’t leave me to die here, no matter how upset Bronwyn is with me.
It’s decided then.
I’m going to knock.
I’m going to meet him.
“Farmhouse is over here, girl.” Ma’s voice is firm, leaving no room for argument. “Not there. That’s off-limits.”
My stomach drops as if I’ve been caught stealing. Technically, I got caught snooping, which is just as bad.
“Sorry.” The magnetic pull toward the wrong house is stronger than my shame, clinging to me as I turn around. “I was curious about the…” Don’t say a word about the charm. “Livestock.”
“Cows and goats? You’ve seen one, even in a picture, you’ve seen them all.” She waits for me under her dimly lit porch, jerking her chin toward the open door. Everyone else is already inside. “Let’s go.”
One last glance at the dark windows, one last hope that he’ll come for me.
Please.
My heart crumples at the blaring silence.
“Come on,” Ma chides from inside the house, and reluctantly, I rush over.
The air shifts the second I step past the door and into their living room. There’s a faint apple pie scent here, and a tang of bleach.
Bleach like I smelled on him.
He was here. He walked across these dark, scratched floorboards. Probably crossed the sitting area on my left.
He was here, and now what? They’re ashamed of him? That’s why he won’t come see me? Because they ordered him not to?
Resentment stirs within me, my jaw ticking. This isn’t right, treating one of your own like an embarrassment.
Bronwyn’s treated me like that for years.
But she’s changed. I shouldn’t be drowning in self-pity. Should stop making assumptions about this family.
Besides, there are more important things to tend to. Like checking up on Bronwyn.
Ma crosses the floor toward the stairs at record speed, and as I follow her, I perk my ears to listen for my sister and Easton’s voices. At first, I hear nothing. Just the sound of my footsteps, Ma’s heels until—ah, there it is. Bronwyn’s stomping. I’d recognize the sound anywhere.
Now that I know my sister’s safe, a plan starts forming in my head. It sharpens with each step up the stairs that creak beneath my sneakers.
I have to meet him. I must.
Once everyone’s turned in, I’ll wait an hour or two until the house is quiet. Then I’ll tell Bronwyn where I’m going and sneak out to search for him.
I know how wrong it is to violate this family’s privacy. I know how dangerous it is, too, walking into a stranger’s house with nothing but my scalpel.
But the pull…the need…it’s alive and thrumming under my skin.
That invisible leash keeps yanking me toward him.
Oblivious to my spiraling thoughts, Ma walks ahead and up the stairs. Her back is straight, her steps confident. She has one hand on the railing, humming a tune I don’t recognize.
Eventually, at the landing, she slows until she stops at an open doorway.
“This one’s you.” She presses her palm to the frame, practically introducing me to the room.
From the room across the hall, I hear Bronwyn talking to Easton, but she’s too quiet. She isn’t screaming like she did before, nor is she pacing.
“Umm.” Worry sneaks up on me. I finger the strap of my duffel, my gaze dancing between Ma and the other room. “Maybe I should go see if Bronwyn needs anything?”
“Don’t worry about her.” Ma waves me off, the movement sharp. “If Jett and Papa aren’t here, this must mean she and her man have settled in just fine.”
“Okay…” Honestly, there’s no reason to argue. It’s not like Bronwyn wants to see me right now, anyway.
“Oh, and another thing.” My hostess dips her chin, her gaze reminding me of a preschool teacher. Warmth spiked with don’t test me. “There’ll be no showering tonight. The heater won’t work until the morning, so you’ve got no reason to wander around here.”
Fine by me. The faster everyone’s off to bed, the better.
“I’ll be turning in, then.”
“Good call.” Her stare is unwavering.
Briefly, unease flutters through me. Then Ma turns and stalks off toward what must be her bedroom.
All worries are cast aside as I take in the adorable space. Rustic furniture, a blue quilt stretched across the queen-size bed, a little rug in the center. A soft breeze slips through the open window in my assigned room, cooling my skin, and I smile.
I’m fully aware it’s nowhere near as nice as the rooms Bronwyn booked for us. Even out here in the middle of nowhere, of course she sniffed out the fanciest hotel possible. Comfort is as essential to her as breathing itself, which could explain the stomping from earlier.
Me, I have other things in mind.
Him.
The first man to ever make my thighs clench.
The ghost lurking around this town.
I’m going to find him.