Chapter 17
Thankfully, her dad was asleep when she finally got inside. Mia was worried as it was. There was no sense worrying him too since there was nothing he could do.
She barely slept. Every creak, every groan of the old farmhouse made her stomach clench.
The house felt too big, too quiet. It didn’t help that she was listening for footsteps that never came.
She finally got up, rummaged through her closet and found an old bat from her high school softball days and kept it close to her body all night.
It felt ridiculous and necessary at the same time.
By dawn, she’d given up the idea of sleep and made coffee strong enough to peel paint.
She stood at the window, watching the sky turn from gray-blue to salmon and pale yellow as the sun rose. Her breath fogged faintly before fading. She couldn’t see the rabbit from here, thank God, but her stomach clenched anyway. The memory lingered.
She took another sip of the strong coffee for fortification.
It burned a trail down her throat but didn’t ease the knot in her chest. The rabbit needed to disappear before her dad got up and Roy arrived.
She remembered there was a shovel in the garage and stepped outside just as Caleb’s truck rumbled up the drive.
Ranger hopped out before the engine even shut off and galloped over to say hello.
Mia crouched to rub his ears. “Hey, buddy.”
His fur was warm, and his solid weight grounded her for a moment. Steady. Real.
Caleb climbed out, gave her a small wave. “Morning.”
She tried to manage a smile but failed. “Hey.”
“You’re up early.”
She shrugged. “Couldn’t sleep.”
He stepped close, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Everything all right?”
Not even close. But she wasn’t sure how to say it. “Can you … just look at something with me?”
He didn’t ask questions, just nodded. They walked toward the old barn. Dew clung to the grass, dampening her shoes. The air carried a faint metallic scent of blood. Her grip tightened on her sleeves.
Ranger trotted ahead. Halfway across the yard, he froze. Head low. Tail stiff. A soft growl rumbled from his chest.
Mia’s stomach dropped. She pointed to the door. “There,” she whispered.
Caleb followed her line of sight. His expression tightened for a second before he smoothed it out. “Heel,” he murmured to Ranger, who obeyed, sitting beside him and cocking his head.
Caleb crouched near the rabbit, careful not to touch it. “You found it this morning?”
“Last night,” she said. “When I got home.”
He looked up at her slowly. His face wasn’t angry, just focused. “Did you see anything?”
“No.”
“Any lights? A car on the road? Footprints?”
“No. It was too dark,” she admitted. “I didn’t want to get too close.”
Caleb let out a low breath. “Could be wildlife,” he said. “Hawks drop prey all over the place. Foxes drag things into yards. Seen raccoons leave worse.”
Mia wasn’t convinced. Not entirely. The placement still gnawed at her. Too centered on her doorstep. But maybe she was reading something into it she didn’t have evidence for. Lack of sleep didn’t help.
Ranger moved in a small circle, nose down, then tracked a few feet toward the side of the barn before losing the trail. He came back to Caleb’s side, sat, ears pointed, waiting.
“He seems weird about it,” she murmured.
“Probably just the scent,” Caleb said. “Dogs get worked up over predator kills.” He reached down and scratched Ranger’s neck.
Mia wrapped her arms around herself. “It felt weird. Last night.”
He studied her for a moment. “Being alone out here after dark will do that. Doesn’t mean someone was watching you.”
Maybe. Maybe not. Mia didn’t say anything. She didn’t trust herself to argue without sounding foolish.
Caleb scanned the yard one more time. “Nothing looks disturbed. No broken branches. I’ll get rid of it,” he said. “No point in you dealing with this.”
She let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
Ranger stayed with her while Caleb ducked into the garage for a shovel.
When he returned, he slid the shovel under the rabbit and lifted it. “I’ll take it to the woods,” he said. “An animal will finish it.”
She nodded, although she still felt uneasy.
“You’re okay,” he said quietly. “Nothing’s here now.”
She nodded. “I know. It just … surprised me.”
“Anyone would’ve jumped,” he said. “Especially in the dark.”
He carried the rabbit away toward the tree line. Ranger trotted beside him. Mia stayed where she was, rubbing her hands together, trying to shake the feeling of invisible eyes on her back.
A minute later he returned, brushing dirt off the shovel. “All taken care of,” he said. His gaze softened. “But if anything else happens, call me. Even if it’s small.”
“Thanks,” she said.
He leaned the shovel against the barn. “Look, I’m not saying it wasn’t weird. But you’re in the country; animals drop things in places that don’t always make sense.”
A tiny laugh escaped her. “That’s reassuring. Sort of.”
“That’s all I’m going for,” he replied. “Still want me to check around the property?”
Mia hesitated. Part of her wanted to say yes. But another part knew he’d treat this as a real incident. And she wasn’t sure she wanted to go down that road yet.
“Maybe just walk with me for a minute?” she said.
“Sure.”
They made a slow circle around the barn. Ranger sniffed in every corner. But nothing looked disturbed. There were no prints or scuff marks. No sign that anyone had come close.
Caleb nodded toward the fence line. “If something dragged it in, it probably came through here. Foxes get bold this time of year. Could be they just grabbed it from the fields.”
Mia followed his gaze. The explanation didn’t settle her nerves completely. Something about the placement still felt off.
Caleb nudged her shoulder lightly. “You’re safe,” he said with a small smile. “Like I said, if anything else happens, big or small, call me.”
“Okay.”
He nodded and whistled for Ranger. “The guys will be here soon. I need to get some things started.”
“I understand.” Mia watched him drive over to the new barn. She stood alone in the yard. Maybe it was wildlife. Maybe she was overworked and tired.
But the feeling that it was meant to be found, something to warn her, didn’t go away. And she couldn’t quite shake the thought that it wasn’t accidental.
Caleb parked beside the stack of lumber and killed the engine. Ranger hopped out and circled once before settling under the shade of the truck. Caleb rubbed a hand over his jaw and tried to shake off the unsettled feeling.
It was probably wildlife. He’d seen stranger things dragged into yards this time of year. Still, the way Mia looked stuck with him more than the rabbit itself. She wasn’t the type to spook easily. A long night, that was all. Maybe she’d scare herself worse by finding it alone in the dark.
He popped the tailgate and grabbed his tool belt.
The guys would be here soon, and hopefully Roy would too.
The man kept bankers’ hours, and while that was fine for odd handyman jobs, building a barn required common sense.
You started early while the air was cool and finished before it got too hot midafternoon.
On top of that, Roy didn’t like him. Hadn’t from the time they met. Half the time he mixed up measurements or grabbed the wrong nails and then got offended when Caleb corrected him.
Caleb didn’t take it personally. Some men just didn’t want to be told what to do. Still, he told Mr. Whitmore that Roy could work on the barn and he would.
He unfolded the plans and went over the work they had ahead of them today. Sheathing today. Interior framing. Maybe getting the window headers in if everyone stayed focused. Big day. Plenty to do and not enough hands. And one set that fought him just a little.
His gaze drifted toward the old barn. Mia was already inside working, probably trying to pretend last night hadn’t rattled her. He hated that she’d been scared, but a dead rabbit didn’t automatically mean trouble.
It wasn’t unusual for animals to leave surprises in places that made zero sense. No sense in jumping to conclusions or worrying her more. If anything showed up, he’d deal with it. Until then, they had a job to finish.
Ranger trotted over and nudged his leg.
“Yeah, bud,” Caleb said, reaching down to scratch his ears. “Let’s get to work.”
As he walked toward the skeleton of the new barn, he focused on the morning’s work. But somewhere in the back of his mind, the image of that rabbit at Mia’s door refused to fade entirely.
He just hoped that it was nothing more than a fox with poor manners and not something that would send Roy into another fit.
And then, under all of that …
He hoped Mia wasn’t in the middle of something she hadn’t told him about.