Chapter 2 Patrick
Two
Patrick
I stepped closer, getting a better look at the man who was hardly recognizable due to the bruising on his face. I lifted my eyes and looked at Poppy, since she was my main concern at the moment.
“What the fuck is going on?” I asked, staring at her as she squirmed beneath my gaze.
“It’s not what it looks like,” she said, her cheeks flushing red with heat despite the cold air around us.
“Really? Because it looks like you’re standing over a dead body and trying to dig up frozen dirt to bury it.”
“Okay,” she replied softly as she rocked back on her heels. “It’s exactly what it looks like.”
I shook my head, trying to clear the fog that threatened to take over.
I hadn’t seen Poppy in at least ten years, maybe longer.
She was never close with her family and didn’t come around often.
I had met her a few times when Gage’s family had their reunion at the inn, but she always stayed to herself and was quick to leave as soon as she could.
“Does Gage know you’re in town?” I asked, folding my arms over my chest.
She shook her head and looked away.
“Were you planning on telling him?”
“Yeah. I was going to go by and visit before I left.”
She looked away from me, and I could tell she was hiding something.
“I’m guessing you didn’t come to town just to see him and say hi.”
“Nope.”
I nodded as all of the pieces started to fall into place.
“What’s the deal with the dead guy?”
“He’s my husband.”
My eyebrows rose involuntarily at the news that she had gotten married. While Poppy didn’t keep in touch with her family, I was still surprised no one had mentioned her marriage. Perhaps they didn’t know...
“It was a shotgun wedding in Vegas. We were drunk and stupid. He wanted me to be his free use toy. I wanted a divorce. It was our many differences in opinions that led us here.” She extended her hands in front of her while holding the shovel under her arm.
“You killed him because he wouldn’t give you a divorce?”
“No.” Her features sobered as she stared down at him with nothing but rage and fury in her eyes. “I killed him because he was going to kill me.”
I noticed the bruises along her neck and the faint bruise on her cheek, which she had tried to cover with makeup. My blood boiled as I continued to stare, taking note of every possible injury on her.
“He tried to kill you.” It wasn’t a question, just a fact that tasted sour on the tip of my tongue as I said it out loud.
“Several times. We got married six months ago, and my life has been a living hell ever since. I tried to leave so many times, and every time the punishment got worse. A few months ago, I ended up in the ICU because of how badly he hurt me.”
“Fuck, Poppy. Did you go to the police and tell them what he did?”
“How could I when he was the sheriff of the small town we lived in? No one would have believed me, Pat. I did what I had to do, and I don’t regret it. He won’t hurt another woman ever again, so I can live with what I did.”
I pressed my lips together and exhaled heavily through my nose.
I looked around, making sure we were still by ourselves.
There weren’t any cabins nearby, which I loved because it was always calm and quiet on my morning runs, unlike what I used to experience when I lived in New York.
Minus today, when my morning run was interrupted by finding my best friend’s cousin trying to bury her dead husband.
“Give me the shovel,” I said, stepping closer and extending my hand to take it.
“What?” she asked, her eyes widening in disbelief.
“The shovel, Poppy. Hand it to me. We don’t have much time.”
“Pat, you don’t have to do this. I don’t want to get you caught up in my mess.”
“It’s a little too late for that. The quicker we can get him in the ground, the better.”
She handed me the shovel, and I ignored the spark of electricity that ran through me as our gazes locked again.
I’d always been attracted to Poppy, not that I would ever do anything about it.
Hell, even if I wanted to, Gage had always made it clear that she was off limits—much like my younger sister, whom he was now dating.
But now wasn’t the time to worry about any of that as the sun continued to rise, casting a warm glow in the sky above us.
I took a deep breath and let it out, hoping this wouldn’t be something I would later regret.
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