Chapter 2
Hunter
The door of the barn sticks when it’s cool, and if there’s one thing true about Silverpine, it’s that early April mornings are still cool.
I grip the handle and shove the door with my shoulder, grinning when it creaks open. There’s an art to it. I guess I’m just glad I perfected it as a kid. Makes for easier mornings.
As soon as I step into the barn, Lila starts wailing. “Oh, yes. I know, you’re so hungry.”
She bleats at me, her dark eyes staring into my soul. I open the gate to her little enclosure, and when I sit down in the hay, waving the bottle in the air, she trots over to me. Baby goats are adorable, even if they are a lot of work.
“Come here, baby,” I murmur, hoisting her into my arms with practiced ease, and tease the edge of her mouth with the nipple. “That’s the good stuff, huh?”
She’s going ham on the bottle, drinking like we didn’t do this at 3:30 this morning and at 11:00 p.m. before that. It’s no bother. I enjoy it. I just wish we hadn’t lost her momma.
Lila drinks her bottle in record time. “You were a hungry girl, weren’t ya?”
When she’s done, she climbs off my lap, hopping and jumping around in the hay. She’s cute as shit. I’d probably sneak her into the house with me if Mom wouldn’t have my ass for it.
With a sigh, I stand up, brushing the dirt and hay off the back of my pants before checking on Lila’s heat lamp and her water. After I give her a pat on the head, I head back out into the crisp spring air.
It’s going to be a busy day, and I’ll need to be back in here in a few hours for another feed.
Before now, I worked as a sheriff’s deputy.
But when my dad passed away unexpectedly three months ago, I quit so my mom wouldn’t have to handle the farm all on her own.
It’s harder working here than I remember it being when I was a kid, but it’s worth it to help her.
Especially since she’s still grieving. Hell, since we both are.
I stop at the chicken coop, pulling my hat off to use as an egg holder, before letting the girls out for the day. I’ll have to swap out their water, but it can wait until later.
For now, I’m gonna head in for breakfast.
“Morning, Mom,” I say as I walk through the side door of the house that leads into the kitchen.
“Hey, hun. You doing alright?”
I nod. “Just got Lila fed and let the chickens out. I’ll check in on the cows soon. I’m starving.”
She laughs. “Coffee’s in the pot, and I’ve got biscuits in the oven. Give me a second, and I’ll whip up some gravy.”
“No need. Biscuits with jam are fine.”
I pull down a mug and make myself a cup of coffee. “Still got that guy coming today?”
Mom runs a quaint little bed-and-breakfast. She has her bedroom on the lower level of the house, and she rents out the upstairs bedrooms. She’s been running it for as long as I can remember, and I’ve always loved it. Helping Mom with that is another thing I’ve taken on since Dad passed.
Mom frowns. “Theodore. Yes. Shame he ended up being so late.”
Theodore. Theodore Baker, specifically.
My heart twists at the thought of him. I don’t know anything about him.
Or I guess anything outside of the police report that was delivered to us a few weeks after Christmas when Austin Lawson beat a man to death in his ma’s diner.
Can’t say I blame him given the circumstances. I probably would have done the same.
I went to school with Austin and his boyfriend, Luca. They were a grade ahead of me and thick as thieves all through school. Luca left town at sixteen and ended up with a real abusive prick.
“You know about him, Mom? Theodore?” I ask softly.
“I know he was hurt by that awful man, same as sweet Luca.” She levels me with a glare. “But that’s his business to tell or not tell, and you better not let him know we know anything about him. He’s a visitor, just like anyone else.”
I nearly roll my eyes. “I know. I’d never use confidential information like that.”
She pats my cheek. “I know you wouldn’t. You’re a good boy.” She smiles softly at me before dropping her hand from my face. “I’m gonna head into my room for a while. Let me know if you need me.”
“Will do. I love you.”
“I love you too,” she calls out as she rounds the corner and disappears from view.
Sitting down at the table, I toy with the rim of my coffee mug.
I won’t admit it to anyone, but what I saw in Theodore’s file messed me up.
I’d never seen anything like it before. Well, not unless you’re counting Luca’s banged-up face and haunted eyes in the hospital the night I had to question him about his ex.
I’m not saying I’m not cut out for police work, but…
I’m just really thankful that we don’t see a lot of violent crime like that here in Silverpine.
It made me sick to my stomach to see the photos of Theodore in that file, and if I’m being honest—I’m happy Luca’s ex is dead and that he can’t hurt anyone else like that.
It’s early evening when Theodore shows up.
I’ve just stepped out of the barn when he pulls into the drive, parking near the house. Mom’s making dinner, and I don’t want to let a guest go ungreeted—or at least that’s what I tell myself—so I make my way across the field toward him.
He steps out of a beat-up, white Toyota, dark sunglasses hiding his eyes as he scans his surroundings before glancing at his phone.
“Theodore?” I ask when I get close enough for him to hear me.
His head snaps up. “That’s me.”
“Hey, I’m Hunter. You’re our guest for the next week, right?”
He frowns, looking at his phone again. “I… I think so. This is the right address. Guess I just didn’t expect…” He pauses, looking around the yard again. “A farm?”
I chuckle, offering him what I hope is a warm smile. “All part of the charm, I suppose.”
Humming, he lifts his glasses and slides them into his thick, dark hair without looking at me. “How do I check in, then?”
“It’s real simple around here. I’m the owner’s son, and I’m checking you in.”
After what feels like a lifetime, he lifts his gaze to mine, and I’m struck by the absolute…
nothingness I see in his eyes. They’re a crystal blue, bright and brilliant, and completely at odds with how dark his eyelashes are.
Or maybe it’s the circles underneath that make them stand out so much.
In the photos I saw of him, you couldn’t see his eyes at all for all the swelling.
“You alright?” I ask. “Sick?” Now why would I ask that?
He blinks at me a couple of times. “No. Just exhausted. It was a long drive.”
I nod. “Makes sense. You can follow me inside, and I’ll show you where you’re staying.”
He nods, then opens the back door of the car before pulling out a suitcase.
Shit. “Here, let me take that.” I grimace when I look at my hands.
They’re dirty from the rounds I just finished, and I probably shouldn’t be handling a guest’s luggage after feeding Lila.
“Actually, it’s probably best if I don’t.
We’ve got a baby goat I’ve been bottle-feeding, and… Well, this is a farm.”
What looks like the ghost of a smile touches his lips. “It’s fine.”
“Alright, follow me.”
Leading the way up the steps, I kick my boots off outside the front door, then push it open, and he follows me inside. “Guest is here, Mom. I’m just gonna show him to his room.” Turning back to Theodore, I glance up the stairs. “Just up here.”
I push open the door to the room Mom set aside for him, and when he walks inside, I watch him take it all in. He trails his fingers over the bedspread, then looks at me. “Closet there,” I say, pointing to the door on the right. “And the bathroom is there.”
I have no idea why I’m telling him that. He obviously knows what a bathroom looks like.
“We don’t have anyone else scheduled to stay,” I ramble on, “so if you don’t like this room, we’ve got three others—well, two actually—you can choose from.”
Raising his gaze to mine, he quirks an eyebrow. “Two or three?”
My face flushes. “I actually forgot I live here now. So it’s just two others, I’m afraid. But you’re more than welcome to take your pick.”
He sinks onto the mattress, his gaze falling to the floor in front of him. “This is fine.”
I hover awkwardly, then rap my fingers against the frame of the door. I can’t be sure, but it seems like he flinches at the sound. “Anyway, Mom’s making dinner. You can get settled, and I’ll holler at you when it’s done.”
“No, thank you. I’m not hungry.”
“Oh. Did you eat on the road?”
He shakes his head. “No.”
I frown. “Well, surely you gotta be a little hungry. A snack, then?”
He inhales a deep breath. “Maybe.”
“Alright.” I take a step back. “Well, I’ll leave you to it.” I pull the door shut softly behind me, then make my way down the stairs and into the kitchen.