Chapter 4
Kylie
“This is a whole damn army,” I hiss at Kieran, eyes widening with every new person joining the crowd. “I thought it was just supposed to be one team. This is like thirty people. And dogs.” And the people are all wearing some kind of hazmat suits, which is not at all reassuring.
I had so many ideas for my backyard. A terrace, surrounded by raised flowerbeds, right by my backdoor, preferably with a roof so I can sit outside and listen to the rain.
A vertical garden where I could plant strawberries and harvest them without my back hating me the next day.
Hydrangea right next to the house, because those make for the ultimate whimsy in summer. Maybe a pumpkin patch or a cherry tree.
All these cute dreams and images in my head are now ruined by grim-looking people stomping about the grass with shovels and dogs. And even those look like they stand on business.
And a certain eye-candy of a sheriff, standing to the side with his arms crossed and a ‘don’t talk to me’ expression as he keeps an eye on their work. Occasionally, the boss-hazmat guy appears next to him and they exchange a few words. Which I know because my eyes keep wandering back to him.
He’s handsome. A sharp jaw, dusted with a light stubble, the same shade as his sand-colored hair. It’s long enough for a strand to occasionally fall into his eyes. They’re the prettiest shade of green, of moss after rain.
“Yeah, there’s no way you’re getting past the town gossip,” Kieran murmurs with a chuckle. Meanwhile I wish the ground would open up and swallow me whole.
As if this whole circus is my fault, even though logically I know it isn’t.
“Exactly the first impression I wanted to make,” I mumble, which makes him laugh even harder.
“Trust me, you’re not the first person to make a questionable first impression on the people here. Speaking of!” He breaks into a grin and waves excitedly. “Hey Nic, hey Lauren! Nice of you two to finally show up.”
“Nice of you to finally show up,” the smaller of the two blonde women approaching repeats mockingly and rolls her eyes. “Hello to you too, Kieran.”
“Wait.” My eyes dart between the two women. I know them. I’ve seen them before. “Aren’t you—”
“Yes,” Lauren says before I can finish the thought and extends her hand. “I’m Lauren. I used to be an actress and am arrogant enough to think you saw me in a movie or two.” She winks at me. “Good to meet you.”
My jaw drops. She’s right. I watched a movie she starred in last week! Her bright blonde hair is longer now and she’s not wearing make-up. Honestly, she can totally pull it off. Dare I say she looks even better without it.
Seriously, how can someone even have skin this glowing and perfect? It’s magic. Witchery!
“Hi,” I mutter and take her hand, a little star-struck.
“Nic. Also used to be an actress. And also great to meet you.”
I know her too. One of her earlier movies is one of my all-time favorites.
A cute murder mystery in which she turned out to be the killer.
The movie was so well made, I never even saw it coming.
I even watched a bunch of interviews she did during the press tour following the release and already found her surprisingly down to earth in them.
Her golden blonde hair is in a low bun, and she’s a fellow bang girlie. How fun! But what’s most striking is how relaxed she is.
The smiles the two of them shoot me are either incredibly well-practiced or they’re actually that welcoming. I’m not sure which sounds more realistic at this point.
“I’m Kylie.” I clear my throat. “And I didn’t used to be an actress.”
“Well, you’re not missing out on anything,” Lauren declares with a giggle and links her arm with mine.
“Now, how about you tell me what’s going on?
And by that I mean, I want to know every detail, don’t you even dare skip a single one.
” She glances past me and within the fraction of a second, her face lights up with the biggest smile.
“Oh my God, is that your dog?” Immediately, she lets go of me again to lean down and greet her.
“Hi, you beautiful little baby. Wait...” She slowly turns to me. “Can I pet your dog? Is it okay?”
“Go for it,” I mumble, still trying to make sense of the past few minutes. “Her name is Abby.” She immediately breaks into a high-pitched baby voice and showers Abby with love and compliments. Nic joins her, meanwhile I turn back to Kieran.
Only my eyes immediately wander past him to Erik.
Damn, from what I’m seeing so far, only hot guys live in this little town. Who would have thought? And while I’m far from mad about it, it’s kind of intimidating.
But also, a man with serious expression, dressed in a brown leather jacket over broad shoulders taking charge?
So fucking hot. Seriously, stuff of my dreams ever since Zach and I were officially over and I allowed myself to daydream of hot guys.
“Wait, what are those machines they’re bringing here? Oh my God, what if my house was built on a fucking graveyard?” I let out another deep sigh and bury my face in my hands.
Breathe, Kylie. Maybe Svetty the skeleton turns out to be a too-real Halloween decoration.
Or my property is a serial killer graveyard.
“So, speaking of first impressions,” Kieran chuckles and distracts me before I hyperventilate. “Come on, Nic, do you want to tell her yours?”
What a sweetheart, trying to keep my brain occupied.
“It can’t have been worse than this.” I point at my house, shaking my head.
“I mean, judge for yourself.” Nic scoffs and gets off the ground. Dick, however, seems to starve for attention, because he jumps up her side, muddy paws on her jeans. Absentmindedly, with all her attention on us, she pets him.
“When I first moved here, literally on my way to see my new home for the first time, I found a badly injured cat in the street. So, I gathered her up, put her in my car, broke the speed limit as I rushed to the vet, ran in there with blood all over my clothes and mascara running down my face, then had a little mental breakdown. My first impression on this town was raccoon eyes, babbling about the universe forsaking me and crying over the death of a cat I knew for all of fifteen minutes.”
My jaw drops. Then I softly shake my head. “Okay, I feel a little better now.” She gives my shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
“Really, don’t worry about it. Trust me, people here are nicer and much less judgmental than you might think.”
A weight falls off my shoulders. It’s so reassuring to hear. Considering the way my mom freaked out when I told her about my divorce, a part of me prepared itself for living in midst of people who are too curious for their own good and would whisper about it behind my back.
“Thank you.” I shoot her a grateful glance.
“You are so welcome. And it all turned out well for me, so there’s still hope for you.” Her lips curls into a smile as her eyes dart somewhere behind me. “Ah, speaking of, there’s Henry. Over here, hot stuff!” She waves at another guy who just appeared next to my house.
Damn, it’s a party here. And I’m about to throw my hands in the air and scream.
How the hell is there another hot guy?
He’s attractive, in a slightly nerdy way, but still. Sand-colored hair, light scruff, broad shoulders, and his eyes soften into the most adorable expression once they find Nic.
Oh, those two are in love. Good for them.
Bad for me because it sends a sting through my chest.
Memories I deem too painful to indulge in pop up in my head. Once upon a time, Zach used to look at me the way Henry does at Nic. As if I hung the moon. As if his world would stop turning without me in it and he’d do everything in his might to make me happy.
From the bottom of my heart, I hope these two never stop looking at each other this way.
“Henry, this is Kylie, our new neighbor,” Nic introduces me, and another handshake follows. I didn’t expect to meet half the town on my first day here, but at least I’ve got that over with.
“Hi, welcome to Wayward Hollow. I’m the vet here and—”
“Right,” Kieran jumps into the conversation. “Henry, could you be a darling and have a look at her dog?” He points to where Lauren and Abby are getting to know each other on the ground.
“Sure.” He shrugs. “What exactly am I looking for? You weren’t too forthcoming with details when you told me to, let me quote ‘get my ass over here’ and as you can see-” He motions at his mud-stained clothes. “I’m coming here from helping Michael retrieve his cows.”
“Oh no. Did they escape again?” The amused worry in Nic’s voice lets me think it’s not the first time he helped catch cows.
“They did. But we got them. Erik also helped out, though all hell broke loose again after he left. It doesn’t matter.” He shakes his head and turns to me. It’s crazy. Within the blink of an eye, his demeanor shifts from friendly neighbor to serious vet.
“Tell me what’s going on. I didn’t bring any equipment with me, but I have some in the car, or we can totally head to my practice if needed.”
Fuck, I could cry. Knowing there’s a vet in this tiny town who cares this much about animals, even when he’s covered in mud from head to toe, is reassuring enough to take the weight of a boulder off my chest.
“So my dog is kind of...” I gesture at the chaos happening only a few feet away from us. “The one who found the bones. And she might or might not have confused one of them with a chew-toy. I’m just wondering if that has any health implications.”
He blinks once, then twice. His jaw drops. Kieran unsuccessfully tries to hide a giggle with a cough and the corners of Nic’s mouth twitch.
“Oh wow, that’s a first.” He rubs the back of his neck, wheels turning in his head. “Let me go and talk to Erik.” He points somewhere away from us. “Because my answer depends on what the decomposition stage is. Give me a minute.”
“Fuck.” I stare at my dog, heart hurting and worry gnawing at me.
“She’ll be alright,” Kieran assures me and Nic puts a reassuring hand on my arm again.
“And even if not, Henry is a great vet.” She nods for emphasis and watches after him.
“You’re biased because he’s your boyfriend, aren’t you?” I glance at her and she bursts into giggles.
“Maybe.”
Lauren is still talking to Abby, the hazmat people are still digging and destroying my grass by walking all over it, when Henry returns.
“So, good news.” He comes to a stop in front of Abby and pulls up his sleeves. “There is no flesh left on the bones.”
“How is that good?” Lauren asks before I can, and even Nic draws her eyebrows together in confusion.
“It means I don’t have to check for bacterial infections she could have gotten from rotten meat,” he explains to her, then his eyes dart to me. “Is she behaving normally?”
I stare at my little fur baby. She’s sitting, tongue hanging out of her mouth which I could swear is smiling. “I haven’t noticed any unusual behavior.”
“Well, if she starts acting weird in any way, please come in or give me a call. You know your dog best. The most I can do right now without any symptoms is check if she’s got any splinters in her mouth.”
He pulls a flashlight out of his pocket and gets on his knees next to Lauren.
“Hi, you little cutie.” He lets Abby sniff his hand, then starts petting her to get her used to him. After a minute or so, he glances up at me. “What’s her name?”
“Abby.”
“Abby.” For a while, he plays with her, though his focused expression tells me he’s assessing if everything is okay with her. Then he fully settles on the ground and handles her with practiced and firm ease.
He shines the flashlight into her mouth and checks her cheeks and tongue. Surprisingly, Abby, the dog who starts whining the moment I try to give her a bath, lets him. She’s not usually a fan of people touching her face, much less her teeth. Henry must have magical fingers.
“Such a good girl.” He gives her one final pet, gets back up and turns to me.
“I didn’t see any splinters or notice anything out of the normal.
But as I said, if she starts behaving weirdly in the next few days, please come in.
My clinic is right in Wayward Hollow. Seriously, I’d rather have you there one too many times than one too few. ”
“Thank you so much,” I say, relief making my voice break. Nic pulls Henry aside for a hushed conversation, when I notice Erik approaching from my periphery.
And when I turn my head, my heart sinks at the worried frown on his forehead.
“Kylie, I have to talk to you.”