Chapter 44
chapter
forty-four
Millie couldn’t help but notice that dinner was quiet.
Too quiet.
Everyone clearly had things on their minds—fears they weren’t voicing, questions no one dared ask aloud.
The day had been a blur, filled with mundane tasks to pass the time.
Max had returned from the hospital. He was okay, but he was also especially quiet.
From what Millie understood, he hadn’t seen anyone, and none of the cameras had picked up anything of value—only a figure clothed in all black, even over the face.
The footage was so grainy that it was impossible to tell if the figure was even a man or a woman.
Whoever had knocked him out had been like a ghost. Even more, no one knew why this person had hurt Max. Nothing appeared to have been taken or vandalized, so it wasn’t a robbery.
The entire grounds had been searched.
Nothing had been found.
So why had he been attacked?
Millie couldn’t stop asking herself that question.
Kendra had been invited to eat with them, but she’d gone back home instead. She was still shaken up after finding Max like she had.
Millie pushed food around her plate, her appetite nonexistent. The weight of everything pressed on her chest, making it hard to breathe.
Through the window, she watched the light fade from the sky. Darkness crept in earlier and earlier this time of year.
She’d always hated having fewer hours of daylight.
She jumped when Caleb’s phone buzzed on the table.
He glanced at the screen, then stood abruptly. “It’s Sheriff Sutherland.”
He stepped into the hallway, and Millie strained to hear his side of the conversation.
“Yeah . . . Uh-huh . . . Now? . . . Okay. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
When he returned, his expression was unreadable. “I need to go to the station. The sheriff has something he wants to share, but he says he wants to tell me in person.”
Max looked up from his plate. “Want me to come with you?”
“No. I need you to stay here. Keep an eye on things.” Caleb’s gaze swept the room, landing briefly on Millie. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Her heart pounded harder. Those words were meant for her—meant to offer reassurance.
She wanted more than anything to have a moment alone with him. To hear his reassurances. To thank him.
But that wasn’t an option right now—or a good idea.
Naomi nodded. “We’ll be fine.”
Caleb grabbed his jacket and keys, then disappeared out the front door.
Millie sat frozen, her hands clenched in her lap.
She was anxious to hear the update.
Yet she had no choice but to wait. In the meantime, she hoped Naomi might let her watch the security camera footage more.
Maybe they’d missed something.
Either way, she needed to keep herself busy.
The drive to the station felt longer than usual.
Caleb’s mind raced with every mile he traveled, cycling through possibilities.
What did the sheriff know?
Had they found Valentina? Had her fake ID given law enforcement a new lead? Or maybe they’d tracked down Garrick? Uncovered something about PI Ed Lowen’s murder?
Or was it something worse?
His hands tightened on the steering wheel.
Starting the shelter had seemed like the right thing to do. A way to honor his sister’s memory. A way to use his training, the property, his resources to help people who had nowhere else to go. To honor God’s calling in his life.
But now?
Now he wondered if it had been a terrible mistake.
How could he keep people safe when there had been so many breaches? A murder on the property. An attack on Max. Women living under fake identities. Threats circling closer and closer.
Maybe this had been a terrible idea. Maybe he wasn’t as equipped as he thought.
Caleb slowed his truck as he reached the town limits, where a hand-painted sign welcomed him to Blue Ridge Hollow.
Main Street stretched ahead, lined with brick storefronts that looked like they’d been standing since the 1950s.
He passed a hardware store, a diner with red-checked curtains in the windows, and a bookshop with a cat sleeping in the display.
Flower boxes hung from lampposts, bursting with late-season mums in shades of burgundy and gold.
The mountains rose on either side of the valley, their peaks hazy in the setting sun.
Everything moved at a slower pace here. People actually strolled on the sidewalks instead of rushing, and a few folks sitting on a bench outside the general store lifted their hands in greeting as Caleb passed, even though they’d never met him before.
A white church steeple punctuated the skyline at the far end of town, and Caleb spotted the local park with its gazebo, where a couple of kids tossed a football back and forth.
The whole place had that Norman Rockwell quality.
It was the kind of town where people still knew their neighbors’ names and probably left their doors unlocked at night.
It was exactly the kind of place someone might come to disappear. Or to heal.
At the end of the road, he pulled into the station parking lot and killed the engine, sitting for a moment in the silence. He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath.
Lord, I don’t know what will happen from here. What will be revealed. But please give me Your wisdom. I need it now more than ever.
Then he climbed out and headed for the entrance.
He was halfway to the door when a voice stopped him. “Well, well, well. If it isn’t the land thief.”
Caleb turned, tension prickling across his spine.
Two men stood near a pickup truck—Jared and Travis Henderson. Brothers. Mid-thirties. Known troublemakers with a string of petty offenses and a grudge against anyone who wore a badge or stood for authority.
Caleb had dealt with them before. They were generally just a nuisance—but held the capacity to be more. He prayed they never crossed that line.
“Not today, Jared,” Caleb said evenly, moving toward the door.
“What’s the matter?” Jared stepped into his path, a smirk twisting his lips. “You too important to talk to the little guys in town? Or maybe your conscience bothers you when you see us—seeing how your property should be ours.”
“Move,” Caleb said, his voice low and his hands fisted.
Travis laughed, a harsh, grating sound. “Heard you got some trouble up there. Someone got themselves killed, didn’t they? That’s not a good look for you.”
Caleb’s jaw clenched, but he kept his voice controlled. Of course, they’d heard. Everyone in town probably had.
“Get out of my way,” he muttered.
Jared leaned closer, his breath reeking of alcohol. “Or what? You gonna call the sheriff? Oh wait—you are the sheriff’s little lapdog, aren’t you?”
Caleb’s patience snapped.
He stepped forward, his voice cold and hard. “I’m not going to ask again.”
He didn’t want this to turn into a fight. In fact, that was the last thing he wanted.
But he couldn’t let these guys push him around either. He had to stand his ground.
For a moment, the brothers just stared at him.
Then Jared sneered and stepped aside with a long shake of his head. “Whatever, man. You’re not worth it.”
Caleb brushed past them and pushed through the station door, his heart pounding with barely contained rage.
He forced himself to breathe slowly. To focus.
The Hendersons weren’t worth his time.
He had bigger problems to deal with.