Chapter 7
Palmer
Istared at my unpacked suitcase sitting propped open on the luggage rack at the end of the bed.
Roman had taken Hailey sledding, and though she had begged me to go with them, I’d declined. I wasn’t sure Roman wanted me tagging along during his time with his daughter, and I needed some time to think.
Last night, Roman had gone to drag my suitcase from my car while I drank the tea he’d given me. Now, it was taunting me. If I unpacked it, it meant that I planned to stay.
The room Roman had given me for the night was beautiful.
The bedspread was thick and quilted, the kind of thing someone had chosen with care instead of grabbing off a shelf.
It might have been handmade. The furniture was dark hardwood, gleaming in the soft light.
Even the curtains seemed expensive—heavy and cream-colored, with a subtle pattern that reminded me of vines, or maybe waves.
I let out a heavy sigh and fell back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Even that was pretty. The plaster had faint designs pressed into it—subtle swirls and shapes that resembled lace.
Only about twenty-four hours had passed since I’d been staring at a different ceiling in a different house. A ceiling I’d gotten used to and had started to feel like home after three years.
I hadn’t even been given the chance to say goodbye.
My chest tightened so suddenly it startled me. I pressed a hand over my sternum, rubbing hard, trying to ease the ache that Maverick left.
I wished I didn’t care so much. I hated that no matter how many times it happened, I never learned how to keep a safe distance.
Leaving always hurt. Always.
I squeezed my eyes shut, and Hailey’s face flashed behind my lids. I wasn’t worried about my safety if I accepted the job Roman was offering.
The serial killer—Amos Anderson, the Shadow Stalker—felt like a ghost story people whispered to scare one another. A monster in the background. A shadow that might or might not even be real anymore, at least not in a way that could touch me.
The real threat was my stupid, traitorous heart.
If I stayed here, if I moved into this house and became part of their routine…it wouldn’t be long before Hailey felt like mine in all the ways that mattered. It had taken her all of an hour to wrap herself around that soft place inside me.
I turned my head toward the window.
Outside, the world was white. Snow coated the branches of the trees and clung to the rooftops like frosting. The street was calm and quiet in a way that made everything feel softer. The storm had dumped a thick layer overnight, and even from here, I could tell the roads were still a mess.
I pictured my car sitting out there somewhere, half-buried. A pathetic little reminder that I still didn’t have a real place to go. No other home to take refuge in.
I let out a long breath, the air leaving my lungs like surrender. I didn’t have the luxury of being picky and afraid of attachment.
I knew, despite my fear, that I would take this job. What else was there for me? What else was I going to do? If anything, this job was a lifeline. An olive branch extended to me at a dire time. In many ways, it was more than I ever could’ve asked for.
Closing my eyes again, I gathered every last ounce of resolve I possessed. I placed both my hands on my chest, stacking them above my heart, and made a solemn promise to myself.
No matter what, no matter how hard it was, I was going to protect myself this time.
I would stay as long as I was allowed to and when it ended—because everything always ended—I would deal with the goodbye then.
I would leave with my heart intact.
While I waited for Roman and Hailey to return from their sledding trip, I forced myself to unpack my suitcase.
I had slipped off my sweater, baring my naked arms to the cool, dry air, and caught a glimpse of them in the mirror. I looked away immediately. They were ugly things. The mottled flesh had taken so long to recover after the fire.
My world had been turned upside down after that night. Instead of spending my time with my boyfriend and in classes, I was in hospitals and doctors’ offices and physical therapy.
I’d missed an entire year of school.
At first, my boyfriend was supportive. He visited me at the hospital and drove me to my appointments. However, when it became clear that I was never going to look the same, he couldn’t handle that reality and left.
I didn’t show my skin at all if I could help it.
Quickly, I grabbed my moisturizing cream and slathered it on my arms, massaging the fragile skin. One perk of winter was that no one questioned me covering my arms and legs. It also made it easy to apply cream when all I had to do was slip off my cardigan and pull up my long skirt.
In the warmer months, I usually wore athletic shirts or pants to try to keep cool, but they were often tight and I’d have to take off all my clothes multiple times a day to moisturize my skin.
When I was done with the cream, I slipped my sweater back on and distracted myself by setting up my laptop on the bed-and-breakfast’s Wi-Fi. There was a little informational card on the dresser with the password.
I checked my email before doing a little more research on the Shadow Stalker. My information on the serial killer was limited, but now that I’d be spending time in the Ramsey home, I was interested.
What I discovered only made my stomach hurt.
The Shadow Stalker was a vicious killer.
He stalked and murdered mostly college-aged women in Ember Hollow and the surrounding area in southern Ohio.
He’d leave their bodies after holding them captive for days, tied up and sexually assaulted.
Eventually he would stab them, and carve a crude butterfly into their bodies to mark them as his.
And that was only the basic information on him. I didn’t even have time to dive into his connection to the Ramseys when I heard car doors slamming outside and Hailey’s muffled giggles.
I closed my laptop and hurried out of my room.
I was descending the front staircase when the front door banged shut hard enough to rattle the stained-glass panel beside it.
Hailey’s laughter burst through the foyer, ringing in my ears as I made my way to the bottom of the stairs.
Roman came into my line of sight first—shoulders broad beneath his winter coat, cheeks windburned and red, snow clinging to the dark fabric like glitter.
Hailey skidded in behind him, bundled so tightly she was like a little marshmallow in a puffy jacket and snow pants, her curls escaping her hat in frizzy tendrils.
Her face was chapped from the cold, and when she caught sight of me, standing on the last step, she whirled around. She gave me a smile so big it made something in my chest ache.
“Palmer!” she squealed, stomping her boots on the entry rug like the snow had personally offended her. “You wouldn’t believe how fast I went. I was basically flying!”
Roman’s mouth tightened like he was trying not to smile. He glanced up—his eyes a dark slate-blue, like the evening winter sky.
I was so distracted that I didn’t notice Hailey had barreled toward me until her arms were wrapped around my waist. She was all soft and squishy in her snow gear, and I laughed a little and hugged her back.
“Sounds like you had a great time,” I said.
Haily grinned up at me, snowflakes melting into tiny droplets on her lashes.
“It was amazing. Daddy took me to the big hill by the park—well, we couldn’t go all the way to the park because the roads are like really snowy.
So we parked a little far and had to walk, but when we got there, it was perfect.
” She tightened her hold around my waist, like she was afraid I’d disappear if she let go. “Daddy went down with me, too.”
Roman’s voice cut in, deep and gruff. “Hailey. Snow stuff. Now.”
Hailey’s nose wrinkled. “But I’m telling Palmer—”
“Snow stuff,” he repeated in that firm tone that said he meant it.
She huffed dramatically, which was honestly impressive in a child her age, and reluctantly let go of me. “He’s always like this,” she whispered loudly, rolling her eyes. “Grumpy.”
Roman made a sound that might’ve been a sigh or a growl.
Hailey trudged back toward him, starting to peel off her gloves with the exaggerated suffering of someone who had endured a great injustice. I tried not to smile as I stepped deeper into the foyer.
Roman unzipped her jacket with practiced efficiency before slipping it off her shoulders. He tugged her hat off next, and a wave of dark curls sprang free, immediately frizzing in every direction.
She looked back at me, unable to resist finishing her story. “And then Daddy almost fell because the sled went sideways and I thought he was gonna roll all the way down the hill but he didn’t because he’s, like, really strong.”
Roman’s brows lifted like he wasn’t sure whether he was being complimented or criticized.
He took her coat and his own, hanging them up on the hooks by the door. Then he grabbed her snow pants, too, because she’d apparently decided she was done removing them herself halfway through.
“Go wash your hands,” he instructed, grabbing her boots as she tore them off. “And then go change out of your wet clothes.”
“Do I have to?” She pouted.
“Yes.”
“But—”
“Hailey.”
She grumbled something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like a curse word she absolutely should not know, then stomped off up the stairs.
Roman watched her go, mouth tight, and then he ran a hand through his hair.
Even though she was upstairs, I could still hear her shuffling around, complaining to herself. The girl definitely had attitude. I liked it.
I fidgeted with the hem of my sweater as the silence continued, feeling a bit like a child waiting for instruction.
“I can make hot chocolate,” I offered, wanting something to do that would occupy my hands.
Roman turned to me, his cheeks still red from the snow. “You don’t have to—”