Chapter Three
Flint
The sun had barely touched the sky when I woke up the next morning. Outside, a rooster was losing its mind, and the sounds of a waking ranch sung their way into the sky. It was refreshing, until I remembered that I still had to clean up after the dinner from the previous night.
“Of course, always leaving your problems for the future,” I mumbled to myself. “Good job, Flint.”
On top of that, I would have to go out to the barn to investigate the animal that everyone had been complaining about.
First, though, I was going to grab a cup of coffee, maybe have some eggs. I had all day to be productive, and I would enjoy my first morning as the owner of a ranch before I did anything else.
Whistling, I descended the stairs toward the kitchen. Everything seemed to be covered in a thin film of dust, collected in the time that Granddad could no longer look after the house for himself. Halfway down, I spotted something that gave me pause.
“What’s this?” I said aloud as I leaned down over the railing to give it a closer look. The entire staircase’s railing had that same film of dust, but in this one spot, there was the shape of a hand printed into it. As if someone had caught themselves falling before continuing upward.
I thought back to the night before, but I didn’t remember that I’d touched the railing or that anyone else had gone upstairs. Still, I convinced myself that I must have done it accidentally at some point, even though the shape of the hand print didn’t look very much like my own.
Deciding to ignore it, I continued on my way down to the kitchen. I wasn’t going to let something small like that bother me today. I needed to dust everything down, anyway.
A few minutes later, I was headed out to the porch with my cup of coffee and a piece of buttered toast. Outside, the air was fresh, and a breeze teased my hair, all around a fairly pleasant day. I stared down in the direction of the barn, trying to calculate my approach to the investigation.
If it was a coyote, then I’d have to build a fairly big trap to catch it. If it was something smaller, then it would be more difficult.
“Maybe,” I said to myself, mouth full of crumbs, “I should just get animal control on it.”
That idea was quickly shoved to the side, though. I couldn’t be the owner of a ranch and want to call animal control. That was pathetic and would probably make my family think they were right to be angry about the inheritance.
No, I would have to deal with this nuisance myself, and quickly. When I finished my coffee and carried the mug back to the kitchen, however, I had to sigh. I couldn’t leave all of this dirty stuff out. Insects would carry me away within a few hours, and I didn’t want that problem to deal with, too.
Grumbling to myself about my family’s unwillingness to be helpful, I started on the dishes. Something seemed off here, too. There seemed to be a bit of leftover egg dropped right beside the stove on the counter. I hadn’t had any eggs, nor had anyone in the family.
“That’s really weird,” I pondered aloud. “Where could that have come from?”
I was becoming more and more suspicious, but of what, I wasn’t entirely sure. My first thought was a ghost, but I’ve never believed in that kind of thing. On top of that, I didn’t think that ghosts would make themselves scrambled eggs for breakfast.
It did make me wonder if anything else in the house was a bit off. There was the possibility that they were messing with me, too. Still, Lawrence and Brett weren’t the pranking type, and I was certain the women thought themselves above that kind of thing.
Pausing my dish washing, I walked off to investigate the rest of the house. There was something else amiss in the kitchen. One of the milk bottles that Granddad kept under the sink wasn’t there. Maybe it had broken, but that seemed unlikely with how the others were packed together.
“Hmm,” I mumbled, continuing to scan through the rest of the counters. Nothing else was out of place, though, apart from the groceries that I had brought in myself. The rest of the downstairs rooms also seemed completely normal. That was except, of course, for the bundles of boxes that stood around taking up space.
The only strange thing on the stairs was that handprint that I’d found. At this point, I was thinking that I was just crazy. That my imagination might simply be running away with me.
When I reached the guest room that I hadn’t been sleeping in, I realized instantly that that wasn’t true. I opened the door, and immediately noticed a serious lack of the dust that covered nearly everything else in the house.
“What the…”
The bed had been freshly made, with crisp, clean sheets. The curtains were drawn, unlike any of the others in the house. One cupboard even stood slightly open, as if its door had been hastily closed and wouldn’t stay shut.
“Someone was in here.” I gritted my teeth. Someone had been in the house before I arrived. It was possible that one of my cousins had made themselves at home there for a while, which didn’t sit right with me.
At least they hadn’t slept in Granddad’s room, but it still made me angry. I marched back to the room I had been using and grabbed my phone, dialing Lawrence’s number.
“Flint? What is it now?” he answered in a grumpy and sleepy tone. “The sun’s barely up.”
“You should be awake far earlier,” I pointed out. “You have a lot of duties.”
“Mm, yeah, sure,” Lawrence yawned before he continued. “Still, why are you looking for me?”
“Who stayed in the house before I got here?” I demanded, tapping my foot impatiently even though he couldn’t see me.
“Granddad did.” Lawrence sounded incredibly confused, as if he was wondering if I lost my mind. “What are you on? Seriously, bothering me this early for something so stupid.”
“No, after Granddad,” I said without hiding my frustration. “Don’t lie to me, I can see someone’s been here!”
“You’re imagining things” came the answer from the other end, angrier by the second. “It’s bad enough you got our inheritance, but now you want to make dumb accusations? Get real. I’m going to end this call. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll apologize when you see me.”
The phone clicked, and I sighed as I put it back in my pocket. I wasn’t sure, but it really didn’t seem like Lawrence was lying. But if it wasn’t one of my family members, then who had been in the house?
It did look like they’d tried to hide that they were there haphazardly, but it wasn’t incredibly successful. I hadn’t found any personal items that didn’t belong to my grandfather, and nothing suggested that they’d taken anything.
Then, pretty suddenly, the whole thing clicked in my head. The milk and eggs that had gone missing. It wasn’t an animal that was raiding the barn at all. Whoever had been in the house must have been the one taking all of it.
My anger flared up at my very core. This squatter had disrespected my grandfather and stolen from my family. The wise decision was probably going to the police, but I didn’t want to do that. This was my ranch now, and I was going to sort out its problems myself.
First, I would have to determine if they were still here. Obviously not in the house, but it was possible that they were out in the barn. I decided to ask Brett when the last time was that something had gone missing, since Lawrence was furious at me.
I shot him a message and received an answer fairly quickly.
“Yesterday” was all it said. That told me all I needed to know, however. If they were still there the day before, it was likely that they were still there that morning. I decided that I’d go down to the barn myself and count the eggs and check the cows. I’d start unpacking the boxes after that, while I made a plan to catch whoever it was.
I went upstairs to get dressed in jeans, a button-up shirt, and boots. If I caught them in the act, I was at least going to be comfortable. With the sun lazily climbing upward in the sky by now, I stomped out of the house and down to the barn.
At first, I did consider calling someone to help me. However, I really didn’t want to deal with them. Lawrence would point out whatever I wasn’t doing perfectly in his opinion, and Brett would complain that I shouldn’t have gotten the ranch. The women would tell me that they weren’t my slaves, and the rest of the family wasn’t even talking to me.
Essentially, it would be a lot less trouble if I just did this myself.
Down at the barn, I sighed when I spotted Lawrence walking through. He was yawning but clearly on his way to get started with the day.
“Oh, you’re here.” He saw me and headed right over, clearly ready for a fight. “You gonna accuse me of something again, huh?”
“No,” I shook my head, but I wasn’t about to apologize either. “Listen, was that animal here again today?”
“Huh?” Lawrence blinked a few times. “Seriously, you say sorry, then you can come make your demands again.”
“Fine, I’m sorry.” Rolling my eyes, I pointed down to the barn. “Now answer my question. Was it here?”
“Yeah,” Lawrence said with a frustrated nod. “We put out traps, but they caught nothing. It must be real smart and whatnot to miss all of that. Two hens that look like they haven’t laid anything in days, cow’s freaked out.”
“Okay, you know what,” I sighed. I was too late for today. “I’ll deal with that. You keep your focus on the animals.”
“All right, I ain’tgonna complain about having less work.” Lawrence nodded, wiping his hand across his forehead for extra impact. Instead of removing the sweat, though, he only managed to sweep the dirt around. His normally blond hair, peeking out from under the hat, was now a muddy brown.
“Well, I’ll get out of your way.” I turned around. “That animal will be gone by tomorrow, don’t you worry.”
“Better be, we’re losin’ money,” Lawrence grumbled, making his way to the chicken coop. “Not a lot, but still. Why would it be the same two hens that have no eggs each time? They’re young, have had no troubles.”
While I unpacked most of the boxes for the rest of the day, I formulated my plan. It would require cat-like reflexes and absolute stealth, but I was sure I would pull it off. I was going to implement it far before anyone else on the ranch was awake, including, hopefully, the squatter.
At midnight, I lay in bed, trying to sleep for a few hours but finding that I was unable. I twiddled my thumbs and stared at the ceiling, going over the plan again in my head. Did I need a weapon? Was this person dangerous? I didn’t really know the answers to those questions, but I would take the bat in one of my boxes just in case.
Minutes passed like hours. When I checked my phone again, it was half past one. Another hour and a half before I made my move. I couldn’t switch on any of the lights in the house, because it could be seen from the barn. I didn’t want them to become suspicious.
Still, there was no way I was going to fall asleep. I got out of bed and made my way downstairs for coffee. That would help me pass the time somewhat.
I paced around in the dark with the mug steaming in my hands. With every step, I was more impatient and angry. Who did this person think they were, stealing our produce like that? It was likely that they were living in the barn, too.
Finally, the clock struck three, and I snuck out through the back door. Hiding behind trees and equipment, I approached the barn.
It was dark enough that it was unlikely anyone would see me coming, but I still had to be careful. I needed the element of surprise. There was no way that I could predict what the squatter was going to do if they actually knew I was coming.
Darting farther down, I eventually made it all the way to the wide side of the barn door. It wasn’t locked, but it definitely was going to creak when I opened it. On top of that, it was likely that the animals would kick up a fuss when I entered.
“Not here, then,” I said to myself as I started walking around the barn. There was a ladder leaning against one wall, which I could use to get into the upper window. That way, I could avoid most of the commotion.
I moved it into position and started climbing. Every now and then, something would shift or creak, and I would freeze. When I heard nothing from above me, I’d keep climbing. It felt like forever before I reached the top.
With heavy breaths and nerves crawling all over my body, I heaved myself over the edge of the window and tumbled awkwardly into the barn. The crash was loud enough to wake up every animal below me. Amid that noise, I clearly heard the sounds of a person jumping up from where they were sleeping onto the wood of the barn’s attic.
“Hey!” I shouted instinctively, hoping that I could catch them in the chaos.
A figure ran toward me in the dark. Thinking they might have a knife, I lunged out of the way and watched them rush for the window.
“Stop!” I ran after them, even as they fell out.
Within seconds, my hand was through the window, and I grabbed hold of an arm. The ladder moved and fell, crashing to the ground far below.
This wasn’t a man’s arm; I was sure of that.
I pulled the person back into the barn without letting my grip slip.
“Let go of me!” Her voice was desperate and full of panic. Even so, it instantly stirred something inside of me, something that wanted to protect her.
For a moment, I wanted to comply—until I remembered why I had grabbed her.
“Excuse me,” I said, dragging her past me and making her sit on a nearby hay bale with sheer strength. “What are you doing in my barn?”
“None of your business,” she hissed up at me. My eyes were slowly adjusting to the light. She had her hair tied up in a bun. Her frame was much smaller than mine, and I felt guilty for overwhelming her.
I switched on the flashlight on my cell phone to see her better. She was staring at me defiantly with chocolate eyes, loose strands of dark hair curling down past her ears. Her features, even in the shadows cast by the light, were sharp yet delicate. Her body, shaped like that of a Brazilian dancer, stood unnaturally still now. In combination, it was all enough to take any man’s breath away.
Still, she’d broken in and stolen from me. I couldn’t simply forgive it because she was beautiful. All I would do was give her a chance to talk, unless she insisted on this ridiculously defensive attitude.
“Uh, I disagree,” I said, deciding that I would release her arm. “This is my ranch, and you’ve been stealing from me.”
“I thought the owner was dead,” she answered, leaning back from me. “It’s just a couple of eggs and some milk anyway. It’s not going to financially ruin you.”
“Maybe not, but that doesn’t make you any less of a criminal.” I inserted my anger into my tone, making sure she understood how serious this was. “You owe me quite a bit of money for all of this. Rent, food costs, what do you think it’d run up to?”
“Look,” she sighed, her eyes full of fear. “I really am sorry that I didn’t tell you I was here and that I freaked you out, if I did. But I’m not sorry that I’ve done what I had to do to survive.”
“Survive?” I had gotten so obsessed with catching the squatter through the night that I hadn’t thought about the reasons she might have had to be here. “What do you mean? Who are you?”
“My name is Eliza Stone,” she answered, refusing to look at me. “I’ve been running from my family, because they… Well, it’s a long story.”
I had a million questions, but I knew she wasn’t really going to answer any of them. I stayed quiet instead.
“I needed a place to hide,” Eliza continued. “Where they wouldn’t find me. I found this ranch. I was in the house for a while, but someone’s moved in there. So I came out to the barn. That’s it, okay?”
“Do you have any reason why I shouldn’t kick you out?” I wanted to be sympathetic, but she wasn’t as innocent as she was trying to make herself out to be. “I’m Flint Mayfield. This is my ranch, and I’m the one who moved into that house.”
“I don’t want to be on the streets,” Eliza answered, ignoring my introduction. “Please, I really wouldn’t have done this if I had another choice.”
I was furious enough to drag her out to the road and leave her there. At the same time, I couldn’t in good conscience kick her out on the street to let her fend for herself. Still, I wasn’t just going to let her stay in the barn.
An idea came to me and tumbled from my lips before I could stop it. “Then come and stay in the main house and work for me.”
Eliza tensed, immediately suspicious, and I felt that I had to clarify.
“I need someone to help me fix the ranch back up,” I said with a shrug. “Might as well be you. You can still lay low and make up for stealing from me, and save up a bit of money for your next move.”
She paused for a moment as if she was thinking before she answered. “And I’ll get my own room in the main house?”
“You can take the one that you stayed in before.”
“All right, then, I’ll accept your offer.” After this sentence was the first time that I saw the semblance of a small smile cross her face.