She’d taken ibuprofen before bed and managed to sleep through the night. Today her muscles were stiff and her right thigh ached from the impact of the car.
She had to force herself to roll out of her new, comfy bed this morning, knowing if she laid around all day she’d be worse. Upon buying the Hadley place, she had made few conditions but getting a new mattress delivered to the house before she arrived was one of them.
She’d slept too many nights in her car or in a sleeping bag while on the move across the United States waiting for the right moment to find a home.
The Hadley house had been that moment.
Grace had searched computer libraries in several states for a home. When she saw the picture of the Hadley house and the land that went with it, she knew she’d found it. The Hadley house sat on twenty acres of land. Her nearest neighbor was ten miles away. She made a lowball offer on the house and, to her surprise, it had been accepted.
Turning away from the window, pain shot through her thigh. Setting her coffee cup down, she took a tentative step toward the back door. The pain lessened a degree with each forced step. Today was going to be rough with all the cleaning she had planned.
Her fingertips brushed the top of the wooden baseball bat, tucked in the corner for her peace of mind, before she reached for the doorknob. The soft tinkle of the bell above the door drifted out into the quiet yard. She thought it strange that the previous owners installed a bell over the back door. She didn’t mind the extra security so she ended up leaving it.
A quiet smile rested on her lips as she stepped out onto the porch and gazed at the lush green woods that bordered the backyard. Born and bred in New England, Grace never thought she would end up living in rural Tennessee.
Her smile faltered. There were a lot of things she had never thought would happen that, indeed, did happen. Her life had turned into a game of survival. Things that were once so important no longer held their appeal. She shivered as she thought back over the last few months, staying out of sight and keeping on the run.
That life was over. This was her life now.
She closed her eyes and inhaled the scent of spring, crisp air, and fragrant flowers. After a season of winter, Grace desperately needed a spring.
***
A little before eight o’clock Sloan pulled up to the old Hadley property in his white Dodge truck. The brilliant blue sky shone with the promise of spring, signaling the end of cold nights and dreary days. He was looking forward to long weekends of grilling, fishing and drinking ice-cold beer.
He grimaced as he grabbed the plated cake wrapped in plastic and topped with a frilly green ribbon, compliments of Allison.
He picked his way up the uneven brick walkway to the front porch feeling like a complete tool. The house bore signs of sitting many years, empty and unused. The roof was littered with branches from the last storm, and the gutters were clogged with rotting leaves. Unruly shrubs crept up the porch railing, threatening to take over the porchthat looked over a yard full of weeds.
The porch fared no better, littered with leaves and creaking with each step he took. The wood plank at the front door gave way. He eased back a step, inspecting the loose board.
The poor woman had been suckered into buying a money pit.
He used his free hand to wipe a layer of grime off the window to peer inside. The empty living room looked the same. The walls were dressed in an outdated wallpaper of tiny pink roses with green climbing vines, and the original hardwood floors needed to be refinished. The only furniture was a white wicker sofa that he’d bet came with the house.
He glanced down at his watch. Maybe he could just leave the cake on the front steps. He was the wrong person to be sending out as a welcome party anyway. He hadn’t been much on socializing since his breakup with Felicia after catching her in bed with his co-worker. He’d been so devastated after being betrayed by his friend and fiancée, that he’d left town for a month to gain some perspective. He’d returned to find his co-worker had requested and received a transfer to Nashville and Felicia was still flirting with half the fucking town.
He’d returned with one simple credo: people lied and could not be trusted.
There was movement on the other side of the door before it creaked open. He sent up a silent prayer that the woman wasn’t going to talk his ear off, or worse, hit on him. Ever since his breakup, the women of Cloverton made it clear they could mend his heart.
There was one problem with that assumption. He no longer possessed a heart.
Every coherent thought fled as a petite woman appeared in the doorway, looking up at him with eyes the color of sapphires. She had a red bandana tied around her dark hair. A few strands escaped to frame her heart-shaped face. Even without a stitch of makeup, and a smudge of dirt across her cheek, she was gorgeous.
And younger than what he’d imagined. She couldn’t be more than twenty-six.
“Can I help you?” He didn’t miss the slight tremor in her voice.