“Good night, Grace,” he called out as I headed down the hall.
The door with the padlock that supposedly led to the basement made me stop in my tracks. I stared at it, wondering what was on the other side.
A shiver ran down my spine as a thought crossed my mind. The missing woman. The scream I heard the other night. The woman’s clothes in the dresser. Maybe they weren’t his ex’s. Maybe they were Briana’s. I made my way down the hallway and closed the bedroom door behind me. When I went to turn the lock, I realized there wasn’t one.
Day Five
18.
Calvin
My knuckles rapped against Grace’s door. Usually, I’d wait out in the kitchen until she woke up, but I wanted to make sure she was feeling all right, especially after getting that concussion. Our night didn’t end how I intended it to. After the sheriff showed up, Grace seemed to have built a wall between us. It didn’t make any sense why he came around here anyway. That girl had never even checked in. He said so himself. I was glad he left quickly. But I think the damage was already done. He spooked Grace. She’d already been on edge with the riding accident and the issue with her car. Now, who knows how she was feeling? I laid awake nearly all night thinking about her, and when I finally fell asleep, I dreamed about her.
Footsteps padded across the room, something slid across the floor, and then the door opened. Her hair was messy, and she was dressed in a tiny silk robe.
“Hey. Sorry to wake you. Just wanted to make sure you were all right. How ya feeling?”
“A little sleepy and foggy-brained.”
I placed my hand against her forehead. “No fever.” I smiled.
She shook her head. “I’m not sick.”
“Gotta make sure. You could have caught a bug when you were rolling around in that dirt.” I teased, pulling my hand away. “There’s a fresh pot of coffee and some oatmeal in the Crock-Pot. Brown sugar is beside it.”
“Thanks.”
“Well, I’ve gotta go mow the lawn and check on some things. Glad to see you’re feeling better.” I tipped an imaginary hat.
She opened the door a little wider, and I couldn’t help taking her all in: her smooth tan legs and partially open robe that revealed her sculpted collarbone. All this made my smile grow wide. The corner of her lip perked up as she watched my eyes. She knew exactly what she was doing to me.
“Do you need any help?”
“Absolutely not. You’re on vacation, miss. There’s a hammock down by the river. It’s the perfect place to lay out and read, and I insist you do so.”
“Is that an order?” she teased.
“You bet your behind it is,” I said with a laugh and a wink. My flirtation was getting downright ridiculous. I just didn’t know how to act around Grace. Thankfully, she laughed too, and I hoped it was with me and not at me—but I wouldn’t blame her if it was the latter.
“Your wish is my command.” She smiled and closed the door slowly.
Goddamn, that girl was going to be the death of me.
19.
Grace
Lying in the hammock, I closed the book and held it against my chest. The branches above looked like hands and arms reaching in all directions. The white fluffy clouds beyond appeared to be tangled in the trees but I knew they weren’t. That was the thing about point of view—you saw things the way they presented themselves but that didn’t make them true. I wondered if this ranch was how I saw the tangled clouds.
There was a sense of dread I had been carrying with me since I arrived. This place was different. Was I being paranoid or was there really cause for concern? There were too many coincidences. Too many things going wrong or just not how I thought they’d go. I should be completely relaxed, not on edge with thoughts running through my brain like a Rolodex. The scream I heard. The lack of Wi-Fi and cell phone service. My car acting up. And the missing girl. The sheriff said she never checked in. He verified it himself. But then why did he come here asking questions he already had the answers to? Unless he didn’t believe the answers.
Swinging my legs out of the hammock, I decided I was going to find Calvin. I needed to at least ask him about the car. It’d been three days and his brother still hadn’t shown up. I got the feeling that maybe there was a reason for that. I knew I couldn’t just go marching around, demanding he fix my car. I needed to be tactful, and despite everything, I liked Calvin. I was drawn to him like a cat to a mouse.
Lunch was a perfect excuse to approach him. Before running into the house, I glanced at the field, spotting an idle tractor and Calvin nowhere in sight. My eyes flicked to the barn, the pond, the pasture. He was around here somewhere. Inside, I quickly threw together two PB&J sandwiches and snagged cold beers from the fridge.
Walking out to the pasture, Calvin was now driving the John Deere tractor with a lawn mower attachment on the back of it. I wondered where he’d been before. He mowed the area the sheep and cows didn’t get to, where the grass was longer than the rest of the field. I knew the moment he laid eyes on me—because his face went from expressionless to excited. His smile was big, and he sat up a little straighter. He wore cowboy boots and a pair of ripped-up jeans that were torn from working on the farm. I held up the beers and the plate just as he pulled up in front of me. He immediately killed the engine.
“What are you doing out here, miss?” Calvin lifted an eyebrow and turned up the corner of his lip.
“Figured you needed a drink and something to eat.”
“Well, climb on up here.”
I handed over the beers and plate of sandwiches. He placed them beside him and grabbed my hand, pulling me right up onto his lap. His skin was wet, hot to the touch.
“What do you got here?” he asked, holding up the plate. Jelly oozed out of the corners and part of the bread was torn from trying to spread the thick peanut butter.
“PB&J,” I said.
Calvin grabbed one and handed it to me. “My favorite.” He smiled and bit into the other sandwich. We didn’t speak until we finished eating. Calvin wiped off his hands and popped the caps off the beers on the side of the tractor. I clinked mine against his.
“Thank you, Grace,” he said just before taking a swig.
“I presumed you needed some taking care of too.” I tipped back the beer and drank.
Awe transformed his face as if I had struck a chord. I assumed no one had taken care of him in a long time. My back still ached, not as bad as yesterday, and my head felt a little full but maybe that was because it was bursting with worry.
“Shall we ride?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
The tractor came to life and jolted when he put it in drive. He drove it slow and steady through the pasture while the mower cut and spit out grass behind us.
“Calvin, I wanted to ask about the car. It’s been a few days.” My face was expressionless, carefully hiding the fear I had of feeling stuck.
“I phoned my brother, Joe, last night after you went to bed to remind him and again this morning. He’ll be over today to take a look at it.”