Her mischievous tone had me groaning. “Don’t forget family dinner on Sunday.”
“I might have to work a shift.”
“Hads…”
She’d do anything to avoid spending concentrated time with Mom. I kept hoping they’d come to an understanding, see where the other was coming from, but the relationship just seemed to grow more strained.
Hadley twirled her keys around her finger. “I’ll try to make it.”
“Don’t try, do.”
“Yeah, yeah. Don’t you have a world to save?”
I glanced at my watch. I’d spent far too much time in this parking lot. And I needed to talk to the prosecutor about pressing charges against Allen. Somehow, I didn’t think Everly would be much help, but I had to try.
I gave Hadley a chin lift and headed for my SUV. “See you Sunday.”
Hadley simply waved and started towards the store.
Keeping my family together would be the death of me.
The sun hung low in the sky, even though it was already seven. I was grateful for the light as I wound my way through the mountain roads. The absence of any streetlights and the frequent steep drop-offs meant navigating them in the dark could be treacherous if you took a turn too quickly.
My back teeth ground together as I imagined Everly doing just that. We still had months before the time change and winter came upon us, but I couldn’t stop the image in my mind. It came on the heels of another picture of Everly that had been haunting me all day.
The rise of her chin, the glint in her eye. So prepared to take that hit. She’d been ready to go to war. It made me see her just a little differently. As more than just a reminder of the worst time in my life. The knowledge made me twitchy, as if my skin were too tight for my body.
Koda whined from the cab. I pressed a button to roll down his window. “Happier now?” His tongue lolled in response, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.
I turned off the main gravel road and onto the steep incline of a lane I wasn’t sure even had a name. I knew for certain the post office didn’t deliver out here. Everly would have to come into town to get all of her mail. I was shocked she even had power.
The cabin appeared as I crested the last bit of the hill, the dilapidated house and barn, and past it, the shed. That familiar desire to tear it all down flared to life. I swallowed it down, just like every other emotion I didn’t want to look at too closely.
Everly straightened from where she was bent over the railing of the porch steps, sanding block in hand. I just had to hope she wouldn’t throw the thing at me. Bringing my truck to a stop, I turned off the engine. Koda let out a whine. “You can come. But only if you’re on your best behavior.”
My dog seemed to almost nod. Climbing out of the truck, I opened the door to the cab. “Heel, Koda.” But my damn dog didn’t listen for a second. He took off, tearing around the vehicle and making a beeline straight for Everly. I muttered a slew of curses. “He’s friendly, I swear.”
Koda was massive, and if you weren’t used to dogs, he could be intimidating as hell. But Everly didn’t miss a beat. She crouched, setting her sanding block on a step, and met my beast of a dog with open arms. Koda let out a happy yip as her hands sank into his fur. His tongue lashed across Everly’s cheek, and her head tipped back as she laughed.
The sound, the image, they stopped me in my tracks. Blond hair cascading down her back, blue eyes shining. And that laugh. So uninhibited and carefree. Gone was the guardedness that had engulfed Everly the last two times I’d seen her. She was an entirely different person as my dog fell head over heels in love with
her.
I cleared my throat, and Everly looked up, that blank mask slipping over her expression again. I wanted the other woman back. The one who was free and unchecked. “I take it you like dogs.”
She didn’t say a thing, just stared at me as if I were a bug. I toed a piece of gravel with my boot. “Have any more trouble since you left the hardware store?”
“What are you doing here, Hayes?”
It was the first time she’d said my name, and it sounded good on her tongue. Different, somehow. I gave my head a small shake as if I could dislodge the sound from my ear. “The district attorney wants to know if you’ll press charges against your uncle.”
“No.”
“You protecting him?”
She looked up, meeting my gaze without an ounce of hesitation. “I’m trying to find a way to live in the same town as them. I’m not afraid anymore. I’m prepared.”
I wished there was even a hint of fear in Everly’s eyes. Because fear made you careful. “The D.A. won’t move forward with the case unless you’re on board.” She shrugged a shoulder as she kept scratching behind Koda’s ears. Her casualness about it all only ratcheted the tension running through me. “You should at least file a restraining order. With my testimony, you’ll get one.”