“Understatement. Anyway, Boden Cavanaugh played the lead in that one.”
Addie’s eyes widened. “And he’s in Wolf Gap?”
“I swear it was him.”
I moved the stack of plates closer to Addie so she could dish up her casserole. “Seems like an odd destination in the middle of winter.”
Hadley took a sip of her orange juice and then set it down. “I wonder if he’s trying to lay low after everything that happened.”
Ev turned to her. “I completely forgot about that.”
“What?” I asked.
“His longtime girlfriend died about six months ago. The family didn’t share how, and that only made the press more bloodthirsty,” Hadley said. “They hounded him for months.”
Ev took the plate Addie handed her. “Maybe he’s moving to Wolf Gap. I wouldn’t blame him after going through that.”
Hadley shook her head. “It was awful. There were even some disgusting tabloids that suggested he had something to do with it, even though there was zero proof.”
My rib cage tightened around my lungs as I struggled to breathe normally. I knew what that was like, but I didn’t have the eyes of the world on me, just a tiny town. “If he is in town, I hope people leave him alone here.”
Addie reached over and squeezed my arm. “I do, too. No one should have to deal with ugliness like that, especially when they’re mourning.”
No, they shouldn’t. But life was rarely what it should be. You simply had to do your best to make something beautiful out of the shattered pieces.
5
Boden
I leanedback in the rocker, the rails making a soothing sound as they traveled back and forth over the planks of the front porch. Only Peaches’ soft snores punctuated the song. She’d never been one for early mornings. I took a sip of my coffee and watched the sun crest the horizon.
I could get used to this. For the first time in what felt like forever, I’d slept through the night without any dreams taunting me. I’d kept the window in my bedroom cracked, and I wondered if the cool, crisp air had kept me comatose. I hadn’t needed my alarm because I’d woken up just fine on my own.
I caught sight of a figure moving from the main house towards the barn. I stayed put. Somehow, I didn’t think Ramsey would appreciate me showing up first thing. I’d wait until I saw him move a horse from the barn.
One minute bled into the next, and before long, half an hour had passed. I rose from my rocker to make my way towards the structure when I saw them. It was the sound of thundering hooves that caught my attention first, bringing my gaze to the back of the barn. One horse, then another, took off across the field—a herd of about a dozen, charging over the land.
I had no choice but to stop dead. They were a sight to behold. As if given a silent command, they turned, heading across the horizon.
The crunch of gravel had me pulling my focus away from the majestic sight towards a pickup truck and trailer heading down the lane.
“I thought you’d still be sleeping.”
I turned to see Ramsey heading in my direction. “I’m not sure what you know about making movies, but when we’re on days, my call times are usually around four in the morning.”
He gave a slight chin lift, an acknowledgment that he’d heard me but nothing else.
So, we weren’t going to find our way to friendship anytime soon. Peaches danced at my side as she caught sight of the large wolf-dog next to Ramsey. I rubbed her head. “You need to play it cool. I don’t want us kicked out of here.”
I gave her the command to stay, and she lay down on the porch. I moved down the steps as the truck backed its trailer up to the round pen. “New horse?”
Ramsey nodded. “You’ll need to stay clear of the pen.”
“No problem.”
When the trailer was in place, a woman who looked to be in her sixties jumped down from the cab of the truck. She crossed to us, her eyes widening slightly at the sight of me, but she immediately turned her focus back to Ramsey. “She’s feeling a lot of feelings.”
Ramsey’s eyes shifted to the trailer. A whinny sounded, followed by a swift kick to the trailer wall. “You get any additional information?”