“Yeah.” It was the only word I could get out.
“We need to get the cops involved.”
“Lor—”
“You can’t break in there at night and steal all his damn horses and his kids, too. I’m telling you, I know some good people at the sheriff’s department. Let me reach out to them.”
I ground my molars together as I made the turn towards home. “Fine. They’ve got one shot.”
I wasn’t overly optimistic. I knew better than anyone that the cops weren’t always on the side of justice. Sometimes, they were on the side of whoever greased their wallets—even if that person was evil incarnate.
5
SHILOH
My fingers wovedeftly through hair still damp from the shower as I stared down at my phone. The screen glared back at me in the low light of my loft. The sun had set in the time I’d been cleaning up for dinner. And with it, the glow of my time with Ramsey and his newest horse. It had faded, too.
Now, the familiar guilt ate at me again. I tied off my braid with a snap of the elastic and swiped up my phone. “Don’t be a coward.”
I needed to call Hayes. If I were truly brave, I’d drive over to his and Everly’s house to see how she was. She must have received the notification of her father’s passing.
My stomach twisted. As much as Everly had distanced herself from most of her family, and as much as she hated what her father had done, he was still the man who had raised her. She would grieve. While I felt freedom, she would be hurting.
I hit Hayes’ contact before I could stop myself.
He answered on the third ring. “What’s wrong?”
I cringed. “Nothing.” I didn’t pick up the phone for polite chitchat, but the fact that my brother thought I’d only call him in an emergency only churned the guilt deeper.
“Sorry.” He blew out an audible breath. “What did you need?”
My fingers locked around the back of my barstool. “Did, uh, Everly get a letter today?”
Hayes was silent. I counted the beats of my heart in a rapid two-step as I waited. He cleared his throat. “From the penitentiary?”
“Yeah.” The single word came out as more of a croak.
“She did. I’m guessing that means you did, too. I was going to come over later and tell Mom, Dad, and you—”
“Don’t.” It was out before I could stop it. “Don’t come over—unless you and Ev need to, of course.” I grimaced. “I didn’t mean it to come out like that. If you want to be with family, come. I just…” I struggled to find the words.
“You’re not ready for everyone to know.”
“Does that make me awful?”
“It makes you human.”
Slowly, the air that had been locked in my lungs eased out. “How’s Ev?”
Hayes sighed. “She’s feeding the animals right now. Determined to stay busy.”
My mouth curved as I pictured her in the animal sanctuary she had built on the land that had once brought so much pain. I envied how she could take something bad and do good with it. I was envious of her strength and perseverance. “Tell her…I’m thinking about her.”
Hadley and Addie would know what to do for Ev. They were so good at comforting those in pain. It was second nature to them. But for me, it was awkward and bumbling.
“What about you? How are you feeling?”
I bit the inside of my cheek. I knew the question came from a place of love, but I’d been the recipient of so much concern overthe years, it was hard to hear that through the carefully couched questions. “I’m good. I’m sorry for Ev, but I feel relieved.”