Ellie stroked Boomer’s fur. “I think he may be a little jealous.”
“Should he be?”
She laughed. “No. The other night at the arcade…it didn’t exactly go like I planned. Winston’s had a crush on me for a long time. I thought I could let him down easy by agreeing to go out with him, but instead I made a mess of things.”
Alexander savored his lemonade while listening to her story. “I can see why he likes you. Your heart was in the right place. Don’t be too hard on yourself. People screw up. It’s human nature. At least you want to make things right.”
“Trust me, I’ve learned my lesson.” Ellie found herself amazed at how easy he was to talk to. It was as if they’d known each other for years. “So, how are you liking Hazard?”
“It’s nice so far. The people I’ve met seem friendly.” He nodded at her. “Case in point.”
“There’s nothing like small-town courtesy. What do you like to do for fun?”
Alexander leaned back further against the massive tree trunk. “I like hiking, enjoying nature, swimming. What about you?”
“Reading, going to the movies, and horseback riding—the usual.”
“Horseback riding? That sounds like fun.”
As Boomer left her side to chase a squirrel through the grass, Ellie felt suddenly aware of their proximity. “I’d be happy to teach you, if you’re interested.” She blushed. She was being forward again. What’s gotten into me?
“Now that we’ve established that Winston isn’t your boyfriend, are you dating anyone?”
“Not really. I can’t say I’ve ever had a boyfriend. I bet you think that’s a little weird. My friend Sarah says I have impossibly high standards.”
“It’s not weird. Setting standards is something to admire. I’ve only had two girlfriends.”
“Are you still with girlfriend number two?”
Alexander shook his head. “We split up recently.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” He set the empty lemonade bottle on the grass. “We’re still close friends. That’s more than I can say for my first relationship.”
Ellie could see him struggling to keep the emotion out of his voice. Whatever he was thinking about, the wound ran deep. Maybe talking about it would help.
“What happened?” She hesitated. “Sorry, I don’t mean to pry.”
Alexander glanced away, and for a moment she thought he wasn’t going to answer.
“It was a long time ago. She broke my heart. She was the first girl I ever loved.” Then he stopped, and his frown faded. “I can’t believe I’m telling you this. It’s only the second time we’ve met. You must be some kind of sorceress, Ellie Sullivan.” He pushed himself to his feet and offered Ellie his hand. “Well, I suppose we’d better check on Winston’s progress.”
“I suppose we’d better.” Secretly, she was disappointed the conversation had to end so quickly.
“Ellie?” He held onto her hand an instant longer than necessary.
“Yes?”
“Are you still interested in showing me around town?”
She felt a surge of excitement. “Definitely. When did you have in mind?”
“Mrs. Wells is the only woman I have time for at the moment. I still have a lot of work to do this afternoon.”
“What about tonight?”
He shrugged apologetically and followed her inside. “I already made plans with my dad for later. What about tomorrow afternoon?”
Ellie chuckled. “It seems the fates conspire against us. I have work.”
“Did you get it fixed?” Alexander asked Winston, who was waiting at the register.
Winston winced. “It’s still not working. Do you have cash?”
Alexander sighed. “I’m afraid not.”
“My manager said I could bill you if you’d provide your contact information.”
Alexander seemed hesitant, and Ellie wondered if something was wrong. After a protracted moment, he took a pen from Winston’s outstretched hand and scribbled the information down on a form before heaving the bag of mulch over his shoulder and handing the pen to Ellie. “I’ll wait for you outside.”
Grateful for the privacy, Ellie likewise entered her billing information on the form. “Winston, I’m sorry about the other night. I never meant to hurt your feelings.”
Winston looked away. “Forget it. I know you’re out of my league, but you’ve always been nice to me. That’s why I liked you so much.” He handed her a receipt. “I think you should stay away from Alexander. I don’t trust him.”
Ellie didn’t answer. I wonder why he said that. Was it jealousy, or something else? In the short time they’d known each other, Alexander hadn’t raised any red flags. He had shown himself to be funny, intelligent, and thoughtful, in addition to being good-looking.
Alexander was waiting for her outside.
“I better get going. Dad is going to want this stuff soon.” Ellie hesitated. “I’m glad I ran into you again.”
“Literally.” He laughed. “Me too.”
Ellie handed him a piece of paper.
“What’s this?”
“My number—in case you want to pick a time for that tour.”
Alexander flashed a grin. “You’re on.”
A pair of bloodshot eyes watched the two youths talking from across the street. Patrick Doyle lingered in an alleyway between the town’s auto-repair garage and a now vacant hardware store. He was in his late twenties, but years of drug abuse left him looking much older.
“It ain’t right.” He lit a cigarette and inhaled the pungent fumes. “It just ain’t right.”
Patrick’s shorn hair was nearly the same length as the three-day stubble covering his face. He wore a red flannel shirt untucked from his camouflage pants.
A voice drew him out of his thoughts. “Patrick?” A teenage boy approached.
“Afternoon, Chucky. How’s my favorite customer?”
“You sure this is a good place?” Like a wayward child afraid of crossing the street and fearful of being seen, Chucky glanced around.
Chucky was a football friend of Patrick’s brother, Jeremy. He was also addicted to painkillers. Patrick wondered whether Chucky seemed anxious because he feared him or the authorities. Patrick had a well-earned reputation for brutality, something he was particularly proud of.
He leaned against a green dumpster and blew smoke in Chucky’s face. “You want the stuff or not?”
Chucky reached into his pocket and withdrew a stack of twenty-dollar bills. “It’s all there.” He reached for the bag of pills in Patrick’s hands.
“I’m sure it is.” Patrick took the stack without counting the money. Chucky knew what happened to someone who shafted him. Patrick kept his rifle in his truck, always ready if needed.
Chucky flinched as Patrick released the bag.
“Jumpy, aren’t you?” The symptoms of addiction were obvious. Patrick had never been into pills; harder substances were more his speed. His gaze returned to the feed mill’s parking lot, where Ellie Sullivan was chatting up someone he’d never seen before. “Who’s he?”
Far more interested in the pills, Chucky merely shrugged. “Who cares?”
“That’s Jeremy’s girl. That guy she’s with had better watch his back.”
“Ellie Sullivan? Come on. Jeremy hasn’t even gone on one date with her.”
Patrick threw his cigarette on the pavement and stomped the smoke with his rubber boot. “Jeremy’s a Doyle. We get what we want. You’ll see.”
A police cruiser pulled up to the hardware store’s parking lot. Shaking, Chucky tensed up when the sheriff’s deputy emerged from his vehicle. “I can’t be seen here. My mom—”
Patrick grabbed him by the shoulder and held him in place. “Act natural. Leave the talking to me.” The muscles in his forearm twitched, giving the black anchor-shaped tattoo on his arm the appearance of motion.
Chucky quietly tucked the bag into his pocket before the deputy
approached.
“I thought I might find you here, Patrick.”
It was Matt Simmons. Patrick suppressed a sneer. Before he’d dropped out, he’d been in Matt’s class. Even then, Matt had looked down his nose at him. “Deputy.”
“Hanging out in back alleys in the middle of the day? Someone might get the idea you’re up to no good.”
Patrick spat on the ground just short of Matt’s feet. “How about you try not messing around in somebody else’s business for a change?” He shot Chucky a withering look to warn him against opening his mouth. “You think you’re a big deal ‘cause you got a badge. You’re just a washed-up star who’s going nowhere.” Patrick suppressed a grin when anger flashed in Matt’s eyes. He’d been hoping for that response.
“I’ll get right to it. Kelly Allen and Rick McCarthy reported missing cattle in the last few days. You wouldn’t have anything to do with that, would you?”
Patrick’s eyes flickered to the gun fixed in Matt’s holster. He wondered whether Matt could pull the trigger if it came down to it. Matt wasn’t as easily intimidated as the other cops he knew, but taking a life was something else. “What would I want with a couple cows?”
Chucky uttered a nervous laugh.
“You can make good money selling someone else’s cattle. Or maybe you were out poaching and so high you thought you shot a deer.”
“Twice? You’re going to have to do better than that.”
“You’re trash, Doyle. You always have been. You do anything else to hurt the people of this town or their animals and you’ll regret it.” Matt turned and walked back to his vehicle.
As Chucky breathed a sigh of relief, hatred etched itself across Patrick’s face, and he lowered his voice to a whisper.
“You’d better be careful, Deputy.” He glanced back at the feed mill. “You and that new kid.”
Chapter Four
A winding dirt trail led to a secluded house buried in the woods. Harsh winds brushed against weathered shutters. The house responded to the howling wind with creaks and noises of its own.
A figure appeared down the trail and made his way to the towering colossus of a house. In its heyday, it was a spectacle of prominence. From what he’d learned, the house had sat empty since the 1930s. Nature had moved to reclaim the property over the years, and vines grew freely along faded gray walls. In its decline, it became known as Dead House. Now, few were aware of its existence, which made it well-suited to his purposes. The property’s secluded location was ideal for someone seeking to remain unknown.
He opened the front door and slipped into darkness within. Beams of wavering light seeped in through broken windows. Here, he could be alone. The moment he had planned for almost two decades had almost arrived. He’d spent over a month preparing, biding his time. He removed a faded picture from his pocket and stroked the picture with his finger.
“Samantha,” he whispered to the dark. The wound still hurt, even after all these years.
There was another complication. Aristae was coming. The thought filled him with anger. Although she promised to leave the task to him, Aristae loved the game too much to stay away.
Fine, he thought. Let her come.
Besides, it was too late to turn back now. It had begun.
Sarah sat on an uncomfortable-looking park bench as Ellie tossed a Frisbee for Boomer. “Congratulations. You’ve successfully managed to rope me into your not-date.”
Ellie laughed and pulled the Frisbee from Boomer’s teeth. “You know you’re looking forward to meeting him.”
Sarah winked. “Maybe. Remind me again why you wanted him to meet us at the park?”
“Alexander is new to Hazard. We should help him make friends and get to know the area.”
“And I’m sure this doesn’t have anything to do with your liking him?”
Ellie averted her gaze. Sarah, perhaps the biggest gossip in the history of their high school, could read her like a book. Ellie did feel attracted to Alexander and was glad when he called her back. She was also a little intimidated by the response he evoked in her—one reason she’d brought a friend along.
Boomer abruptly stopped playing Frisbee and ran to Alexander, who approached with a wave. “Hi, Ellie.” If Alexander was disappointed Ellie had brought a friend, he gave no sign of it. Instead, he extended a hand to Sarah. “I’m Alexander Thorne. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Sarah Preston. So, you’re the one who saved Ellie from Malory.”
“Guilty as charged.”
“Anyway,” Ellie interrupted, “what have you been up to?”
“Not much. Mostly helping my dad with chores. It’s good to get away.”
“How are you liking Hazard?”
“It’s nice here. Reminds me of home.”
Sarah raised an eyebrow. “Where is home for you?”
“I’m originally from Milton County.”
“My grandparents are from there,” Ellie said. “Maybe we saw each other when we were younger.”
“I think I would remember seeing someone like you before.”
Ellie reddened.
Sarah laughed. “Smooth. What brings you to Hazard, Alexander? Did you sweet-talk all the girls in Milton County, and now you’re moving on to Ellie?”
“My dad moved here for work. I’m staying with him for the summer before returning to college in the fall.”
The smell of grilled hamburgers drifted from a concession stand next to a nearby baseball field. Observers packed the bleachers as two teams took the field.
“Do you play sports?” Sarah asked Alexander.
“Not really. I’d rather spend my time outdoors doing other things, like getting out in nature and watching animals.”
“Ellie likes animals too. Don’t you, Ellie?” Sarah nudged her, and Ellie regained her voice.
“My dad is a vet. I grew up around animals in his clinic.”
Alexander’s attention remained on her, even as the crowd erupted into cheers. “It takes a special type of person to take care of animals. Nature is both beautiful and deadly. You have to be prepared to face either side at a moment’s notice.” He sniffed the air. “Those hamburgers smell delicious. Can I get you something to eat or drink?”
“How about a water?” Sarah handed him a dollar and pointed to a shaded section of grass below a hill. “Let’s move over by the creek where there aren’t as many people.”
“I’ll meet you there.” With that, Alexander started toward the concession stand.
Ellie looked at Sarah expectantly. “So, what do you think?”
“Nice—if you know what I mean. I never thought I’d be jealous of you.”
Ellie laughed. “He is good-looking, isn’t he?”
“Well, he’s no Winston Henderson, but so long as you’re happy…”
Boomer interrupted their laughter with a growl. Two figures were approaching. One was Chucky Hines, a friend and sycophant of Jeremy Doyle’s. If the rumors were true, he was also a drug addict. Mike Olsen, another of Jeremy’s equally thuggish friends, accompanied him.
Chucky whistled. “Look who we have here.”
Mike threw a cigarette to the ground and dug it into the grass with his tennis shoe. “Hello, ladies. Looks like you could use some company.”
Sarah glared at them. “That’s not necessary. We have better things to do than hang out with the likes of you.”
Chucky’s eyes narrowed in their direction. “You think you’re big stuff, don’t you, Miss Cheerleader?”
Sarah wasn’t intimidated. “Your hands are shaking, Chucky. What’s the matter? Need your fix?”
Chucky took a step forward, as if to threaten her.
Ellie put herself between them. “Leave her alone.” Boomer growled protectively.
“Ellie Sullivan.” Chucky regarded her with interest. “Who’s that new kid you’ve been messing around with?”
“Excuse me?”
“If I were you, I wouldn’t let Jeremy find out about him. He’s a pati
ent guy, but he’s not going to wait forever.”
“You can tell Jeremy that he doesn’t own me. I’m free to date anyone I choose.”
Sarah put her hands on her hips. “You heard her. Don’t you have work to get back to or something?”
“You’re not being very friendly.” Mike grabbed Sarah by the arm and squeezed.
Ellie kneed him in the groin, and he released his hold on Sarah.
“That wasn’t nice. Maybe you two need a lesson in respect.” Mike grabbed a stick and looked at Boomer. “That’s a nice dog you have there.”
Chucky grinned, and they advanced on Boomer. Ellie formed a fist, ready to retaliate if they attempted to harm her dog.
“What do you two think you’re doing?” Alexander appeared behind them. Anger clouded his expression.
Chucky shifted nervously. “He’s the kid from the feed mill.” He took a step back.
Mike stood his ground. “This doesn’t concern you.”
“These girls are friends of mine, and you’re threatening them. Need I remind you there are literally dozens of people right over that hill?”
Chucky seemed to do his best to look intimidating. “Ellie Sullivan is Jeremy Doyle’s girl. He won’t take too kindly to anyone else seeing her behind his back.”
“I’m not anyone’s ‘girl,’” Ellie protested. “Least of all Jeremy Doyle’s.”
“Why don’t you guys get lost?” Alexander’s tone implied there would be violence if they ignored him.
“Whatever.” Chucky sneered. “This isn’t over.” The two stalked off in the direction they came from.
“Thanks,” Sarah told Alexander.
“No problem. From the looks of things, Ellie had everything under control.”
Ellie laughed. “I can’t believe I did that. One second he was grabbing Sarah and the next second my knee was in Mike’s groin. You should be careful of them though, Alexander. Those guys are trouble.”
“It takes more than a couple of high school dropouts to threaten me. How did you get involved with them anyway?”
“It’s a long story. We went to high school with Jeremy Doyle, a bully who has an unhealthy obsession with me. Those were his friends.”
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