by Beth Alvarez
“Morning,” she said, trying to sound cheery. Her eyes burned from exhaustion and her hair was still unkempt, but at least she felt more like herself, wearing a skirt and sweater. Even if this sweater was a little more snug-fitted than the rest. It had been a subconscious decision, Kade’s commentary on her jeans running through her head as she pulled clothing from her drawers. “Here to place an order? You can just call it in, you know.”
“I know, but I feel like it’s so informal.” Grant looked sheepish. His eyes flicked over her and his expression changed, ever so slightly. A bit more pinched at the corners of his eyes, his smile twitching as it tried to recede and he held it fast. He noticed the way her sweater fit, apparently.
For a moment, Felicity felt embarrassed. She hadn’t considered the way anyone else might look at her. Awkward for her first visitor to be Grant, too; she’d known for years that he fancied her, but she’d never been able to think of him that way. He was happy to be her friend even if he wanted something more, but he was respectful, too. Better to be friends and know each other than to let a silly thing like long-lived crushes get in the way.
“What can I get for you? I’m afraid I don’t have anything made up yet, I got a bit of a late start on the morning.” She combed through her hair with her fingers, working it into some semblance of order.
“I was hoping for a half dozen cinnamon rolls, and maybe a few apple turnovers. It’s all right if you don’t have ’em ready for a while, you can send ’em out to the ranch tonight.” He paused. “Or bring them, if you’re headed out that way again.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Charlie tell you I stopped by?”
“Something like that.” His smile grew strained. “Everything all right, Miss Felicity?”
“Of course.” She turned toward the kitchen, jerking her head to invite him to follow. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
Grant hooked his thumbs in his pockets, walking along behind her. “I talked to Marshall a bit last night, too. He said something about you looking for extra work. Said you were out there to talk some over with Kade.”
Felicity pursed her lips. It wasn’t jealousy in his voice, but a note of something else. Concern? “Oh. Nothing major, don’t you worry. I’m going to be doing Mr. Colton’s laundry. Having a bit of extra money will help me put some away for new baking tools.” Small half-truths, cobbled together. She had been talking business with Kade, she was doing his laundry, and she did need new supplies. The three were unrelated, but Grant didn’t need to know that.
“Oh, I see.” He nodded, seeming relieved. “Sorry if it seemed I was being nosy. We just worry about you, Miss Felicity, that’s all.”
She chuckled, opening the pantry and gathering the ingredients she’d need for his request. “We?”
“Me and the boys. Marshall, too, though he pretends like the rest of Holly Hill don’t concern him, big rancher that he is.”
They both laughed at that. The McCullough ranch was one of the smallest in the state, but you’d never know it from the way Marshall spoke about it. Felicity sometimes thought his pride was too big to fit in his 10-gallon hat.
“Well, I appreciate it. I more appreciate that all of you like my cooking, though. How many turnovers? Half a dozen, as well?”
“Yes, please,” Grant said. “But like I said, no hurry. I got some things to take care of before I head back out to the ranch, anyway.”
“Marshall got you running errands now?” She pulled a few recipe cards out of the drawer. Turnovers and cinnamon rolls, and if she had time, she’d try a few holiday cookies.
He grimaced. “I wish. Gotta stop by the station and talk to Sam. He’s taking statements from all the ranch hands about all the stuff going on out there. I guess that whole thing with that lost steer showing up at Nate Mason’s place has the town in a tizzy.”
“Gertie mentioned that,” Felicity said. “She said a man a few towns over turned up dead, too, just the same way.” She shuddered, momentarily glad she’d not picked up the newspaper to read about it herself.
“Strange things out there,” Grant agreed. “All the more reason we worry about you, Miss Felicity. We don’t mind having you at the ranch, but coming out there by yourself at night . . .”
“Are you worried about you being out there alone at night?”
“Well, no, but I’m used to it.” He shrugged, folding his arms across his chest. “I’ve seen some things that make my hair stand on end, but fortunately, dead bodies ain’t one of them.”
“Well, if you aren’t worried about you, there’s no reason to worry about me. And besides, I wasn’t alone,” she chided. “Kade had his rifle. If anything tried to mess with us, I think we would’ve been all right.”
He shook his head. “Kade’s part of what worries me.”
She paused. That didn’t sound like jealousy either, but given what she’d found in Kade’s things upstairs, she didn’t know if she should be concerned or not. “What do you mean?”
Grant tugged his ear, avoiding her eye. “There’s something odd about him. I don’t know how to say it. But I don’t think he’s real honest, Felicity.”
“Is that because that animal that ended up in Nate Mason’s drive got stolen on Kade’s watch?”
He grew quiet.
“You can just say you don’t like him.” She grinned over her shoulder. “He’s just a guest, you aren’t going to hurt my feelings.”
“But that makes it sound like something it ain’t,” Grant protested. “I don’t dislike him. I mean heck, everybody at the ranch likes him just fine. He’s plenty nice. Good with the cattle. On time for work, takes it seriously, lends a hand wherever he can. But he don’t talk to us like the other hands we’ve had. And really, the way he looks at us kinda gives me the creeps.”
That was no surprise. Kade had his reasons for keeping his distance. More than she’d realized. “I don’t think he does it on purpose, Grant. He doesn’t seem like the very outgoing sort. Nice, like you said, but he just sort of keeps to himself.”
“And that don’t bother you?” He sounded surprised.
“Why should it? Not everyone’s used to the small town way of life. And if he’s just here for temporary work, maybe he just doesn’t want to lay down any roots. Losing connections with people hurts.” That, she knew too well.
Grant considered her words for a while before nodding. “I guess you’re right. Thanks for letting me talk about it, though.”
“That’s what friends are for, isn’t it?” She laughed, gathering utensils out of drawers. “You’d better hurry up and go catch Sam. Nick’s here. He’s staying upstairs with his fiancée and you know he’ll want to drag his dad around town as soon as he’s awake.”
He let out a low whistle. “Nick’s engaged? Didn’t see that coming.”
Felicity shrugged. “Neither did we.”
“So they’re staying here instead of with his family?”
She nodded.
“Together?”
“None of our business, Grant. Nick’s a grown man and he can do what he likes.” She turned, planting a hand on her hip. “And considering you got caught parked with your high school girlfriend, you’ve got no room to talk, anyway!”
Grant hopped forward a step, trotting to the back door with a laugh. “That’s my cue.”
“Grant?”
He paused at the door, turning back to look at her.
“Before you go,” she said slowly, unsure how to ask but unwilling to let the opportunity slide by. “You said you saw things out there. What do you mean?”
Raising a brow, Grant frowned. “Why do you ask?”
“Well, I was thinking of trying to do some work for Marshall in between everything else. Helping with the horses or the housekeeping.” That was truthful; she’d considered lots of odd jobs in the past few weeks. “I just thought . . . well, you know how I feel about the creepy things. Is there anything out there that might . . .” She trailed off, swallowing.
“Scare you?” A
hint of a smile played at his lips, a sparkle in his dark eyes.
Felicity huffed. “Oh never mind! I swear, if you jump out trying to scare me next time I’m at the ranch, I’ll tell your mother on you.”
Grant laughed, rubbing his chin. “I’ll keep that in mind. See you later, Felicity. Don’t forget to bring me my treats.”
She rolled her eyes, waving him away.
He reached for the doorknob, jumping when the door opened before he touched it.
“Oh, ’scuse me.” Kade pulled down the scarf that muffled his voice, stepping aside to let Grant past.
Felicity glanced at the clock, surprised. “I thought you’d be upstairs sleeping.”
“Got a little sidetracked . . . little hung up.” He gave Grant a sidewise look. “What’re you doin’ here, sweetheart? Not lookin’ for me, I hope?”
“Cute.” Grant snorted. “You gonna be at work on time?”
“Should be,” Kade said. “Why wouldn’t I?”
Shrugging, Grant opened the door again. “You’re new. Last couple new guys we had were all slackers, so you just don’t know.”
Kade chuckled. “Sorry to say it won’t be so easy to get rid of me. Enjoy your day off.”
Grant grunted in reply, stepping out and shutting the door firmly.
“Well, he sure seemed a bit testy,” Kade muttered.
Felicity tried not to smile. “I don’t think Grant likes you too much, Kade.” Whether or not he admitted it, his actions and attitude spoke loud enough.
“Ain’t that the story of my life.” He sighed, unwinding his scarf and peeling off his gloves. “So how’s Miss Filly today?”
“Tired.” She sighed. “And a little worried.”
“About what?”
She met his eyes, her throat tightening. “What I’ve gotten myself into.”
His expression softened and he moved closer. For a moment, she thought he might touch her. Instead, he fidgeted with his scarf, folding it up and toying with the fringe on the end. “You can change your mind, Filly, if you don’t want to be involved. I ain’t gonna force you to do anything. Just don’t tell nobody what I’m about, and you can back out, no problem.”
She didn’t intend to back out. It was already too late for that, and her world was already upside down. What she’d seen in that book had given her the creeps, but it hadn’t been as jarring as she thought such a discovery would be. So many of those urban legends held enough truth in them that she’d always been curious how they started and whether or not any of them were real. Some were easier to accept than others; she’d never believed in the Jersey Devil, for example, but hadn’t ruled out creatures like Nessie or Bigfoot, knowing their supposed habitat was too big to ever be combed effectively. She’d just always dismissed them without much thought, since she never thought she’d be affected if they did exist.
She shook her head. “I just have a question.”
Kade spread his hands. “Anything.”
“Who took those pictures?”
He blinked, then laughed. “That’s it?”
Annoyed, she turned back to her half-measured ingredients. “I thought you worked alone, that’s all.”
“I do, but a Keeper usually comes out to clean up whenever you do make a kill. Leave nothing but footprints and all that. None of them are taken where the thing was actually caught.” He smiled. “Might change that, though. Next picture might be taken by you.”
“Oh, no. No, no, no.” She shook her head so hard that her hair whipped against her face. “That wasn’t in our agreement. You hunt. I just tell you where the game is.”
Chuckling, Kade tipped his hat. “Yes, ma’am.”
“I’ll ask around this afternoon and let you know when I hear something.” She glanced over her shoulder, lowering her voice. “We probably shouldn’t talk about this now, though. My dad’s home, and I’m not sure if he’s still upstairs.”
“Don’t worry, missy, I understand. You just take your time. I still got cattle to watch for now, so I’ll go on upstairs and let you be.”
Felicity relaxed as he walked by. “Thanks, Kade.”
“Any time. When you’re ready to talk, you’ll find me with the herd.” The click of his boot heels on the hardwood floor let her know he’d left, making his way upstairs.
She ventured a glance toward the refrigerator, where she’d mounted the foreclosure notice on the door beneath colorful magnets shaped like pastries, reminding herself of all she had to strive for. It wasn’t a perfect plan, but at least she had one now.
Belatedly, she realized he’d used that word—the one he’d gotten angry about when she asked, the day before.
What was a Keeper, anyway?
TEN
* * *
FINDING INFORMATION PROVED more difficult than Felicity expected.
Nobody wanted to talk about the cow found in Nate Mason’s driveway, and even fewer wanted to talk about the death that filled newspaper headlines all week. The only person she thought she could glean information from was Sam, but the last thing she wanted to do was rouse suspicion, so avoiding the police station seemed the safest bet.
It wasn’t until she delivered a box of cookies to Gertie’s shop that she made any progress. The old woman was surprised Felicity wanted to talk about it, but chalked it up to the incident keeping her awake at night. One of few instances where Felicity found her insomnia useful.
And Gertie proved to be a wealth of information. Felicity had filled several pages of a pocket-sized notebook with useful tidbits as soon as she’d gotten home, afraid she’d forget if she didn’t commit them all to paper. It opened new avenues for questions, approaches more fruitful than her initial attempts, and after a week of investigation, she finally thought she had enough rumors gathered to provide Kade with something useful.
They’d spoken less since their agreement, and though she realized quickly that she missed his company, it was better they keep their distance. For one, she wasn’t sure she could focus on what she was supposed to be doing when she was around him. But keeping him at arm’s length drove him to infest her dreams, some of them becoming so indecent she couldn’t help turning red whenever he breezed in and out, coming and going from work. She tried to chase the thoughts from her head, but every time she did, they came back more plentiful.
There was more to this than just working with him. She didn’t want to admit it, but she couldn’t keep lying to herself, either. Every minute she spent fighting her attraction to him only made it stronger. It was ridiculous; one way or another, he was going to leave, and she’d been down this path before. Holly Hill was her home and she wasn’t going anywhere.
Especially not if everything panned out the way she prayed and they were able to keep the bed and breakfast.
There was only one solution she could think of, but just playing with the idea gave her butterflies. It was simple and obvious: she had to ask him to stay.
The question was if she was a good enough reason to keep him there. Whether or not it was a gamble, asking was the only way to find an answer. So she steeled herself while she changed into jeans and boots, pulled a thick wool turtleneck over a thermal undershirt, and took her coat from its peg on the rack beside her door.
Her father was right outside her room, rummaging through decorations and humming along with the Christmas music playing on the small radio in the kitchen.
“I need to run some pastries out to the ranch,” Felicity said, closing her door behind her. “Do you need me to pick up anything on the way home?”
“No.” Emmett looked up, pausing. A shadow of displeasure flitted over his features before he caught it, and Felicity squirmed as he inspected her outfit.
He leaned forward, taking another ornament from the box on the floor. “Staying out there a while?”
“A little bit.” She pretended she wasn’t bothered by his scrutiny, turning her attention to the tree. Over the course of the week they’d playfully warred over which ornaments should be on the fr
ont and which ones shouldn’t be present at all, but the lights at the top of the tree caught her eye and made her look twice. “You put on the star!”
He squinted up at the topper before moving one of her ornaments off the front, putting one he’d chosen there instead. “Well, it’s your tree, and it might be the last one we have for a while. I thought it might be nice to put your star on it. And remember your mother that way, too.”
Felicity covered her mouth with one hand, blinking back tears as she moved to her father’s side and wrapped him in a hug. “I think it’s perfect.”
Kissing her forehead, Emmett gave a weak laugh. “I thought you might approve. You go on, though. Don’t want to make you late for your delivery.”
She squeezed him tighter. “Thanks, Daddy.”
“Any time, buttercup.” He gave her a playful shove. “Now get going, I have to figure out how to fit some tinsel on here.”
“Just don’t get too attached to it,” she teased. “It might not be there tomorrow morning.”
She left before he could protest, hurrying through the kitchen to get the box of sweets for the cowboys. Grant had placed the order as a request for the next morning, but she doubted he’d mind having them delivered a bit early.
The cold wind greeted her the moment she opened the door, her teeth chattering by the time she climbed into the car. It had heat, but it took a while to warm up. She’d just stopped shivering when she parked in the rocky drive beside the McCullough house.
Two of the cowboys sat on the porch, one of them rising when she got out of the car.
“Evening, Miss Felicity,” Rico called before she could make him out. He strode down the porch stairs, silhouetted by the golden light.
“Hey. Is Grant here?” She glanced up. James raised his drink in greeting and she nodded back.
“Grant?” Rico laughed. “Not who I thought you were looking for.”
Felicity’s mouth fell open, working wordlessly a moment before she managed to close it. Her cheeks burned.
James laughed too. “He’s out in town with some friends. Why?”
