Page 12 of Everyone Loved Her
“None taken.” Jasper, a blonde-headed kid in his early twenties, grinned beneath his hat. “I was raised by my daddy for a reason. He didn’t want me to get no part of my mama’s craziness. Ty gotallof it, ‘cause his dad split when he was a baby.”
“Let’s call it night,” Blaze cut in on the conversation. “I’m not in the mood for small town drama.”
“Well, I’ll tell ya some small town drama,” Colton chimed, clearly not having heard Blaze right. “I heard someone say that Garrett Myers?—”
“Nope,” Blaze stopped him. “I don’t care to hear another story. I’m callin’ it a night. You boys need to get on home before the bar lets out.”
“Alright,Dad,” Colton quipped. “You want me to text you when I make it home, too?”
“Just get out of here,” Blaze snapped. “I’ll see you both tomorrow evening.” He hopped off the railing and grabbed the reins of both horses. “I’ll put these two up for the night.”
“Look at you,” Jasper chuckled, sarcasm heavy in his voice. “You never extend such a kind offer.”
“You better get moving before I change my mind,” he shot back at the kid. “Or maybe I’ll just call Ty to come and get you.”
“Nope, no thanks.” Jasper hopped off the gelding, shaking his head. “Ain’t none of us want to get mixed up with him—and he’s a cop hater, you know.”
“Everyone is,” Blaze snorted, giving the guys a nod as he headed back toward the barn. He slid the door open, listening to the sound of Colton and Jasper’s laughs filling the silence of the night. They were good kids, but just like he was at that age, they were too mouthy and too eager for trouble some nights.
Which is why they’re better off spending their nights here. If I’d had a place to go at their age, maybe things would’ve been different for me.The thought was fleeting, and at thirty-two, he didn’t spend much time thinking about his young adult life.
Orher.
No, that was a lie. He thought about her all the time.
Every day.
He tugged his hat down as he led the horses in, the ache of loss returning, just like it had for the last twelve years. Someday, it was all going to come together, though.Someday, he’d get his justice for all the hell he’d gone through.
Someday, I’ll get rid of this dang ghost.
The sound of Colton and Jasper’s trucks firing up broke his thoughts, and he grimaced at the loud exhaust, hoping that it wouldn’t wake up either of the ladies inside the house. Hepeered out the open barn door to the old white farmhouse, but all the lights were off and the porch empty, from what he could tell anyway.
He finished putting away tack, brushing down the horses, and gave the two a couple of alfalfa flakes once in their stalls. They’d be let out to graze the following morning. There’d been quite a bit of rain, and the unseasonably warm temperatures kept the grass coming. It was good for the horses, bad for the wasps.
Blaze shut off the lights of the twenty-stall horse barn, and rolled the door closed, ignoring the resurgence of grief. The only light left was the one coming from the stairwell to his apartment, and it had never felt more appealing than it did right then. He thudded up the steps, an eerie chill in the air giving him pause—but only for a second. He shook it off, having grown used to the strange gut feelings and instinctual cues that something wasn’t quite right.
Seems like everything in this town isn’t quite right.
The vibration of his phone caught him off guard as he unlocked his apartment door and swung it open. He pulled it free from his jeans’ pocket, his heart dropping in his chest.
“What’s up?” he answered immediately. “You’re not on call tonight. Figured you’d be babysitting.”
“I know, I know,” Dylan Meyers answered him. “But uh, this ain’t good. Dad called me about twenty minutes ago. Said he was stuck on some paperwork back at the office and had a complaint of some gunshots out by Hollow Creek Bridge.”
Blaze frowned, the area just a couple miles from him. “I didn’t hear anything.”
“No? Well,” Dylan’s voice came more rushed. “Ifigured it’d be a waste of time, and Dad just wanted me to get away from the dang bar—you know how he feels about that… But I got here about five minutes ago… And…”
“And what?”
“I found a body down here.”
Chapter 7
“So didyou have a nice time last night?” Mom asked me as I sat down in the rocking chair opposite her. “I didn’t hear you come in.”
I shrugged, taking a sip of the hot coffee, which was refreshing given the chill in the air. “I’m surprised you didn’t. I mean, I tried to be quiet, but the truck is loud enough to wake the whole county. Plus, Blaze and some guys were working horses.”