I stiffened my spine. “I’d like you to leave now. Unless you have a warrant, that is.”
A muscle along Hayes’ jaw ticked. “Think about what I said. You won’t receive a warm welcome here.”
I watched as he retraced his steps and climbed into his SUV. I had known I wouldn’t receive any warmth from this town. Yet, somehow, I’d hoped. That I could atone for something that wasn’t even mine. That I could make things right. Find a home again in the mountains that had always soothed me when life was roughest. Maybe even find peace after all of these years. But I’d been na?ve in my hope. And Hayes Easton wasn’t going to let me forget it.
4
Hayes
I brought my SUV to a stop outside my parents’ ranch house. Turning off the engine, I simply sat there, staring at the place that had always been home. The immaculately painted white siding, and rough, exposed wood beams. It had been in my mother’s family for generations. And you could feel the history as you walked from room to room.
It held so many of my happiest memories. Christmas mornings. Looking out my window to the first snow of each season. Epic games of hide and seek with my siblings. The time my dad had brought home a new puppy.
But it held pain, too. My mother in hysterics as the sheriff promised to do everything in his power to find Shiloh. Seeing my dad breaking down on his way to the barn, unable to hold it together and feeling the need to hide that from my family. Shiloh’s screams as she woke from a nightmare.
Koda stuck his head between the two front seats, pressing into my arm as if he could sense the progression of my thoughts. I scratched between his ears. The German shepherd had failed out of the K-9 program for being too friendly, but he was the perfect companion to come home to every night.
“What do you say we go in and find ourselves some dinner?”
Koda gave a half-whine, half-bark. I chuckled and gave him another rub. “Okay.”
Climbing out of the truck, I opened the door to the cab, and Koda took a flying leap. He went straight for the front door and then looked back at me as if to say, “Hurry up, would you?” I shook my head and trudged up the porch steps.
My feet might as well have been dragging. All afternoon, I’d thought about how to tell my parents and Shiloh what I’d learned. I still hadn’t found the right words.
Just as my foot hit the top step, the front door opened. Koda did a happy leap as my mom appeared. She grinned at the dog and bent to give him a good rubdown. “Well, isn’t this a pleasant surprise? I didn’t think I would lay eyes on you until this weekend.”
I crossed the space and pulled her in for a hug. My mom’s small form was deceiving. She was petite but could rope cattle with the best of them. She could run a fence line and soothe a skittish colt. I pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I hope you don’t mind me showing up without warning.”
“You know I don’t. I’m happiest when all my chicks are home.” She pulled back and surveyed my face. “Come inside and tell me what’s got those worry lines popping up on your forehead.”
I should’ve known I couldn’t hide anything from her for long. “Are Dad and Shy here?”
Mom held open the door for Koda and me. “They’re on the back deck grilling the chicken. This serious?”
I nodded and wove through the open ranch house. A large living and dining area spilled into a kitchen that would make any chef jealous. And the entire back wall was dotted with massive windows, making it feel as if the house were open to the fields behind it. Cows and horses grazed on land that went on for miles. Property that ran right up to the mountains.
It had been more than a little disturbing that we could almost see the shed where Shiloh had been held for five nights. The mountain seemed to taunt us, even now. But the range was still beautiful—that beauty was simply haunted.
I opened one of the French doors, and Koda bounded over to Shiloh. She sat on the end of a lounge chair, and Koda put his paws on her shoulders. She’d always loved animals, but after her kidnapping, she’d started to spend more time with them than anyone else. Koda licked the side of her face, and Shiloh laughed.
There wasn’t a better sound than my sister laughing, a confirmation that she was happy and safe. And now I had to ruin it.
My dad’s hand clamped down on my shoulder in greeting. “What’re you doing out here? I thought you were on duty tonight.”
“I switched my shift to tomorrow.”
Mom joined us on the back deck. “Hayes has something to tell us, and it’s serious.”
Dad’s gaze turned assessing. “What’s going on?”
I shot a sidelong look at Shiloh, who picked up on it immediately, her spine stiffening. She’d developed this built-in radar for people looking at her or whispering, an ability finely honed over years of living in a small town where she was the biggest story to gossip about. My jaw worked back and forth as anger heated in me again. “Everly Kemper is back. She’s living at their old property.”
My mom froze, her gaze drifting to the Kemper property up on the mountain. “I didn’t think she’d ever come back.”
“Neither did I.” The words came through clenched teeth, and Mom’s gaze drifted back to me.
“There could be a lot worse news.”
I glanced at Shiloh, who seemed lost in a world of her making, imagination or memory taking over. “This is pretty damn bad in my book,” I hissed at my mom, inclining my head towards Shiloh.
My sister startled from her haze and sent me a death glare. But as usual, she didn’t say a word, simply took off for the barn, my dog following in her wake. I muttered a curse. “That was what I was worried about.”
My mom rubbed my back like she’d done when I was a little boy. “Nothing about the path Shy has had to walk has been easy. The gossip mill is bound to kick up, and that pisses me right off. But since you’ve given her a heads-up, Shiloh will steer clear of town for a bit.”
“She shouldn’t have to,” I gritted out.
“You’re right, she shouldn’t. But life isn’t fair. It certainly hasn’t been for Everly Kemper.”
I bit back the words that wanted to escape. Dad watched as Shiloh disappeared into the barn. “I can’t imagine how scared that little girl must have been. Only eleven. Riding down that mountain in the dark to do the right thing. And her whole family turned on her.”
I tried to push the image out of my mind. I didn’t want to see Everly as a little girl, scared and alone. I didn’t want to think about her or her family at all.
My mom took hold of my arm, giving it a squeeze. “How’d you hear about this, anyway?”
“Calder heard that someone had bought the place, but I guess he was wrong. I went up there to introduce myself, and there she was.”
She gripped my biceps harder. “Hayes Easton, please tell me you were warm and welcoming to that girl.”