Page 32 of You Shouldn't Have Come Here

“We don’t need all this stuff,” I said as Calvin placed an ice pack and a bottle of Tylenol in the cart. So far, we had ice cream and chocolate because he said that makes everything better, flowers to brighten up my mood, chicken noodle soup—“for my soul” as he put it—and lotion for the massage the doc ordered.

“But we do.” He smiled, putting a stuffed teddy bear in the cart. “I told ya. I’m going to take real good care of you.”

“What do I need a teddy bear for?” I held it up and gave him a crooked smile. It was soft with a big belly and a tan chest patch.

“For your comfort.” He snatched it from me and set it in the cart’s child seat.

Up at the register, he tossed a couple packs of beef jerky on the counter. “That’s for me,” Calvin said, flashing a toothy grin.

The cashier rang everything up, and Calvin didn’t hesitate to pay for it all, which I thought was odd. He told me earlier the ranch was barely staying afloat. But he’d covered the doctor’s visit and all this without blinking an eye. Either he was bad with money or he had more of it than he was letting on. Calvin grabbed the bags and pulled the teddy bear from one of them, handing it to me.

“The comfort starts now,” he said.

I smiled, held it against my chest, and followed him out of the store.

In the parking lot, I spotted Charlotte dressed in a Dubois Super Foods polo with her head down, focused on her phone.

“Hey, Char,” Calvin called out.

Charlotte looked up, and her face instantly brightened. When she saw me, it dimmed a little, but she forced a smile—so I did too.

“What brings you two here?” Charlotte stopped right in front of us.

I didn’t have the energy to respond. My brain felt like it had been put in a blender, and my back was killing me. I couldn’t wait to lie down.

“Just getting some things for Grace. She got bucked off Gretchen pretty hard.”

I squeezed the teddy bear a little tighter.

“Oh my. Are you all right?” She looked concerned, but it also seemed like she was putting on an act, forcing herself to be nice to me. It was her tone that gave it away, almost like a customer service voice reserved for a rude shopper.

“Yeah. Just headachy and sore,” I said.

“That’s so odd and not like Gretchen at all. She’s so calm.”

I wasn’t sure what she was insinuating. That it was me who caused Gretchen to buck?

“She is.” Calvin nodded. “But we were down by the river, and I’m thinking an animal or something spooked her.”

“Well, sorry that happened.” Charlotte briefly glanced at me. Her eyes were tight and her brow was furrowed. She relaxed her face, returning her focus to Calvin. “I’ve got work, so I better get going. But I’ll see you Saturday.” Her hand grazed his arm as she walked past him.

“See ya, Char.”

“Saturday?” I looked up at Calvin.

“Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. Actually, I forgot about it myself. Char planned aget-togetherwith my friends and family for my birthday. You’ll join us, right?” He said it in such a casual way, but his eyes widened while he waited for my answer.

I really wasn’t interested in meeting Calvin’s friends and family. It felt like something a girlfriend would do, and I was just his houseguest. But with how he was looking at me, I knew I couldn’t say no.

“I wouldn’t miss it.” I smiled.

“Perfect. Let’s get you home.” He grinned and led me across the parking lot.

Home? It wasn’t a home to me. It was a house, a dwelling, a building with four walls and a roof. There was a difference between a house and a home—but Calvin had already decided what it was for me.

My eyes sprung open, and for a moment, I forgot where I was and who I was. I blinked several times, my surroundings slowly coming into view. On the walls of the living room, the dead animals loomed over me. Their carcasses and black beady eyes stared directly at me as though they were taunting me. I must have fallen asleep after we got back.

“Calvin,” I called out.

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