Page 12 of Look at Her and Die

We’d thought that Elisha had left, but she hadn’t exactly left as much as moved locations.

She’d been back at my place when we’d arrived there after lunch.

I’d told her to leave, and she promised she would, if only I’d meet up with her and talk to ‘figure this out.’

I’d agreed, because at this point, all the text messaging that we were doing obviously wasn’t working.

There were only so many times that I could text ‘it’s over’ without thinking maybe she couldn’t read. Saying it in person was likely the best way to go about it.

I had to run into town and pick my dog up from the vet, anyway.

Today was his monthly grooming day.

Funny enough, I hadn’t intended to ever have a dog that required monthly grooming appointments. But I also hadn’t expected to inherit a dog, a little sister, and a falling down around my ears farm, either.

Yet, there I was.

And, since I was in town, I would plan on heading to the diner again for dinner, hoping to get a glance at the woman that I couldn’t get out of my head.

Her abrupt departure had annoyed the hell out of me.

I’d wanted more of her.

Plus, if I met Elisha at the diner, it would ensure that she wouldn’t hang around long.

She would probably take a head to toe bath after being up close and personal with the food inside the place.

“No problem,” I said. “Come over any time to help, and I’ll always feed you.”

Cutter’s face got serious then, and his eyes held mine as he pulled me into his chest and said, “You know, you’re not alone here. We’re always there to help, no matter what you need.”

I smiled and slapped him hard on the back before he pulled away.

Hagrid walked past, gave me a fist bump, and said, “Kinda sad I didn’t get to see that crazy nut today.”

“The bull or my sister?” I laughed.

Hagrid’s eyes sparkled as he returned, “The bull. But your sister’s a crazy nut, too, now that I think about it. We’ll see her at her graduation this weekend, though.”

I gave him a chin jerk and watched them leave before I turned around and surveyed the ol’ place.

The fence behind my back and to the right of where I was standing was the only thing about the entire area that looked solid.

The house’s sagging front porch made my stomach clench—yet another dangerous thing I needed to fix. But, at least after today, the barn doors would hold the animals that I wanted to stay in, in.

A loud moo from my side had me turning to look at my sister’s bottle-fed cow she’d raised for show last year.

She’d won first place at the state show, and had sold the heifer for thousands and thousands of dollars that would go toward her education. Then the motherfucker had given her back. Though, that wasn’t super unusual. A lot of the people that bought at the FFA livestock auctions gave the animal back.

And Scottie had been super fucking excited to get to take her back home.

Ol’ Trixie would live the rest of her years here, on the farm she was raised on, giving us healthy, show-worthy babies and begging for sugar cubes every chance she got.

“I don’t have any today,” I said as I headed toward my old truck.

I didn’t use the truck often in the summer months, preferring to ride my bike.

However, there was no fuckin’ way on God’s green Earth that I was going to put that monster on my bike.

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