Page 20 of Ruined
I smacked my leg twice, “C’mon girl, we’re going back.” Blue, who’d been chasing after birds, came running toward me, tongue lolling. “Wanna race, Blue?” Lifting her forelegs, she jumped and barked loudly, her tail wagging a mile a minute. “I guess that’s a yes.”
I took off running toward the cabin, Blue on my heels. She never surpassed me; instead, she chose to trot by my side. It made me wonder whether dogs really had that sixth sense most people thought they had. Could it be that she was staying close because she knew I was scared?
As the cabin came into view, I slowed my pace. There were three trucks parked outside that hadn’t been there when Blue and I’d left a while ago. I wracked my brain, but I couldn’t remember Kenzie mentioning anything about visitors coming.
Looking down, I took in my tights and t-shirt. Yeah, I was not visitor ready at all. My hair was piled on top of my head in a messy knot, and it wasn’t those kinds of buns that looked cute either. The only thing on my face was the moisturizer I’d treated it with this morning.
My heart almost jumped out of my chest when we rounded the cabin and walked straight into a Rottweiler. On instinct, I took a step backward. The dog saw this as an invitation to jump. The moment its paws hit my chest, I went down. Flat on my back on the ground, I barely had time to cover my face before the dog was hovering over me. Instead of mauling me like I thought it would, the pooch decided to attack me with doggy kisses.
“Dozer, no!” The dog immediately stopped its onslaught, backing away slowly. “Sorry about that, he’s a bit overzealous.” A shadow fell over me, after blinking a few times, a man’s face came into view. Most of his face was hidden by his thick beard, but his eyes looked kind and familiar. He extended his colorful arm, I gladly accepted the help.
I got a better look at the guy once I was on my feet again. Taking in the beard, the tats and the size of him, I knew it was Logan. By the way I was having trouble placing these people, you’d think I’d never met them before. In my defense, I only had eyes for one man when I’d been here six months ago.
That feeling that I was being watched crawled over my skin again, and when I looked in the direction of the cabin, three sets of eyes were trained on me. Only one of those made my heart stutter.
“You okay?”
Turning my gaze back to Logan, I nodded. “Yeah, I’m good, thanks.” Feeling a bit self-conscious, I started smacking the dirt from my butt and legs.
“You got a little something there,” Logan pointed to my hair, then shook his head. “Let me get it.” He reached forward and pulled a twig from my tresses. I didn’t know why, but my eyes darted to Eli. With his jaw set and lips pulled into a thin line, he did not look happy. After our little interaction at the diner the other morning, I figured I had to be the reason behind his displeasure.
The screen door opened; Harper, Kenzie, and Lizzy appeared, drinks in hand. Their conversation stopped mid-sentence as they took in the three men staring at me and Logan from the deck.
“What did we miss?” Lizzy asked cheerfully while handing a drink to the only Jackson brother I hadn’t officially run into yet.
“I thought you said you’ve been training Dozer,” Brett grinned at Harper. “Judging by the way he plowed over Zoe, you might want to rethink your methods.”
“I can only concentrate on training one dog at a time, Logan is a handful.”
Logan chuckled, “I heard that, sugar. Besides, you like it when my hands are—”
“Okay, we don’t need to know all your dirty secrets,” the other Jackson brother piped up. From the bits of conversation I’d caught at the bridal shop yesterday, I knew his name was Chase. I followed Logan onto the deck, not missing the way Eli was glaring at me.
Kenzie scooted closer to Brett and patted the empty space beside her. I’d much rather go inside and hide out in their guestroom until these guys left, I knew that wasn’t an option, so I parked my butt next to Kenzie.
I listened as they exchanged views on totally random things and at times I even found myself smiling. Apparently, they got together like this every Sunday. My heart hurt a little, I couldn’t remember the last time my family had sat together like this.
As much as I wanted to relax and enjoy the friendly chattering, it was impossible to do with Eli’s eyes on me the entire time. He only spoke when spoken to and even then, I remained the focus of his scrutinizing gaze. It was more than a little disconcerting.
I’d taken as much as I could. After excusing myself, I headed inside and stopped short when I saw two little people occupying the living room. I immediately recognized the girl sitting by the coffee table, it looked like she was drawing. There was a superhero movie playing on the TV, a little boy with winter-white hair completely engrossed in the images on screen.
I wasn’t sure what to do. That decision was made for me when the girl lifted her dark head and beamed at me. Something about her simply drew me in and before I knew it, I was crouched down beside her. “Hi,” I said. “I’m Zoe.”
As her smile widened, her big, blue eyes brightened. “I’m Molly and that’s Flynn.” She pointed her pencil in the direction of the little boy who had yet to notice my presence.
Leaning my arm on the table, I asked, “What are you drawing there?”
Her forehead creased. “My daddy took me to see paintings today. I saw the prettiest butterfly, but I can’t draw one myself.”
“Well, Miss Molly, it just so happens that drawing is my specialty. Would you like me to show you?”
I didn’t think the kid’s face could light up more, I was wrong. Her head bobbed up and down in quick successions. “Yes, please.”
With her permission, I took two blank pages and her black marker. Her face was the picture of concentration as she focused on every line and swirl I drew. When the two pages each had a butterfly on them, I handed her one. “How ‘bout we color these?”
Molly’s smile went from ear to ear, I found myself grinning back at her. She moved her pencils to the middle of the table and together we colored our butterflies. “Where did you learn to draw like that?” she asked.
“Lots and lots of practice.”
She lifted her pencil and side-eyed me. “Can you teach me?”
“Baby, what did I tell you about putting people on the spot?” My grip on the pencil tightened as Eli’s voice rolled over my skin.
The little girl next to me lowered her gaze and, with a sigh, she mumbled, “Not to do it.” I caught a glimpse of her eyes through her lashes. “I’m sorry, Miss Zoe.”
Carefully, I placed the pencil I was using with the others. I covered her little hand with mine and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “It was so nice meeting you, Molly.” Completely aware of Eli’s gaze on me, I pushed to my feet and strolled to my room as calmly as possible.
Once the door was closed, I fell back against it, slowly sliding down the wood until my butt hit the floor. I pressed my palm against my racing heart, wondering why the hell the thing always seemed a bit out of whack whenever Sheriff Jackson was around.
