My blood turns to ice at first, but a few seconds later, when his words register completely, it begins boiling. I grab my keys and run past my team as they watch me, eyes wide, and climb into my car.
On the way to the Ghost House, I do something I’ve never done when I’m not on a call—I turn the siren on. When I reach the road toward the house through the woods, I turn it off. A couple of guys are working on the big logs outside, Landell and his truck are nowhere to be seen.
I square my shoulders and head toward the door. When I pass the window, I hear her voice.
“No, Mark. It’s huge. It won’t fit.”
“I know how to use it, Josie. Be quiet and hold still.”
A sudden ringing starts in my ears, and I rush inside.
“Mark, don’t push so hard!” Josie’s raised voice booms through the empty space.
“I know how to push, Josie! Stop telling me what to do!”
I locate the door, take a deep breath, and push it open.
And come to a stop.
Josie is on her knees…
… holding a long and large piece of carved wood in her hands, trying to hold it still perpendicular to the floor while Mark tries to push a round piece of wood the same color on top of it. Seems like they are trying to assemble a table or a stand or something.
“What happened?” she cries out when she sees my crazed eyes. “Are you okay?”
The damn bird chooses this particular moment to fly in and land on my shoulder, yelling the same mantra that sent me into this frenzy. “MARK GOOD. SO GOOD MARK. HARD MARK!”
Josie and Mark’s eyes both instantly widen. Then Mark lets out a loud chuckle, followed by an explosion of laughter. And I could join him and laugh off the situation if not for Josie’s slowly narrowing eyes. It’s like she’s zeroing in on the target. Me.
“You must be shitting me,” she hisses as she stands up, holding the same piece of wood that happens to be a table leg, apparently. “The little shit can talk?”
“He does.” I swallow. “Sometimes. Some stupid stuff,” I add quickly. “You know, like today. Like right now, you know. He’s just being stupid.”
“I. Don’t. Know,” she says through gritted teeth, slowly moving toward me with a table leg in her hand. “Did you think I was rolling in the hay here with Mark?”
“No, Josie. I mean, maybe.” I rub my eyes in frustration. “I don’t know. Okay? I don’t know where you stand and if you want to stay or not. I mean, we didn’t even discuss if we are exclusive or not. Are we? Exclusive?”
“I’m outta here.” Mark quickly slips past me, mumbling under his breath, “Idiot. We voted an idiot for a sheriff.”
I give him a side-eye, silently promising we will be finishing this conversation.
“I don’t know, Kenneth, because we never talk about feelings orstuff,” Josie declares loudly, creating quotation marks in the air.
“We do,” I contradict stubbornly, because wedotalk. All the time.
“We talk about anything but us.” She throws her hands in the air in frustration. “Since you declared that I’m moving in with you like a Neanderthal, we only talk about work and the nice people of Little Hope, but not a word aboutus.”
“Not true.”
“It is true, Kenneth. I mean, I haven’t even met your mom, you know. And that’s pretty difficult to do in a small town where she’s actually trying to meet me. Are you ashamed of me?” Her old insecurities peek through her tough facade as her voice breaks.
“Josie,” I sigh and walk toward her. “That’s not it. It’s actually the opposite.”
“Really? Because we only see each other at night. And every time your mom has dinner at her place, you find an excuse not to go just so you don’t take me with you. The last time I tried talking to you about New York, you shut me down because you clearly weren’t interested in my life before.”
I press the heels of my hands into my eye sockets, hard. Clearly trying to gorge them out. “I didn’t want to listen because in every freaking story, your dipshit ex, Dandy,” I change his name on purpose, “was playing a big damn role. When you talked about your work, the fucker was there too!” I nearly yell in frustration. “But that’s not the fuckin’ reason, Joz. I didn’t want to hear about your life in New York because your eyes shine so bright when you do. And I just know,I know, you were happier there than you’ll ever be here. And I know you’ll leave.”
She watches me, slowly blinking and looking completely dumbfounded as I continue.
