Her jeans were dirt-streaked and clinging to her in all the right ways, and when she shifted her weight to push herself up, my brain short-circuited. Her ass in those jeans was a fucking sin I wanted to commit.Her shovel scraped against the edge of the hole, and I should’ve said something—anything—but all I could do was watch her crawl out and try to get the severed arm back from her dog.
When I’d first seen her, I’d panicked, thinking she was a cop snooping on my property, but I’d quickly realized that this clumsy woman and her dog weren’t with the police. And then, when I’d noted the stuffed rug, it had all clicked and I’d just kept my distance and watched it all play out.
She looked pissed, beautiful, and a little dangerous—like trouble. And God help me, I’d never wanted trouble more, but it didn’t change the fact that she was digging up the body I’d buried. Well, pieces of it.
A grin curved my lips. If I walked out, I was sure she would run, so I didn’t overthink, just reacted. I quickly sprinted toward her and tossed her over my shoulder. I’d take care of both bodies, and then we could have a chat and talk things out like two adults.
Fuck, that hadn’t gone as planned. My head was pounding in tandem with my ass cheek. Fucking woman.
Chapter 4
Logan
Iclicked away at my keyboard, lining up vendors for the Henderson wedding. The bride wanted peonies in December. Peonies. I'd make it happen—I always did. That was how I afforded the luxury of working from home in my pajama pants and fuzzy slippers.
But flowers faded to the back of my mind. That stupid scuffle with that guy at the Christmas tree farm wouldn't leave me alone. I leaned back in my chair and chewed on the end of a pen. Who was he, and why had he grabbed me rather than calling the cops the moment he’d seen me burying a body on his property? Also, cops hadn’t come to my door yet. The only thing I could come up with was that he knew about that severed arm. Hell, he might’ve been the one who put it there. What if I’d killed him when I’d hit him over the head? After I’d gotten home last night, I’d been able to wrangle myself out of the cuff and burn the bedpost, so at least the murder weapon was gone if I had killed him.
I opened a new tab on my computer. My fingers moved across the keys: “Christmas tree farm” followed by the county name: Avric. Top result, Evergreen Haven Christmas Tree Farm. I clicked it and the page loaded, showing a picture of a man standing among rows of trees. Strong jaw, furrowed brow, a hint of a smirk. Lachlan MacGregor. That was my guy. Thirty-two, owner of an expansive stretch of land that included the decrepit farm and the woods where I’d had my little adventure.Whoops.
I was new to town and the place had seemed deserted. And hey, you didn’t do much research when you were in a lurch trying to get rid of a body. You just reacted. I should’ve known better.
I clicked away from the article, closing my laptop. The room felt too small all of a sudden. I needed air. But most of all, I really wanted answers. I doubted I’d get them, and I had no desire to go back and ask questions, so I had to just move on with my life. I’d gotten a fresh start, and I should be taking advantage of it. Tony nudged the office door open with his nose and rushed over with his tail wagging, desperate for my attention, and I gave him snuggles.
A sharp knock at the door caught my attention. I knew what that meant. I hesitated before standing up and peeking out of the office window to see two official-looking people on my porch.
Fuck my life.
The knock came again. I padded to the door, fingers trembling as they worked the locks.
“Good afternoon, ma’am.” Two officers stood in front of me, their badges glinting. My heart dropped like a stone. I guessed he had called them after all.
"Hello, officers. How can I help you?" I kept my voice steady, betraying none of the panic that gnawed at my insides.
"I’m officer Miller, this is my partner, officer Martinez. Mind if we ask you a few questions about your husband?" The taller one,officer Miller, had a voice like gravel, his eyes seeming to scan my house behind me.
“Ex-husband.But sure, go ahead,” I said. Maybe the caveman hadn’t called after all.
“When was the last time you saw him?” Martinez asked.
“Last weekend, why?”
“Have you heard from him since?” Miller added.
“No.”
“You don’t find it odd that you haven’t heard anything from him?” Martinez eyed me.
“I could barely get the man to communicate while we were married, so no, officer. I don’t find it odd for him to ghost. It’s pretty normal for him actually. Again, why does this matter? We’ve been divorced for over six months now, and we were separated long before then.”
“Your husband is missing, and we’re trying to get to the bottom of it. You were the last one to see him since he didn’t show up to work on Monday. You also recently moved into a new house away from the town you guys lived in together. Are you running from something?” Martinez asked while the other was leaning to the side to look inside my house, which still had a few unpacked boxes lying around. Moving was a bitch so I hadn’t gotten around to unpacking everything yet. And then his eyes seemed to snag on my dirty boots by the door.
“You take up hiking? A lot of woods around here.” I knew exactly what Miller was doing: trying to get a reaction out of me. I wouldn’t give them anything.
“No, I was out on the farm with my boyfriend, Lachlan. We’ve been together for a while. I moved out here to be closer to him, so I’d appreciate it if you left my house now and stopped making assumptions about me.” The lies slipped off my tongue so easily.
The officers exchanged a look. The shorter one scribbled something in his notebook, the scratch of pen on paper louderthan my beating heart. They left soon after, offering polite goodbyes and a promise to be in touch soon.
I shut the door, leaning against it, breath whooshing out of me in relief but also terror because I would have to go back out to the farm and face the caveman again.
