He glances down at me, and for a single instance, I see an indescribable look cross his face. His mouth parting, his eyes softening, his entire body relaxing into me. But then he tenses.
He doesn’t speak as he shoulders his way back outside. He kicks the door shut behind us. Outside is colder than I expect and even though the sun is out, it isn’t long before my nose turns to ice. The snow is objectively beautiful on the ground, reflecting the sun’s hues, but there’s an edge to it.
It is somewhere it doesn’t belong.
Just like me.
“I’m sorry for being stuck here, I would leave if I could. And I wasn’t sent by the Rossis.” But I am concerned Vinny tracked my phone well-enough to figure out where I am.
Wren doesn’t respond as he continues our path up. He is careful in his steps, and looking out, I can see Luther and Pierce are already disappearing into the barn.
“Pierce owns a garage he works out of. Luther runs the farm. But I am a dad. That was, and always has been, my job. Just because Charles is an adult now, that hasn’t changed anything. I am worried that he won’t ever be able to return. And I miss him, Xenia. He is my best friend.” He pauses as he takes a few more careful steps. “Pierce’s family’s notoriety has kept the Rossis from coming after us, but it is only a matter of time before that isn’t enough.” Wren remains focused on our path as he speaks.
“And me being here complicates that.” Clarity strikes as I truly understand where Wren is coming from. That he isn’t exactly angry with me, just concerned about the consequences of me being found here.
“It establishes an excuse for the Rossis to choose violence. Whether you ended up here because of their family or not,” Wren explains. “Luther and Pierce are willing to take that risk. But my job has always been to be the voice of reason. Usually they listen.”
He squeezes me tighter to him as we slip just the tiniest fraction.
“You’re right. Vinny will come looking for me. I will leave as soon as the snow clears. You can drive me away yourself,” I say softly. “But I’m sorry, I can’t stay gone. I can talk to Vinny, though. He might listen to me. He…”
I consider how much I should tell Wren. If it will make him trust me more or less.
But apparently my tone is enough.
Wren freezes, he stares down at me, his eyes widened in horror. “Hewantsyou.”
“He does,” I confirm. It is the first time I have truly admitted out loud what I have known. “After his brother died, I met Vinny and he hasn’t left me alone ever since.”
There is a deep guttural noise that comes from Wren. A long and angry growl. “He can’t have you.”
I don’t think Wren meant to say that, because he immediately shakes his head.
He doesn’t speak again the rest of the trek to the barn, but I can tell that something has changed inside of him. It is in the way he holds me, checks on me, how he cradles me even tighter to his chest. As if he never wants to let me go.
But something has shifted within me too. And I can’t help but to worry about the danger I may soon bring to their door.
twenty
Xenia
I’m not sure what I expect, but it isn’t the sight before me. Luther holding a dried corn stalk and being watched intently by a clearly angry cow. She stares dead-panned at him, stomping her back foot.
Ruth.
I want to laugh, but I also don’t want to spook her.
The barn is larger inside than I realized, and there are over a dozen cows munching away inside. But even still, most have turned their heads to me; they watch with intense gazes. The ones closest to me run off to the far side of the space, but most remain stationary, choosing to chew away.
Ruth pays me no mind. She is intent on the corn and is slowly edging closer to it. Every time she does, Luther takes a single step, closer to an opened door.
Pierce moves to our side. “Here.” He puts plastic bags over my feet. “This will keep you mostly safe from the mess.”
With Wren’s help, they place me carefully onto the ground, my feet squelching below me as I stand on my own.
Pierce bends to my ear. “Ruth is pregnant. She was going to be sent out soon to deliver, but with the snow, we need to keep her as comfortable as possible until we can take her to the other farm. We aren’t equipped to handle that here. Luther is luring her into her own stall to settle in the interim.”
Nodding my head sagely as if I understand any better, I remain in place as Luther continues. After about the tenth step of him taking the corn stalk out of Ruth’s mouth, I think she might just stop, but she doesn’t. Continuing to follow him along, even as she stomps her annoyance.
