One
Poppy
Igrunted as I slammedthe shovel into the ground, trying to break through the dirt as a bead of sweat dotted my brow.I looked around to make sure the woods were still as quiet as they were when I dragged the body out here a while ago.It was supposed to be quick and easy—dig a hole big enough to dump his wretched body into, visit my cousin so I had an alibi for being in Silver Falls, and then get the hell out of town.I somehow didn’t account for the ground being frozen with a nice layer of snow and ice covering most of it, or how fatigued my body would be after dragging his lifeless body out of the house and shoving him into the car.I was relying on caffeine and adrenaline to keep me going.
I took a deep breath and lifted the shovel again, stopping when I heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps.Panic seized me as my eyes darted around the forest, trying to pinpoint the direction they were coming from.I didn’t have time to run without being caught, and I sure as hell didn’t have the luxury of just abandoning the body and pretending I was never there.My footsteps alone would be a good indication that someone was here and that the asshole didn’t just come out into the middle of the woods to die the brutal death he had been dealt.
My hands trembled as I tried to focus enough to figure out what to do.The footsteps got louder, and I looked up just in time to lock eyes with the one person I never thought I would see again.
“Poppy?”Patrick asked, stopping a good foot away from me as he took the earbud out of his ear and looked at me.“What are you doing out—”
His words stopped abruptly as he looked from me to the shovel in my hand to the dead body on the ground in front of me.
Fuck.
Two
Patrick
Istepped closer, gettinga better look at the man who was hardly recognizable due to the bruising on his face.I lifted my eyes and looked at Poppy, since she was my main concern at the moment.
“What the fuck is going on?”I asked, staring at her as she squirmed beneath my gaze.
“It’s not what it looks like,” she said, her cheeks flushing red with heat despite the cold air around us.
“Really?Because it looks like you’re standing over a dead body and trying to dig up frozen dirt to bury it.”
“Okay,” she replied softly as she rocked back on her heels.“It’s exactly what it looks like.”
I shook my head, trying to clear the fog that threatened to take over.I hadn’t seen Poppy in at least ten years, maybe longer.She was never close with her family and didn’t come around often.I had met her a few times when Gage’s family had their reunion at the inn, but she always stayed to herself and was quick to leave as soon as she could.
“Does Gage know you’re in town?”I asked, folding my arms over my chest.
She shook her head and looked away.
“Were you planning on telling him?”
