Mia followed his gaze. The explanation didn’t settle her nerves completely. Something about the placement still felt off.
Caleb nudged her shoulder lightly. “You’re safe,” he said with a small smile. “Like I said, if anything else happens, big or small, call me.”
“Okay.”
He nodded and whistled for Ranger. “The guys will be here soon. I need to get some things started.”
“I understand.” Mia watched him drive over to the new barn. She stood alone in the yard. Maybe it was wildlife. Maybe she was overworked and tired.
But the feeling that it was meant to be found, something to warn her, didn’t go away. And she couldn’t quite shake the thought that it wasn’t accidental.
Caleb parkedbeside the stack of lumber and killed the engine. Ranger hopped out and circled once before settling under the shade of the truck. Caleb rubbed a hand over his jaw and tried to shake off the unsettled feeling.
It was probably wildlife. He’d seen stranger things dragged into yards this time of year. Still, the way Mia looked stuck with him more than the rabbit itself. She wasn’t the type to spook easily. A long night, that was all. Maybe she’d scare herself worse by finding it alone in the dark.
He popped the tailgate and grabbed his tool belt. The guys would be here soon, and hopefully Roy would too. The man kept bankers’ hours, and while that was fine for odd handyman jobs, building a barn required common sense. You started early while the air was cool and finished before it got too hot midafternoon.
On top of that, Roy didn’t like him. Hadn’t from the time they met. Half the time he mixed up measurements or grabbed the wrong nails and then got offended when Caleb corrected him.
Caleb didn’t take it personally. Some men just didn’t want to be told what to do. Still, he told Mr. Whitmore that Roy could work on the barn and he would.
He unfolded the plans and went over the work they had ahead of them today. Sheathing today. Interior framing. Maybe getting the window headers in if everyone stayed focused. Bigday. Plenty to do and not enough hands. And one set that fought him just a little.
His gaze drifted toward the old barn. Mia was already inside working, probably trying to pretend last night hadn’t rattled her. He hated that she’d been scared, but a dead rabbit didn’t automatically mean trouble.
It wasn’t unusual for animals to leave surprises in places that made zero sense. No sense in jumping to conclusions or worrying her more. If anything showed up, he’d deal with it. Until then, they had a job to finish.
Ranger trotted over and nudged his leg.
“Yeah, bud,” Caleb said, reaching down to scratch his ears. “Let’s get to work.”
As he walked toward the skeleton of the new barn, he focused on the morning’s work. But somewhere in the back of his mind, the image of that rabbit at Mia’s door refused to fade entirely.
He just hoped that it was nothing more than a fox with poor manners and not something that would send Roy into another fit.
And then, under all of that…
He hoped Mia wasn’t in the middle of something she hadn’t told him about.
CHAPTER 18
Saturday morning rolled around way too early.Mia shot upright when the alarm went off, her heart thudding. Damn. Her first thought wasn’t coffee or the market. It was whether today would cooperate at all.
She had only a short time to shower and dress, load the van and get to the farmers’ market. Sarah would already be setting up and waiting. Mia crossed her fingers that Roy had remembered to put the coolers back in the van like he’d promised. She’d been baking until way into the night and only stopped to catch a few winks. Now she was scrambling to finish last-minute items she should have done yesterday if sleep weren’t a thing she occasionally needed. She kept telling herself it would be fine.
After a quick breakfast of coffee, she kissed her dad on the forehead and sprinted out to the barn. The trays of cinnamon pear muffins and maple-bacon scones were cooling on the counter, and the whole place smelled warm and cozy like baked sugar and browned butter. She slid everything onto sheet pans and hurried to the van.
She yanked open the back doors.
No coolers.
Mia closed her eyes and let her head fall forward. Frustration shot through her chest. “Roy,” she whispered. What the hell happened? He’d promised he’d rinse them out and load them before he left yesterday. If he wasn’t able to do the job, he should have told her. Now she had to stop and scrub them herself, pack ice and pray nothing spoiled.
She checked her watch. Great. Half an hour gone already. And the morning hadn’t even started.
She called Sarah on her way back to the barn. “Hey, I’m running behind. Like … painfully behind.”
Sarah sounded instantly alert. “What happened? You okay?”
