Her heart beat hard in her chest. Something was wrong with this forest.
“Damn woman can’t just leave him alone,” Arthur muttered.
Eva dug her nails into his side and looked up. From this angle, she could make out only the hard cut of Arthur’s jaw.
Something was wrong with him too.
Chapter 32
Arthur,
Before
Audrey was a petri dish for gossip.
The week before the Walker wedding, the whispers reached the shelves of the Honey Shoppe. I was in the back when a trio of girls I’d never met tucked themselves into a corner to sample our new ginger-infused honey. When they mentioned the Walkers, my ears perked up.
“Did you hear that Dane kicked Lenny out of their house?” the first asked, dipping her sample stick into the jar and swirling generously.
One of her companions gasped. “Really?”
“Long overdue, if you ask me,” the third snorted.
“But why?”
The first girl shrugged. “Something about the girl he was seeing, I guess.”
When the second girl dipped her actual finger into the honey jar, I decided I hated her a little.
The third member of their group flicked her friend’s wrist. “Seriously, Mai, were you born in a barn? Use a toothpick.” Thenher voice dropped lower, forcing me to strain to hear. “I heard Lenny’s not allowed at the wedding.”
I’d been running a rag over the inside of a newly washed honey jar for at least a minute. At her words, I quietly set it back on the shelf.
I should have been relieved. Instead, Lenny’s absence had made me nervous.
Where was he?
That had been nearly a week ago. Since then, Jack had somehow scrounged up a pair of slacks my size, to match his gift of shoes. As I waited for the girls to finish getting ready, I examined my reflection in the hallway mirror. It felt strange to be so dressed up, like a reptile molting its skin.
“I think you look good,”the monster said.
I wasn’t sure. The shirt hung a bit long, maybe? I ran my hands over the starched cotton.
“It suits you.”
I whirled and found Eva leaning against the wall. At the sight of her, my heart damn near stopped. She wore a sage-green dress that came in at the waist and swished around her ankles. Embroidered flowers decorated the edges and sleeves, making her appear like spring itself.
“What?” Eva touched the low dip of her neckline. “Too much?”
“No!” I stepped toward her. “You look incredible, Ev.”
Pink tinged her cheeks. “Thank you,” she said softly, then she turned. “Will you zip me up?”
Goose bumps pebbled her skin as I slid the zipper, lingering at the top to brush a knuckle over the curve of her spine. After, Eva led me to the bathroom and wet a comb, attempting to smooth my hair into place. “You need a tie?” she asked. “Dad’s got a whole drawer.”
When I shook my head, Eva opened the top button and brushed the skin of my throat with her fingertips. It was gentle, and intimate, and I warmed at the sudden feeling of belonging.
But when she left to fetch a water bottle, my thoughts moved to the folded paper in my pocket. I hadn’t called the number yet, but I couldn’t stifle the budding fear that my time here was draining away like sand down an hourglass, whether I liked it or not.
