“Wade Hollis owned most of that land,” he said. “People came and went out there. More than most folks knew about.”
A pause.
“I figured maybe he knew more than he said.”
Luke watched him.
“You ever talk to him about it?”
Sam shook his head. “Didn’t matter. Nobody was interested in digging any deeper.”
Another beat.
“I was,” he added. “Didn’t change anything.”
Luke nodded once.
“You ever hear from her? After?”
“No.”
The answer came quick.
Final.
Sam pushed off the fence.
“Look,” he said, nodding back toward the building, “I’ve got trucks lined up waiting on feed. Can’t stand out here all afternoon going back through it.”
Luke straightened. “I understand. I appreciate you talking to me.”
Sam hesitated.
Just a second.
Then he said, quiet but certain?—
“She didn’t walk.”
He didn’t wait for a response.
He turned and headed back toward the barn, shoulders squared like he had work to get back to.
Luke stood there a moment longer, looking out over the pasture.
It felt like it belonged to a man who’d been waiting.
* * *
City Limits Café — Midmorning
Rain drifted softly across Main Street, turning the sidewalks slick beneath the gray spring sky.
Inside City Limits, Willow topped off coffee cups while the late breakfast crowd lingered over biscuits and local gossip.
Marylou sat near the front window with Ned Parker from Moonshine Creek RV Park, both of them watching Sam Talley through the glass as he crossed the street from the feed store, shoulders squared beneath the brim of his hat.
“Heard Luke Hale was out talking to him this morning,” Ned murmured quietly.
