Page 4 of Hellhound AU

Everyone looked at me expectantly.

“Well, I was taking a leisurely stroll through the woods”—Ethel snorted—“and happened upon another guy walking in the woods. Big guy. Super tall and well-built. Red hair and hazel eyes. Anyway, it seemed there was a cabin nearby on fire.”

“Wait, does that mean Milo didn’t burn down the cabin and the other guy did?” Judy whispered loudly to Harold.

“Oh, does Milo have competition?” Rose asked.

“Well, I highly doubt this redheaded giant will be coming here to fix my shower drain, so I wouldn’t say he’s competition,” Beatrice replied.

“Sounds like you noticed how he looked, though, eh?” Harold commented.

Everyone stopped and looked at me. Shit. You donotwant a crew of old people with a lot of time on their hands trying to be matchmakers.

I held my hands up. “I’m sure he’s long gone. He wasn’t from around here. The main point is, the cabin is gone, and hopefully the psychopaths who lived there are gone, too.”

Everyone nodded in agreement, and then we got back to cookies and gossip. Before long, the cribbage board was pulled out. As much as I wanted to stay for a game, I knew I’d end up here until midnight. When you were retired and lived in a retirement home, apparently bedtime had no meaning whatsoever.

I took my leave of everyone, and Ethel walked me to the door. “Why don’t you stop in the diner and get some dinner, sweetie. I’m sure everyone there would be happy to see you.”

I stopped, hand on the door. “Is someone having issues there?” I asked.

Okay, so maybe I ended up fixing a few things for people who worked at the diner as well. I’d worked there for a short stretch, and I’d gotten really friendly with everyone. They were like family now, and I took care of family.

“I don’t think so. Beatrice’s niece just mentioned that she hadn’t seen you in awhile.”

I nodded my head, then I headed out. I was planning on driving home, but the house I had inherited from Aunt Anabelle was lonely without her there. My parents had passed away when I was young, and Aunt Anabelle had raised me. It was wonderful to still have the crew at the retirement home to take care of, but I still missed my aunt fiercely.

I pulled into a parking spot in front of the diner, got out, and headed inside. I sat down at the counter and chatted with the waitresses and the cook for a few minutes. It wasn’t long before Marcy headed in my direction, leaning over the counter. I could make out, beneath the make-up on her face, a bruise on her cheekbone. She had covered it well, but it was noticeable close up.

“Gurl, I’ll kill him for you,” I told her quietly.

Marcy shook her head, then nodded, then shook her head. She breathed out a sigh. “He’s the father of my child. He’s really great with our son, too. It’s just me that he can’t stand.”

“You have to leave him,” I told her. “It’s only getting worse.”

“This is what happened when I talked about us separating,” she said, motioning toward her face. “He also said he’d fight for full custody of Aaron, and that he could get plenty of people to say that I was an unfit mother.”

“That fucker. I’ll take care of it, Marcy. Don’t worry.”

She looked into my eyes, then she reached out and squeezed my hand. “I want my son to grow up with a father, but I don’t want him to grow up in a toxic home.”

I nodded my head. I got it. No killing Kevin—just doing something to make him leave her alone and be a reasonable human being. Yeah, that was going to be harder than killing him, but I’d try and figure something out.

Marcy went back to her tables. I was thinking about the problem when I noticed a redheaded giant walk into the diner out of the corner of my eye.

Rowan tried to be discreet in choosing a booth to sit at, but the man was simply huge, and there was no way for him to skulk about. Half the restaurant watched him, and I could tell the poor guy was feeling a little self-conscious. He took his phone out right away and buried his head in it, like that would make him less noticeable.

I headed over and sat across the booth from him, pulling out a menu. “The tuna salad wraps are amazing. The caesar salad ones are great, too. I can never decide between them.”

He looked up at me, surprised. “Why are you sitting here?”

“Well, I’m hungry, and I thought I’d order something. You apparently had the same idea.” I smiled at him.

“We don’t know each other.”

I chuckled. He was funny. “Of course we do.”

“We met like an hour ago,” he answered.