Page 64 of Craving Silence

“I’ve been busy with the house.”

“Been wondering how you’ve been getting along up on that mountain. Haven’t been up there in years. Pretty isolated, from what I recall,” he shares around a spoonful of stew.

“I don’t mind that. I like the silence and the solitude, it’s peaceful.”

I feel his eyes on me as I test my father’s cooking. I have to close my eyes for a moment because the taste reminds me of Mom, of home. She was always the center of our little family. I’m still half expecting her to come breezing in from the kitchen at any moment. It’s weird to think that will never happen again.

“And lonely. You need a dog,” Buck mutters, oblivious to the direction of my thoughts.

“What was that?”

“A dog,” he repeats. “I’m gonna find you one.”

I bark out a laugh. “Hold on a minute, who says I want one?”

He tosses me a look of disbelief. “Are you telling me you don’t?”

“Well, no…I mean, I’d like a dog eventually,” I scramble to clarify. “It’s just that this might not be the right time. I’m at the clinic during the days and then at night and on weekends I’ll be busy working on the house.”

“So? The dog can watch the house while you’re gone, and keep you company when you work on the house.”

Buck is nothing if not persistent. He’s singularly focused on supplying every household in Silence with at least one of his treasured rescue animals.

“Besides,” he adds, “a dog will be good protection for when your detective boyfriend has to work late.”

My mouth falls open as I drop my spoon in my bowl. Someone has been talking with my father.

“You know, in a town full of gossips, you and my father are by far the worst of the lot.”

The older man chuckles as he shovels another spoon of the hearty stew in his mouth.

“All I can say is it’s about bloody time,” he shares with his mouth full.

“Whatever,” I grumble, because what else is there to say to the old coot?

With my belly full, my soul soothed, and a promise to Buck I’d think about a dog, I say my goodbyes and head out.

A light snow starts falling when I approach my turn off for Quarry Road. The last few mornings I’ve had to scrape frost off my windshield, so it’s not a big surprise. It tends to be a couple of degrees cooler up here versus down in the valley, and the mountains see snow a lot sooner than in town.

Still, I’m not sure I’m prepared for winter yet. I haven’t quite figured out how I’m going to clear my driveway when the heavy white stuff starts to fall.

A soft ping on my phone alerts me to what I hope will be a message from Rick. I realized, driving up the mountain as it’s getting dark, I haven’t spent a night alone in my house yet. I’m not complaining, it’s a simple fact; Rick has been here every night so far.

I’ll be fine on my own, I have lived by myself for twenty years or so, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t prefer Rick here, given a choice.

Surprising, since I’m usually quite the independent one and, as I mentioned earlier to Buck, I enjoy solitude. I’m not sure what it says about me I now seem to prefer his company over my own.

The snow is wet and sparse, leaving barely any trace on the driveway as I turn toward the house. I won’t have to worry about removal just yet.

I pull around the side of the house and park. I’m not a fan of parking out front, where I have to look at the car every time I sit on the porch or look out the window. I grab my bag and the leftover container Pops shoved in my hands as I was leaving, lock my car, and head to the front.

The moment my feet start climbing the steps, my eyes catch on an envelope left on my brand-new welcome mat, and I freeze.

Someone was here.

Chapter 20

Dana