Page 30 of All We Carry Home

He blinked. “Really?”

“I witnessed it.” I still wanted to corner Victor Merrick the same way he’d pushed Eva around, but I smothered that urge.

Eddie’s expression also went rigid. “Should we pay them a visit?”

“No, but would you consider moving here for the summer? Until school starts or Violet returns? I’m not sure how much I can convince Eva to do beyond that, but I will pay your salary and for whatever supplies she needs.”

“Does she know about that?” Eddie put his hands on his hips.

I shook my head, glancing to make sure she and Annie were still far enough away. They sat on the top railing of a wooden fence with a chestnut mare nuzzling them. Annie squealed in delight.

“No, and she doesn’t need to either,” I said.

“She’ll figure it out, Captain.”

“In the meantime, I’ll think of some other way to make sure she has someone here, but I just know something’s off. With her grandfather gone, she’s too isolated out here.”

Eddie nodded, looking around the property with a sharp study—not as a handyman looking at needed repairs, but as a sergeant assessing threats and vulnerabilities.

I’d already done the same. This was a flat property with half-broken fences and no shortage of opportunities for a bad actor to access the barn, house, or horses.

Annie’s laughter floated along the wind, and Eddie smiled. “Well, I know at least one person in support of this idea.”

“Will you do this for me?” We both needed something out of this arrangement—he’d appreciate the singular purpose, and I’d feel a little more reassured that Eva wouldn’t face Victor alone again.

Eddie glanced out the wide barn entrance, where we could see Peter walking up to Phantom’s paddock slowly. The boy took in the horse, who stood at attention from the center of the paddock, ears up and eyes locked on the visitor.

“I don’t know,” Eddie said. “I need the work, but I don’t know if I should move the kids across town. With Violet gone, they need stability.”

Annie and Eva walked into the aisle, and Annie bounded over to her father, grabbing his hand. “Can I go for a ride, Daddy?”

Eddie looked at Eva. “Only if it’s not an imposition.”

Eva’s hair curled around her face, windswept against her sun-kissed skin. For the first time since I’d arrived, her smile felt truly warm and genuine. “I have another hour before I need to work with Phantom, so it’s no trouble.”

Eddie nodded and pointed to his daughter. “You do what Miss Eva says.”

Annie clapped excitedly and jumped on her toes.

Eva chuckled and pointed to a door down the aisle. “The saddles are there. See which fits you best.”

Once Annie had disappeared, Eva grew more serious. “I’m guessing you two were talking business?”

“I’ll think about it, Eva,” Eddie said. “I’m not sure what’s best for me and the kids right now.”

“The apartment here in the barn is in decent repair,” she said, pointing to a staircase in the far back corner of the aisle that led to the second level of the barn. “But it’s rather small. Annie could stay in the extra bedroom of the house.”

“I’d better check on Peter,” Eddie said, taking a few steps out of the barn.

We followed him and then froze, our gazes locked on Phantom’s pen.

Peter was calmly petting Phantom’s neck.

Eddie looked at me. “Is he safe?”

Eva grabbed the man’s arm soothingly and whispered, “Yes. I’ve seen this before. Sometimes horses treat people in different ways. Some are more trusting of children.” She looked at me with a captivating smile. Her eyes sparkled, and her voice caught. “Maybe we’ve found Phantom’s person.”

Seven