themselves. They treated their home like trash. They didn’t bathe regularly. They hated everything around them—and at the same time criticized those who didn’t live up to their high standards. I don’t know why they hated me. It was enough to make them attempt to ruin me or kill me, I don’t know which. We didn’t speak of it.”
“Did you go to the doctor? Didn’t they ask you how it happened?”
“I never went to the doctor. I cleaned it myself, after I had woken up. Mrs. Calhoun gave me some salve to put on it, but it didn’t stop the pain.”
“I’m glad I didn’t know that before they came this morning.”
“Why?”
I pushed a chunk of hair from her face. “Because they would’ve never been allowed in our home.”
Her eyes cast downward, taking my answer into consideration. The longer we rode, the closer she snuggled to me. There was no doubt that Delilah had gotten under my skin just by being who she was, but when she was this close, smelling like the calendula flowers that used to grow in the beds outside, it was nearly impossible not to take her lips.
We got to the cabin in less than an hour. It hadn’t been kept up. That was one of the reasons I wanted Delilah to come out with me. Since this cabin would now be ours, I wanted her to be in charge of redoing it—if she wanted to.
“This is it.” I dismounted the horse and reached for Delilah. She took my arms willingly.
“It’s a lovely little cottage.”
It could’ve been a cottage. That was my mother’s initial intention. Father turned it into more of a hunting cabin. Even when they came out here, mother complained to June that it was used more as a smelly fish keeper than a romantic getaway.
I hoped it would be different for us.
“It needs a makeover. We could paint it any color you like, make it look more like a cottage.”
She pointed to herself and I laughed.
“Yes. You. The cabin is ours after all.”
A beaming smile took over her face. She turned to me and then back to the cabin. I thought maybe she’d run to me.
“Can we go in?”
“Of course”
I pulled the skeleton key from my pocket and unlocked the door carefully. I wasn’t sure what awaited us, so I took my time, allowing a fair warning for any creatures that had made their home here. It was as I remembered it from sneaking here as a child. It was rustic to say the least. The walls boasted of my father’s kills and the curtains looked more like a camouflaged man’s attire than a woman’s retreat.
“This is it.”
She said nothing.
“I know. It’s not the cottage you were thinking.”
Her blank face was frustrating.
“Say something. I swear, anything you have to say—I won’t take offense.”
After giving the place a once over through her icy eyes, she said. “It stinks.”
“Like fish.”
“Like rotten crawfish and moldy potatoes.”
I sighed and sat down in a chair that openly protested my weight.
“Can we start by taking down the camouflage? I feel like I’m being hunted.”
With the cabin stripped of everything except the furniture, I stepped back and watched Delilah take the last blanket out and pile it up with the rest. Despite her father’s insistence that she was lazy, she’d worked harder than I had during the day.
I worked on sweeping out the inside. It was all that was left to be done. For a place that never got used, it was dingy and dusty as if it got used every day.
A sound stilled my movements. I dropped the broom and ran toward the scream as fast as my legs would carry me. I didn’t hear anything else. Panic struck me.
“Delilah!”
Nothing. Not even the sounds of the land around me gave any clues.
I continued walking, faster and faster in the direction I thought the cry for help had come from. If something had happened to her already, I wouldn’t be able to handle it.
A giggle in front of me carried on the wind. There was no child around, but it echoed around me, calling me forward. That’s when I saw
“Did you go to the doctor? Didn’t they ask you how it happened?”
“I never went to the doctor. I cleaned it myself, after I had woken up. Mrs. Calhoun gave me some salve to put on it, but it didn’t stop the pain.”
“I’m glad I didn’t know that before they came this morning.”
“Why?”
I pushed a chunk of hair from her face. “Because they would’ve never been allowed in our home.”
Her eyes cast downward, taking my answer into consideration. The longer we rode, the closer she snuggled to me. There was no doubt that Delilah had gotten under my skin just by being who she was, but when she was this close, smelling like the calendula flowers that used to grow in the beds outside, it was nearly impossible not to take her lips.
We got to the cabin in less than an hour. It hadn’t been kept up. That was one of the reasons I wanted Delilah to come out with me. Since this cabin would now be ours, I wanted her to be in charge of redoing it—if she wanted to.
“This is it.” I dismounted the horse and reached for Delilah. She took my arms willingly.
“It’s a lovely little cottage.”
It could’ve been a cottage. That was my mother’s initial intention. Father turned it into more of a hunting cabin. Even when they came out here, mother complained to June that it was used more as a smelly fish keeper than a romantic getaway.
I hoped it would be different for us.
“It needs a makeover. We could paint it any color you like, make it look more like a cottage.”
She pointed to herself and I laughed.
“Yes. You. The cabin is ours after all.”
A beaming smile took over her face. She turned to me and then back to the cabin. I thought maybe she’d run to me.
“Can we go in?”
“Of course”
I pulled the skeleton key from my pocket and unlocked the door carefully. I wasn’t sure what awaited us, so I took my time, allowing a fair warning for any creatures that had made their home here. It was as I remembered it from sneaking here as a child. It was rustic to say the least. The walls boasted of my father’s kills and the curtains looked more like a camouflaged man’s attire than a woman’s retreat.
“This is it.”
She said nothing.
“I know. It’s not the cottage you were thinking.”
Her blank face was frustrating.
“Say something. I swear, anything you have to say—I won’t take offense.”
After giving the place a once over through her icy eyes, she said. “It stinks.”
“Like fish.”
“Like rotten crawfish and moldy potatoes.”
I sighed and sat down in a chair that openly protested my weight.
“Can we start by taking down the camouflage? I feel like I’m being hunted.”
With the cabin stripped of everything except the furniture, I stepped back and watched Delilah take the last blanket out and pile it up with the rest. Despite her father’s insistence that she was lazy, she’d worked harder than I had during the day.
I worked on sweeping out the inside. It was all that was left to be done. For a place that never got used, it was dingy and dusty as if it got used every day.
A sound stilled my movements. I dropped the broom and ran toward the scream as fast as my legs would carry me. I didn’t hear anything else. Panic struck me.
“Delilah!”
Nothing. Not even the sounds of the land around me gave any clues.
I continued walking, faster and faster in the direction I thought the cry for help had come from. If something had happened to her already, I wouldn’t be able to handle it.
A giggle in front of me carried on the wind. There was no child around, but it echoed around me, calling me forward. That’s when I saw
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