Putting my phone on the bedside table and flipping the switch off on the lamp, I get in bed. It’s still early, but I’ve been up since four this morning when I got a call from Lucy about a noise she heard outside her house. She thought someone was breaking in, but it ended up being a raccoon digging in her trash. I love my job, but fuck if it isn’t a pain in the ass at times.
Piper comes to rest on the pillow beside my head. Yes, my ferret sleeps with me. No, I don’t give a fuck if someone thinks it’s weird.
I close my eyes and my thoughts once again drift to Eden and the clusterfuck I have to fix for her. Well, I don’t have to fix it, but I find that I want to. Not only because she saw Diego kill a girl, but especially because he laid his hands on Eden.
The world doesn’t need bastards like Diego running free. Unfortunately, there are more like him than most people realize. I don’t like hurting anyone; I’m sheriff of Malus because I like to prevent shit like that from happening, but when it comes to scum such as Diego, I can’t help the little thrill I get when we wipe the ground with their dirty faces.
When I find Diego, he better pray like hell I’m having a good day, because only that will determine how gruesome I am when I slaughter him.
EDEN
I’M ON THE COUCH IN SOME other stranger’s house with Jenny sitting beside me holding a cute little baby boy. Hysterical giggles fill the space in the living room, and I can’t help the smile from spreading on my face. Remi, the woman’s house we’re in, glances over at her and the baby, her own smile making her already beautiful face even more stunning. Jenny has him lying on her legs while she gently tickles his sides.
We got here ten minutes ago, and as soon as we stepped foot through the door, Jenny was across the room and scooping Elijah up.
“So,” Remi begins, plopping down on a recliner. “Are you getting the Malus look yet?”
I look at her in confusion, which makes her laugh.
“I assume you didn’t see anyone on the way over here?”
Unsure if it was meant as a question or not, I answer anyway. “No.”
She nods. “Figured. Be prepared to get ugly looks from people around town.”
“Umm.… Why?”
Smiling, she grabs her long brown hair to pull it over one shoulder and starts braiding it.
“People around here don’t take too kindly to strangers. When I first got here, I got some pretty unwelcome looks. I’ve dubbed it The Malus Look.”
“Hmm… Why don’t they like strangers?” I ask, intrigued.
Her eyes skitter to Jenny for a moment and they share a strange look before hers settles back on mine. “They just don’t. Malus is a very tight-knit community, and everyone prefers to stay with their own. It’s a protective mechanism toward the outside world.”
I guess I can understand that. Especially for the folks who’ve been here for years. When you live in a small place like Malus, where everyone knows everyone, you become close. People become more than friends and consider everyone family. When someone new arrives who could potentially harm a member of the town, it’s understandable to be leery.
Even so, I get the feeling there may be more that she’s not telling me. I decide to keep my mouth shut though. What people do here is none of my business. I won’t be here long enough for it to become my business.
“Would you like to hold him?” Jenny asks, surprising me.
“Oh, umm….” My gaze darts to Remi. She smiles at me in encouragement. “Sure.” It’s not that I don’t want to. I just haven’t had a lot of experience handling babies. I have no siblings and none of the few friends I have has any kids.
Awkwardly, I hold my arms out. I obviously do it wrong, because Jenny snickers and adjusts my arms the way they should be and gently settles Elijah against my chest.
“He’s pretty good with holding his head steady, but just in case, keep your hand behind it.”
I nod absentmindedly as I look down at the little baby in my arms. I’ve only ever held one baby in my life, and that was years ago. He’s so much lighter than I expected him to be. I mean, he’s small, so he can’t weigh that much, but he almost seems lighter than a pillow. And his smell… Fresh baby powder and lavender lotion. He smells like comfort and home. A weird combination for a baby, but those are the two words that first popped in my head.
He’s looking up at me with a pair of innocent blue eyes. Not the plain blue most people have, but a deep blue. It reminds me of the ocean. His tiny button nose and little pink lips are just too adorable to ignore.
“He’s precious, isn’t he?” Jenny’s voice barely registers, because I’m too focused on Elijah.
Yes, he is precious. Probably the most precious thing I’ve ever seen. Having a baby of my own has never been big on my list of things I want to accomplish in life. But looking at this little person, a small voice in the back of my mind has me wondering if maybe I should shift some of those things around to make room for a baby.
“He really is,” I murmur lightly.
When he smiles, that’s all it takes for my heart to melt into a puddle. I don’t know this baby, and I don’t know his mother, but one thing’s for sure, this little tiny human has captured my heart with one toothless grin. My own smile curves up my lips so big, my cheeks hurt.