When she peeked up at him, she saw that he was gazing at her thoughtfully. She saw no disapproval in his eyes and she let out a slow breath, her shoulders relaxing. Camden glanced at the house and then back at her. “Weddings. Parties,” he murmured as though almost speaking to himself. “Those are good things.” He looked back at her. “Maybe it’s exactly what this place needs.”
Scarlett smiled. Yes, she thought. Love. This place needs love. It suddenly seemed so very clear, and the idea bolstered her dreams that much more. It gave her purpose. “I hope so,” she said. “I’m going to do my very best.”
He was quiet for a moment before he said, “That friend in town I mentioned whose father owns the hardware store? He does some remodeling on the side, you know, if you’re looking for bids.” Camden squinted and looked away. His body seemed to have stilled as though he nervously awaited her answer.
“Yeah, that’d be great. Louis gave me the name of someone as well. Carl Dover?”
“He’s good too. Not as good as Mason.”
“I’ll give both of them a call.”
Camden dug in his pocket, pulling out his cell phone with the hand not holding the folded piece of grass. “Give me your number and I’ll text you his. That way you’ll also have mine in case . . . you know . . .”
“Those kids show up with a battering ram?”
Camden laughed, an expression mixed with a note of surprise, and it transformed his face from handsome to devastating. She stood quickly, wiping her hands free of the dust and particles of paint chips that had stuck to her skin and he followed suit. “I should get back to work . . . see if Haddie needs . . .” Her words faded when she glanced over to where her daughter had been, only to see an empty blanket, her pile of books scattered across the vacant spot. Apparently reading had been set aside for more exploring. “Well, I’d better go. By the way, do you know if there’s anything wild I should be concerned about? You know, other than old indigenous zombies?” She gave Camden a wry tilt of her lips. “I’ve been letting Haddie explore the property and she told me she saw a fox and something with horns. I know so little about wild animals so . . .”
Camden squinted at the empty blanket for several beats. “Probably a deer. And yes, there are foxes, a black rat snake or two. All harmless.”
“Unless you’re a rat.”
He smiled again. “Exactly. Well, thank you for the lemonade and cookies. Now I know why they were so good. You’re a professional.”
She let out a laugh on a breath. “At the moment I’m just the unemployed owner of what could very well turn out to be a money pit.” She shot him a smile. “By the way, thank you for the safety that new lock will bring. It was kind of you.”
Camden nodded, handing her the folded blade of grass the way Haddie sometimes handed her an empty gum wrapper. Confused, she automatically took it from him. “Call if you need anything,” he said, only turning his head back toward her, showing her his profile, his jaw rigid. And with that, he strode through the weed-ridden gardens toward the front of the house.
Scarlett looked down at the folded piece of grass held between her thumb and index finger. It wasn’t something he was discarding as she’d originally thought. She brought it closer to her face, marveling at the intricacy of the thing he’d created right in front of her without her even knowing. It was a fox, with tiny feet and tiny ears, it’s snout in perfect proportion to the rest of its body. How in the world had he done it? At all, but much less while simultaneously holding a conversation? And it’s a fox. Scarlett gazed at it for another minute, delight spreading through her. “Taluta,” she whispered, recalling the name from the legend he’d shared with her. She looked up just to see him rounding the house and disappearing out of sight.CHAPTER EIGHTHaddie dropped a red Skittle on the pine-needle-strewn forest floor, moving slowly and deliberately, creating a trail of colorful breadcrumbs in her wake.
When her mother had mentioned that Templeton the rat was convinced to do things for food, Haddie had suddenly wondered if she could lure the thing in the woods with a sweet treat as well. Maybe this was a way to let it know Haddie wanted to be . . . friends? Was that what she wanted? No . . . not necessarily. She didn’t even understand this thing yet. She just wanted to know what it was. She wanted to understand the creature that had no weight. Curiosity burned brightly inside her, and the flame had only grown bigger since she’d arrived at Lilith House and spotted it. She’d stood at the window in their new attic home the night before and stared out into the dark forest and she swore she could feel the pull of the thing somehow, but different than she’d ever felt a pull before.