Fallen

Scarlett closed it and then used her thumb to flip through the interior pages, noting the underlined passages and the highlighted portions, one question mark after another in the margins. The reader of this Bible had struggled with questions of faith. She wondered if they’d ever been answered. Scarlett stopped suddenly when she spied something flattened in the middle. She opened it wide, pulling out the item and swallowing heavily.

With trembling fingers, she grasped it delicately, expecting it to crumble, but it didn’t. She held it up, bringing it close to her face so she could take in all the intricate details.

It was a bird.

Formed with a strand of grass.CHAPTER TWENTY-SIXScarlett knocked on the blue painted door, waiting a minute before turning back toward the street. She’d dropped Haddie off at Millie’s with the bird and the bunny, and then gone straight to the address where Millie told her the boy in the wheelchair lived with his parents. The child Haddie had evidently made scream bloody murder a few days before. She’d brought it up with Haddie, and though Haddie had looked confused and ashamed—just as she had after the church daycare incident—Scarlett had again, comforted herself with the belief that Haddie wasn’t a bully. She’d seek clarification from the boy’s mother before addressing it again.

Unfortunately, that day wouldn’t be today. No one was home.

Scarlett got back in her car, and pulled away from the curb. She purposely avoided looking at the house Camden had come out of the other day, and headed to the pet store where, apparently, she might want to consider signing up for a frequent shopper discount. “No more rescue pets please, God,” she whispered to the big guy in the sky. There was only so much Scarlett could take on, though she supposed it was her fault that she hadn’t considered what else came with owning a house at the edge of a forest full of creatures. Perhaps soon, they’d have their own small petting zoo, and wasn’t that just what she needed?

She pulled into the lot, and as she was walking toward the store, Camden West pulled into a space, got out of his truck, and headed toward the door as well. He was wearing jeans and a gray T-shirt, obviously off duty. They eyed each other, Scarlett slowing her pace so they wouldn’t get to the entrance at the same moment. Crap. She really hated small towns. The likelihood of running into people you really didn’t want to run into were far too high.

She considered turning around and coming back another time, but while she was wary and suspicious of Camden West, and yes, still hurt, she didn’t quite hate him enough to starve a baby bunny.

His gaze stayed on her, that stupid enigmatic expression on his face that he too frequently wore. He held the door for her for a moment, but she knelt down and pretended to tie her shoe . . . because she was just that mature.

When she stood, he had taken the hint and gone inside. She headed in as well, spotting him in her peripheral vision over in the dog food section. Scarlett asked the clerk to help her find a formula suitable for a baby rabbit, took the first thing he recommended, paid for it, and left the store.

Camden was waiting outside the door.

Scarlett startled slightly, clutching her bag to her chest. As she turned and began walking to her car, Camden followed, walking beside her.

“Baby bunny?” he asked.

She glanced at him. “Yes. I’m running a zoo out of my house these days, Deputy. So you’ll understand if I don’t stop to chat. Have a good—”

“Scarlett.” He reached out and took her upper arm and she stopped short, looking at the place where he touched her. He let go as if he’d suddenly realized she was made of fire. Two high spots of color appeared on his cheekbones. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “But I think we need to talk.”

At the imploring look in his eyes, she sighed. Despite that she hadn’t been prepared to do it today, she wanted to talk to him too. He’d lied to her—not about the woman, she wasn’t going to bring that up because she did still have some pride—but about Lilith House. He had some connection to it that he hadn’t divulged to her and she wanted an explanation. She wanted to know why Farrow’s deputy sheriff had sought to purchase Lilith House before her, and why he had personal effects in its basement.

“I live a couple blocks from here,” he said, glancing around. “We could sit on my porch if you don’t want to go inside. It’s more private than this parking lot.”

She shifted back and forth from one foot to the other. Mason and his team were already at her house, and they didn’t really expect her back anytime in particular. Plus, if she was going to agree to talk to him, he was right, this was not the place to do it. She might not like what he had to say, and she wouldn’t be seen standing in the pet store parking lot of her new town fighting with Farrow’s deputy. “Okay,” she agreed. “I’ll follow you in my car.”