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“You didn’t scare me.” Hardly believable considering my shaky voice. “I was just…getting some peaches.”
Another step toward him lets me study his face, despite my fear. It’s not the first time I’ve seen vitiligo, but on his tanned skin, it’s stunning. His right eye is ringed with white, and ivory lashes flutter together like delicate feathers when he blinks. Another patch of pale skin arcs over his left eye. Itcontinues down to draw a white line in the hair of his eyebrow, cutting through it diagonally. His dark lashes on that side are interspersed with a few snowy hairs as well. His impressive height, broad shoulders, lean build, and long limbs add to his unconventional combination of characteristics.
Gorgeous. That’s the word that whispers in my head at the sight of him. “What are you doing out here?” I ask. It comes out sounding accusatory, but he startled me and attractive or not, this is the same man who spends his nights in a graveyard.
“Catching a fruit poacher, apparently.” His tone isn’t cold, but his words drop ice into my stomach.
Didn’t Silver say a fence marked the boundaries? Or was that only on one side? “This is your orchard?” I put a few more feet of space between us until something soft underfoot makes me stumble. A sickly sweet smell fills the air, and scraps stick to my shoe when I lift my foot off a rotting peach.
He nods and the corner of his mouth twitches up into an almost grin.
“Shit! I’m sorry. Silver didn’t mention an orchard and I should’ve known to ask before I assumed…I didn’t know I crossed onto your property.” The sun is setting fast, and my anxiety ramps up. I’m alone in the woods with a man who just caught me trespassing and stealing.
“It’s all right,” he begins, in the same soft tone, but I’m already dumping my bag of peaches out and backing away. “You don’t have to do that.”
“Sorry,” I repeat. “It won’t happen again.” Whatever he says is lost in the wind over my ears as I turn and run back to the path. With legs as long as his, I have no chance of outrunning him if he pursues me. I’m back across the footbridge and onto what I hope is my side of the property before I look back. Nothing waits behind me but the darkening forest.
There’s no sign of him when I come out of the trail behind my cabin. Of course there isn’t. Because he wasn’t some psycho chasing me through the woods, to what? Murder me for taking his peaches? The surprise on his face when I dumped them out, he must think I’m an idiot. Whatever, I won’t be going back onto his property.
I’m lost in my thoughts as I cross my yard, but the sight of my cabin jerks me back to reality and stops me in my tracks.
The front door stands open. Wide open.
From my vantage point in my front yard, I can see it move slightly, opening wider. I’m frozen in place, my blood racing through my veins. Someone is in my cabin. Fumbling my phone from my pocket, I grip it tightly, ready to call the police. There’s no one visible in the doorway and as I watch, the wind picks up, and the door swings all the way back, bumping the wall.
Did I forget to lock the door and the wind blew it open? It’s hard to think back to whether I turned the lock when my heart is beating in my ears. If that’s what happened, I don’t want to call for help. I haven’t had to deal with police here but my experience with cops in the past tells me they’re likely to be annoyed and not take any future calls from me seriously if it’s a false alarm. I couldn’t get them to believe me when I really was in danger before.
A slow scan of my surroundings doesn’t reveal anything. No strange cars or anyone in sight. In any other situation, I’d probably ask a neighbor to investigate with me, or to at least keep an eye and make sure nothing happens. Somehow, grabbing creepy graveyard guy minutes after getting caught stealing his peaches doesn’t sound like a good idea. Either I go in by myself or call for help.
Evening shadows begin to flow across the ground. If I’m going to do this, it needs to be now, before dark. There’s a knife and pepper spray in my car. Keeping an eye on the cabin door, Iretrieve them from the glove box. I’m not going in totally alone if I can help it. I send a quick text to Silver.
Me
Are you busy? Can I call for a second?
Silver and I are becoming friends, but I haven’t had a reason to call her in the two weeks I’ve been living here. Instead of texting back, she calls within a few seconds.
“Hey, is everything okay?”
“Yeah, I mean…I think so. This is going to sound weird, but I was out in the woods and when I came back my front door was open. It doesn’t look like anyone is around. I think I may have left it unlocked and the wind blew it open. But would you mind staying on the phone with me while I go in and look around, just in case?”
A moment of silence greets me before she replies. “Are you sure you should do that? You can call the cops and have them check it out. Or I can ask Gary or one of the guys to come.”
“No, don’t bother anyone. It’s probably fine. I just thought I’d be extra safe.”
“All right, yeah, but put me on speaker and if I hear anything, I’m calling for help, you crazy ass. Do you have a gun on you?”
“You’re on speaker, and I don’t own a gun. I have a knife and pepper spray.”
“Well if anyone is there, cut and season their ass before asking any questions, you hear me?”
“Absolutely. Okay, I’m going inside.” My demeanor might be confident, but my entire body trembles. Small hesitant steps carry me across the yard.
“Do you see anyone inside?” Silver asks in a hushed voice.
“I just made it to the porch.”
“Well, come on, the suspense is awful.”
