Page 50 of Left In The Dark

Swallowing hard, he chews on his bottom lip and scratches at his knee.

“Don’t worry. You don’t have anything I haven’t seen before.” Rolling up my sleeves, I kneel on the ground, and he flinches when I reach for his shirt. I try again and he shoves me away.

Huffing, I rest my arms on my knees. “And here I thought we were finally on the same page. What happened, piglet?”

His eyes turn down as he refuses to look at me, his breaths picking up.

“Either I get these clothes off you or you get left in your own filth for a whole week. Which is it?”

He backs away, keeping his eyes on the ground, and crosses his arms.

“How about I at least brush those teeth for you, huh?” I wave the tooth brush in the air and he says, “Oink.” Only once. He’s being defiant while also following my orders. I guess if he was perfect, then I wouldn’t be able to correct him. Oh, I’d hate not being able to do that. But this is unexpected. Blake Mitchell wants to stay dirty and smelling just like a pig?

“Suit yourself, then.” I lower the bucket to the ground and climb down the ladder.

His head peeks over the edge, but he crawls back when I lift the bucket back up. It’s empty. I carry the shampoo, soap, and washcloth back to the house once the doors are locked again.

I tend to the farm, cleaning out stalls and watering the sheep. They’re hair sheep, so I don’t have to do much with them aside from moving them around the pasture and keeping them hydrated. Occasionally they get dewormed and we get bottle babies. No babies until summer this year. No one wants sheep lambing during winter. Too much of a damn headache.

I look up from the water buckets when a car pulls up. Jimmy jumps out when he’s close enough to where I am, waving his hat in the air. “There he is! My favorite cop farmer.”

I bark out a laugh, flipping him the bird. I take off my gloves, shoving them in my back pocket. “I’m not a cop yet,” I say back, hopping over the fence and hitting the “on” switch on the fuse box.

“You will be soon, though. I mean, you’re basically part of the team once you start at the academy, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, I am, but I’m still not a cop yet. Gotta earn that title still.”

“And you will.” His gaze wanders toward the house. “Got any food? Leftovers from last night’s dinner by chance?”

Rolling my eyes, I swing an arm around him, guiding him forward. I want him as far from the barn as possible in case my little piglet hears his car or voice and gets any bright ideas. “I knew you came here for more than just a quick visit.”

“Hey, it’s you I come here for, and I stay for the food.” He rubs his stomach and we both laugh.

“I guess as long as the reason starts with me.” I send a light punch to his shoulder as our steps halt in front of the door to the house. Opening the door, I stand back as he goes in first, and I follow behind him. He makes himself comfortable at the table while I warm up leftovers from last night.

“So, once you start your new job tomorrow, does this mean you’ll have less time for us?”

I plate his food and lower myself into a chair next to him as I set it in front of him. “If I do, it’ll only be until training’s done. I hear it can be tiresome and take up a lot of time.” Hopefully not too much to keep me from tending to the new problem I gave myself in the barn. Fuck, I really didn’t fully think this one through. I did, but more so using the emotional part of my brain than the rational side. He really is better here, though. And I can’t lose sight of why either.

“Well, maybe we can bring dinner to you some nights. Stop by on weekends and help with farm shit. You’ll need it.”

My lips turn up a little and I nod. “Sure. And I appreciate it.” Maybe this place is mostly a hell hole, but my friends at least help make it more tolerable. Them, my mom, and my new hobby. Not because of him, but because of what I’m getting out of it. Me and whoever else he’s fucked over. And since he’s no longer going to be a problem that I can’t easily control, it’s time I start thinking how to take care of an even bigger one. Hayden.

“It’s never a problem, man. We’re always here for you. You know that.” He looks over at me, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Yeah . . . speaking of which . . . I have a bit of a favor to ask you.”

“Yeah?” He quirks a brow, shoving another bite into his mouth.

“Yeah, and if you can’t, it isn’t a big deal,” I say nonchalantly.

His expression grows more curious. “Wait . . . you aren’t asking me to help you bury a dead body or anything, because if you are . . . please, please let it be Hayden.”

I bark out a laugh, shaking my head. “No, it’s not that. It may involve him, but it’s not that.”

“Is it ’cause you need help? If that’s the case, Reese may be more ideal since he’s less squeamish when it comes to blood.”

“No . . . that’s not . . . I’m not going to kill anyone.”