Page 32 of Sinister Secrets

“Listen, Cassie, I really want to thank you for letting me stay. I didn’t want to say in front of… mixed company, but it wasn’t roommates that I needed to escape from. It was my boyfriend.”

With memories of Matt still fresh on my mind from earlier today, my throat grows tight. I sneak a glance at her from the corners of my eyes. Her head is bent, focused on her task, but I can see the glassy sheen to her eyes as she stares down at the bucket at her feet.

Her voice is soft as she says, “I don’t want you to think that I’m someone who makes bad decisions. I usually don’t. He wasn’t always a bad guy.”

The same could have been said about Matt once, too.

“It’s just, he lost his job a few months ago, and ever since then, he’s changed. I—” Her voice breaks, breath hitching. “I used to think I was going to spend the rest of my life with him, but now I don’t even recognize who he’s become.”

She turns toward me, the tears in her eyes now falling down her cheeks. “I tried to be there for him, to have patience and understanding and do everything I could to help, but—”

Tugging at the collar of her shirt, she reveals a large, angry bruise that stretches from her right collarbone to the edge of her shoulder. The colors suggest that it’s been fading for a while now, which means that when it first happened, it must have been severe.

I suck in a sharp breath, suddenly feeling ashamed of myself. No wonder she had a problem lifting the water bucket. I’ve had enough nasty bruises myself to know how sore and weak the underlying muscles can be.

“Oh, Chelsea. I’m so sorry.”

She flings herself into my arms. I hold her as she sobs, my shirt growing damp with her tears. Finally, she pulls away, sniffing and apologizing.

“No, it’s perfectly fine.” Reaching out, I put a hand on her arm and give it a small squeeze. “Do you have any family nearby? Someone to help you through this?”

Chelsea shakes her head, a fresh round of tears welling in her eyes. “It was only ever just my mom and me.”

My heart spasms in my chest, a lump growing in my throat. It sounds like this poor woman is completely alone.

“And now she’s… passed?” I ask, as delicately as I can.

“No. But she might as well have. My entire life she’s let me know that I’m not what she really wanted. She has no interest in me.”

This time, I’m the one embracing her.

“Yours too?” she asks, sniffing hard.

“I… I don’t remember much about what my mom was like. My parents died when I was little.”

She pulls back and looks in my eyes. “So you know then? What it’s like not to have anyone there for you?”

Clearing my throat, I say, “I was lucky. My grandfather took me in.”

Despite all the losses I’d suffered at a young age, Butch was always there for me. There might have been times when I needed more than he could give, but I knew I was never truly on my own. What I wouldn’t give to have him here with me now. A fresh wave of loneliness, of grief, crashes against me with the force of a tsunami.

“But he’s gone now?”

I nod, unable to bring myself to say the words.

“Well, aren’t we a pair,” she laughs dryly.

I return her sad smile.

“Oh gosh. I’m doing it again, aren’t I? I’m so sorry. You probably think I’m trying to keep you out here all night.”

“No, not at all. But it is getting late, and we have an early morning.”

“Right, sure. Let’s go.” Wiping her eyes dry, she watches as I grab the water bucket and return it to Daisy’s stall, then falls into step beside me as we return to the house. “How early?”

“You’ll need to be out here by six if we’re going to have time for me to show you the ropes before I have to leave for work.”

She turns to face me, gaping, and I find myself once again wondering how, exactly, Jake made the decision to offer her the position. But it’s too late to take it back now. This woman needs our help. She needs a friend. And though I didn’t know I was auditioning for the role, it seems as if I already have the part.