Page 24 of Not This Place

"Stay safe," she insisted into the silence. The words were firm, command-like.

Aunt Sarah chuckled at that, a soft ripple of laughter that eased some of Rachel's tension. "I can take care of myself, dear."

"You have to promise me." Rachel's voice was sober now, the teasing tone replaced by something raw and real.

"And what about you?" Aunt Sarah shot back. "You're tangling with dangerous men every day."

Rachel sighed. A wordless agreement. An argument they’d had so many times before.

Aunt Sarah had always been hard on Rachel.

"Rae?"

"Nothing, Aunt Sarah." Rachel shifted her stance, gravel crunching underfoot. "Forget I mentioned him. Just tell me what the hell happened from the top. Before the gunshot. I mean… dammit, this is my job. Give me something to work with here."

“Language!”

“Tell me what happened.”

"Two men in masks showed up at the cabin. I saw them coming from a mile away." There was a note of scorn in her voice. "They tried to shoot, but I dumped the oil pan on them and ran."

“And Sheriff Dawes?”

"He was running interference, trying to get a good look at them, but they were too quick." Aunt Sarah's tone was flat, as emotionless as the West Texas landscape. "We didn't recognize them."

Rachel bit back her frustration. She felt like she was digging in dry soil with a blunt shovel. No progress. No answers. Only more questions, and time was a luxury they couldn't afford.

Still, she pressed on, her voice steady despite the undercurrent of irritation. "Anyone new in town recently? Anyone who might have a reason to come after you?"

A heavy silence followed her question. Then finally, Aunt Sarah sighed, a tired noise that crackled over the phone line. "It could’ve been anyone… I have enemies. I always have.”

The cryptic response left Rachel frowning into the setting sun. The orange blaze of the horizon cast long shadows across her face, deepening the creases of worry etched onto her forehead.

"What do you mean?" she pushed, looking for something solid to grasp onto in the shadowy landscape of half-truths and secrets.

But Aunt Sarah had retreated back into her shell of stoicism. "I have to go.”

“Look… I might’ve stirred up a hornet’s nest. Just… just stay safe, alright?”

“I will.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. They won’t be. I scalded one of them something good.”

Rachel felt a jolt of satisfaction. “Are you with Dawes right now?”

“The sheriff is keeping me safe…” she said cryptically.

“Any idea why they came after you?”

“None.”

“Are you sure?”

“None.”

The answer came quickly. Too quickly?

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