Page 35 of Love Me Fearless

I can practically see the spinning wheels in her mind begin to slow. “All right. Not too much sugar though.”

I lean down and kiss her on the forehead. “Coming right up.”

An hour later,I’m out in the greenhouse feeding the chicks when Beth’s car door slams outside followed by the front door to the house. By the time I get to the barn, I can tell she’s here, but I’m surprised to hear her muffled crying.

“Beth?” I follow the sounds to Taffy’s stall, where Beth has her arms around her horse’s neck. She’s dressed for chores in faded jeans, boots, and the Air Force fatigues jacket she stole from me after my first deployment. It’s way too big but by how faded it looks, that hasn’t stopped her from wearing it.

Beth doesn’t turn around. “Why did she have to die?”

Marin. “I don’t know.”

“Is it true you found her?”

I release a slow breath to keep the memory of Marin’s still face from creeping any further into my mind. “Yeah.”

“They questioned Troy.”

“Are they together?” The moment it leaves my lips, I want to kick myself.Insensitive much?Plus, questions like that are for Zach and his team.

“They’re close,” Beth says. “But there’s no way he did this.”

Asking if Beth knows who might have been calling Marin from a burner phone is on the tip of my tongue, but I bite it back because that question is laden with information I can’t share. And Zach and Everett have likely already asked it. “Troy was out there today.”

Beth glances over her shoulder. Her eyes and nose are red, like she cried all the way home from work. “I’m glad he wasn’t with you when you found her.”

He tried to get down to the rocks, but he has zero technical training. Captain Greely sent him home with the others.

“Me too.” I wish I hadn’t been there, either.

She swipes at her cheeks and releases a shaky sigh. “Thanks for getting Mom home.”

“That was the easy part,” I say. “Keeping her on that couch is going to be a challenge.”

Beth gives me a weak smile, then closes her eyes and kisses Taffy’s neck.

Car doors slam from outside, followed by the distant murmur of voices. “Looks like our helpers are here.”

We share one last glance before I rock back from the door and head outside.

After supper, I change into running gear and slip into the dusk. I tune into the tap of my sneakers and the rhythm of my breaths, the mountain air cool on my lips. Moonbeam Farm is a few miles from town, so by the time I get to the elementary school, I’m warmed up and my mind is starting to clear. I detour at the playground and use one of the bars for pull-ups, then add a round of sit-ups. I think about what Marin’s family must be going through, and the avalanche of questions that need answering.

When I jump up for another round of pull-ups, a figure outside the fence darts past, her dark ponytail swaying and the reflective patches on her running shoes flashing in the streetlights. In two steps I’m vaulting over the fence.

Ava turns, her alarmed expression turning to confusion. “Hutch?”

I should have let her pass by—seeing her in those running shorts that show off her incredible ass and toned, powerful legs is doing thingsto my body.

“Thought that might be you, Greely.” I fall in next to her and match her pace.

She side-eyes me. “What are you doing?”

“Getting in a workout, same as you.” I don’t love that she’s running at night alone, even in Finn River. And after today, I’m even less thrilled.

“You’re a ways from home,” she says.

“It was that kind of day.”

We run in silence up a slight rise.

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