Page 23 of The Homecoming

“And he’s gonna scout around to see if there are already any walking trails carved out or what kind of condition it’s in. We’ve never been past the tree line,” Brandon said, fiddling with papers in his hands as he shifted his stance.

“Oh,” she replied, continuing to avoid direct eye contact with Dan. She felt his eyes searching for hers, trying to catch them, despite her dodging his efforts.

“Autumn, you’re coming out there with me,” Dan said. “I have to grab some stuff out of the car first.” He disappeared back into the house.

“What the hell is going on with you two?” Brandon asked.

With a shrug, she said, “I guess we’re fighting.”

His brows went up, “Should I let you go out there with him?”

Autumn rolled her eyes. “He’s mad at me, but he isn’t going to physically hurt me, if that’s what you’re talking about.”

Brandon stopped, his eyes filled with pity that made her want to punch him in the face.

“Don’t look at me like that,” she said. “Was it your idea that Dan do this today or his?”

“This was planned. I asked if he’d help us out a couple weeks ago.”

“Great,” she replied. “God really does have a sense of humor.”

Dan came around the side of the farmhouse, wearing a backpack and carrying a machete.

“Holy shit,” Brandon muttered. “What’s the large knife for?” he yelled to Dan.

“Clearing trails, killing snakes…” Dan replied. “Coming, Autumn?”

The look on Brandon’s face made her howl in laugher as she handed him her purse. “Put this in the office, please.”

“Are you sure about this?” He slowly took the purse from her hand, pulling a walkie-talkie from his back pocket and handing it to her.

“No, but not for the same reason you are.” She slid the walkie into her back pocket. Autumn inhaled deeply, letting it out before bounding down the stairs toward Dan. They set off across the old pasture for the tree line, in silence for a long while. She wanted to ask if he knew what he was doing, but he probably did, and was good at it. At the same time, she didn’t want to talk to him; she certainly didn’t want to talk about last night. Asking her to marry him felt impulsive, she could easily dismiss it as irrational thinking—an act of panic at the thought of leaving. But if he had been harboring feelings for years… that was a different story. Either way, it no longer felt like a summer fling.

They made it to the tree line and Daniel pointed to an opening in the greenery. “We’ll go in here and head south. Keep an eye out for snakes.”

She wanted to head back to the house with her tail between her legs, but she grew up here. She was familiar with a variety of common snakes, and she wasn’t about to admit that living in Knoxville had made her soft.

“What was going on with Brandon?” Dan asked.

“He’s worried you’re going to kill me out here,” she replied still not looking at him. “But don’t worry, I assured him you wouldn’t.”

“At least you know that much,” he said.

“What is that supposed to mean?” She stopped.

He turned back to her and her gaze was still on his chest. “Look at me.”

“I am.”

He closed the gap between them, placing a hand under her chin to tilt her head up. Her eyes met his, and they seemed darker than usual. “Now you’re looking at me.” His husky voice sent a shiver down her spine before it traveled through the rest of her body. His eyes searched hers for something, but Autumn didn’t know what it might be. She had an alarming fear that he could see her soul and would know she’d initially thought he was a fling. That knowledge would hurt him because he’d loved her, the whole time. And she had said it first without even thinking.

“Autumn,” he said quietly.

She could only nod. Words weren’t coming.

“You never answered me,” His eyes never broke contact with hers.

“Your text messages, sorry.”

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