Page 61 of Darkest Retribution

Fall is the only season I don’t actively despise.

In the winter, you have to deal with all the snow and ice. In the spring, everything is a rainy, muddy mess. And summer is too ridiculously hot.

But in the autumn months, everything is cool, and you still get some sun. It’s the only time of year that I actually enjoy doing yard work.

Today, I’m raking up leaves and getting ready to mow my lawn for one of the last times this season. Well, that’s my plan. But when I spot a mop of blonde curls out of the corner of my eye, I have a feeling it’s about to change.

“Hi Mister Dominic!”

“Hey, Rosie.” I stop raking, grinning down at her.

Her and her aunt moved in a couple months ago, and they seem to have adjusted to the area. I don’t know much about them, though. When I asked where they moved from, Jade avoided answering the question. She’s warmed up to me a little since we met, but not nearly as much as Rosie has.

There’s something familiar about both of them, but I can’t quite place it. It’s frustrating as hell. I’ve been meaning to look Jade up to see if I can figure out why, but I haven’t been able to.

“Hey, Rosie?”

“Yeah?”

“What’s your last name?”

“Brown.”

Brown. Got it. Jade’s last name should be the same since Rosie is her brother’s kid.

“Can you play with me?”

“Sure, squirt. Your aunt okay with that?”

“Uh-huh. Can you rake a pile of leaves for me to jump in?”

I laugh. Of course that’s what she wants. I saw her trying to rake her own pile yesterday, but between her tiny rake and the fact that she’s only six, she didn’t get very far.

It only takes me a couple minutes to combine the piles I’ve already created behind my house. Once I do, Rosie runs and jumps into it with an adorable squeal.

“Careful,” I say, “there are probably spiders in there.”

She yelps, jumping from the pile. “Noooo!”

“They won’t hurt you, you goofball. Go, jump again. I dare you to.”

She hesitates. “Will you jump in with me?”

“Sure.” I grab her hand, and we run toward the pile together. It’s not big enough to cushion my bodyweight, so I sort of half-fall into it.

Rosie lets out a laugh as she lands on the leaves. Then she grabs as much as her little hands can and throws them into the air. “You do it! You do it!”

I scoop up a bunch of leaves before flinging them up. They scatter around us, and a couple fall on Rosie’s hair. She bats at them, but all it does is tangle them in her curls.

“Oooh, maybe don’t do that.” I tug at them gently, trying to pull them from her hair. “You’ve gotta comb your hair, squirt.”

She huffs. “Auntie Jade wants to.” Then she grins. “That’s why I came over here.”

I freeze. “Wait. You said she knows you’re over here.”

Rosie’s eyes widen as she realizes her mistake. “Wellll, I—”

Just then, I hear Jade’s panicked voice from the other side of the house. “Rosie? Rosie!”

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