Page 121 of Show Me

She gets out of the truck as I kill the engine, moving toward the office, shoulders tighter than usual and not turning back.

Dad takes a sip of coffee, attention shifting toward the road.

“Locks keep honest folks honest,” he says. “Rest of it’s about who shows up when it matters.”

I huff a breath, look away before he can read too much into that. He already knows enough. I grab the keys, head for the door. Work. Keep moving. Fix what you can. Everything else….

I shut that thought down before it finishes. Because if I don’t, I won’t leave again. And that’s the problem.

Chapter Sixty-Three

Ruby

I don’t make it ten minutes inside before I need air. The office is already filled with phones, boots on cement, voices carrying in from the lot, but it all presses too close, too loud. I grab my jacket like I forgot something and slip back outside.

Cold hits my lungs, sharp enough to steady me. I stand there. Breathe in. Out. Again.

“Ruby.”

I turn to find Emily crossing the lot toward me, coffee in one hand, keys in the other. She slows when she gets close, eyes moving over my face, my shoulders, the way I’m standing like I’m bracing for something.

“What happened?”

I shake my head. “Nothing, I just–”

“Don’t.” She stops a few feet away. “Start over.”

I let out a breath that doesn’t help. “The gate was open this morning. The pig pen. Some of the piglets were gone. Samson was outside. He was standing there, like he was watching something. Near the tree line.”

Her expression doesn’t change, but tension sharpens. “Did you see anyone?”

“No.” I cross my arms, fingers digging into my sleeves. “The cameras went out around eleven. Power flickered during the storm. Everything just… stopped.”

“And then came back on?”

“Yeah.” During everything else that I’m not thinking about.

She takes a sip of coffee, thinking. “That’s not random.”

“I know.”

“Someone used the outage.” The words land heavier coming from her.

I look out toward the road. “They didn’t take anything. The piglets were just… out there. He found them.”

“He?”

“Xavier,” I say, like it’s obvious. Like that explains everything.

Emily’s gaze flicks toward the shop, then back to me. “You called him.”

“Yeah.”

“Good.”

I let out a small laugh that doesn’t sound like one. “I shouldn’t have.”

One eyebrow quirks upward. “Why not?”