I don't belong anywhere. That's not true. Yes, it is. I've been moving from place to place for 3 years, never staying long enough to put down roots. Never letting anyone get close enough to She stopped, realizing she'd said too much.
Holden was quiet for a moment. Then, to what? To hurt me. The words came out barely above a whisper, but they felt like a confession. Like she'd just handed him a weapon and was waiting to see if he'd use it.
Instead, Holden said, I get that. Evelyn looked at him in surprise. You do? Yeah, after our mother died, I spent 6 months pushing everyone away. My brothers, the neighbors, everyone.
Because if I didn't let anyone in, they couldn't leave. Couldn't die. Couldn't prove that trusting people was just another way to set yourself up for disappointment. What changed? I realized I was already disappointed.
And being alone didn't make it hurt less. It just made it harder to survive. Evelyn felt something crack inside her chest. I don't know how to do this. How to stay?
How to let people matter? You're already doing it, whether you realize it or not. What if I screw it up? Then you screw it up. And we'll still be here.
She wanted to believe him, wanted to trust that this wasn't temporary, that the brothers wouldn't wake up one day and decide she was more trouble than she was worth. But 3 years of disappointment had taught her that wanting something didn't make it real. Still, for the first time in a long time, she let herself hope. The peace shattered 3 days later. Evelyn was in the kitchen when she heard shouting outside.
She dropped the knife she'd been using to chop vegetables and ran to the window. A group of men on horseback had ridden up to the house. Four of them, all armed, all looking like trouble. Holden and Jonah were standing between them and the front door, their postures tense. Evelyn's heart kicked into overdrive.
She recognized the lead rider, a rancher from the south side of the valley named Garrett, who'd lost half his herd in the blizzard and blamed everyone but himself. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she could see the anger in Garrett's face, the way his hand kept drifting toward the rifle strapped to his saddle. Then Caleb came running around the side of the house, and Cain appeared from the barn, and suddenly all six brothers were standing together facing down the four riders. Evelyn didn't think, she just moved. She grabbed Holden's rifle from where it hung by the door and stepped outside.
The second she appeared on the porch, every head turned. "What's going on?" she asked, her voice steady despite the fear crawling up her spine. Garrett's eyes narrowed. "This doesn't concern you." "It does if you're on our property making threats."
"Our property?" Garrett laughed, harsh and ugly. "You hear that, boys? She thinks she owns the place now." "I think I have a right to know why four armed men are shouting at my employers," Evelyn shot back.