I stomped across the porch, past my broken car, and down the driveway. I had to get away and clear my head. How far could I get from this place on foot? Could I make it back into town? My head was a foggy mess thanks to a night of no sleep. It felt like someone was in my room watching me. ere was a presence. e house creaked all night long, and I could hear someone on the other side of my bedroom door most of the evening. I wasn’t sure if it was Albert or Calvin standing outside my room, listening to me sleep. At one point, I even grabbed the knife, clutching it all night. I shook out my left hand, trying to expel the achiness. is wasn’t how any of this was supposed to go.
I kicked at the gravel while I walked. My brain swirled with thoughts. I didn’t buy that installing the lock the wrong way was an honest mistake. Calvin’s a fricking handyman. How could he screw something that simple up? Unless he did it on purpose. And Albert, his fake Airbnb guest. Why was he lying about that? en, the most damning of it all. e guest book with Briana Becker’s name. Calvin lied to Sheri Almond. She was here. Had he done something to her? Heck, maybe Charlotte did. She was clearly obsessed with Calvin. She hadn’t been around in two days, but I still felt like she was around
—just waiting for me to leave. en there was Joe. Was he the only one telling the truth, or was he lying too?
I wanted to scream, and I wanted to be as far away from this place as
possible. Halfway down the driveway, I quickened my pace from a fast walk to
a full-on sprint. As soon as my stride hit, I stepped onto a large uneven rock and came crashing to the ground at the end of the driveway. My ankle nearly folded under itself. e gravel scraped my knees and the palms of my hands. I screamed out in pain.
“No, no, no, no, no, no,” I cried as I held my ankle. “ is can’t be fucking happening.”
“Grace,” Calvin called out.
I turned back, watching him sprint toward me. My lying knight in fake armor. Oh no, no, no. I exed my ankle and then wiggled it side to side. It wasn’t as bad as I thought. A little pain on the ball of it.
Calvin knelt beside me. “Grace, are you okay?” His brows knitted together as caught his breath.
“Yeah, I just tripped.” I looked at my bloody palms and knees. “Let’s get you inside and cleaned up,” he said. “Can you walk?”
“I think so.” He grabbed my arm and pulled me to a standing position. I took a step. e pain was nothing compared to the fear I felt with Calvin’s hands on me. He led me back up the driveway, back toward the goddamn house I so desperately wanted to get away from.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked, helping me up the steps of the porch.
I nodded but didn’t say a word.
Inside, Calvin set me on the couch. Within a matter of minutes, he had my ankle propped up with a pillow and an ice pack on it. He cleaned and bandaged my scrapes and cuts. It was like he was happy to be doing this. Every touch from him felt like a needle piercing my skin.
“I’m tired of the lies.” e words tumbled out of my mouth. I wanted to
suck them back in. I was in too vulnerable a position to accuse him of anything. But I knew Calvin liked to be challenged.
“What lies?” He leaned back and stared into my eyes. “I’m not lying to you.”
I chose my next words carefully. “Do you keep photos of all your Airbnb
guests?” I slid the picture of Albert, Calvin, and Joe from my pocket and held
it in front of him.
“Where did you get that?” His skin ushed, and I wasn’t sure if it was due to anger or embarrassment of being caught in his little lie.
I tossed the photo at him. “It doesn’t matter.”
He picked it up and looked at it fondly. “I told you not to go into the basement.” Calvin raised his head, refocusing his attention back on me.
I sat up taller, trying to make myself look bigger like prey would do with a predator. I raised my chin, trying to make myself look unafraid. I widened my eyes, trying to show him that I was not about to back down. Calvin stood and started to pace the living room.
He let out a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry, Grace. I lied about Albert. He’s my uncle, my degenerate uncle. And I’m just embarrassed of him. He shows up every few months and crashes with me, picks up some of his stu from the basement, and then he’s gone after a few days. I just didn’t want you to associate him with me.”
Calvin folded up the photo and slid it into his back pocket. “I’m such an idiot. I’m not good at this type of stu . I like you, and I didn’t want to give you any reason not to like me. It’s why I’ve told some dumb lies.” He shook his head. “I don’t get many chances with girls like you, and I didn’t want anything screwing it up.”
Calvin just kept talking in circles, playing the I’m-a-dumb-country-boy routine. I wasn’t buying it, not this time. He was cunning and meticulous.
“You can trust me, Grace.” His eyes were intense.
Trust. I nearly laughed out loud, but I was walking a thin line between safety and whatever the hell Calvin would do to me.
“Did Bri Becker trust you?” I narrowed mine and pressed my lips rmly together.
He raised his brows. “Bri Becker?”
“ e missing woman. e one the sheri came here asking about.”
“I already told you and the sheri . She never showed up. I didn’t lie about
that.”
I chewed on my words, thinking of whether I should bring up the guest book or not. I saw it. I saw her name. I saw the check-in date and the blank checkout date. How would he explain that away? I took a deep breath and eyed him in a challenging way.
My jaw was so tight I thought I might grind my teeth into dust. “I saw your guest book.”
“What?” He cocked his head. His face was unreadable. I didn’t know if it was fear, anger, sadness, regret, or a mix of all.
“In the basement. Her name was in it.”
“ at’s not true!” he nearly yelled. I couldn’t tell if he was being defensive because he was telling the truth or because he was lying.
Without another word, he stomped out of the living room. I heard the basement door creak open; his footsteps descended the stairs. ings shu ed around, and then there were footsteps again. is time they were coming up the stairs. He held the notebook out. e words Calvin’s Guest Book were on the cover.
“Here,” he said.
I ipped quickly to the last page that had writing on it. Dragging my nger down the list of names, I found the last one. e paper read, Kayla Whitehead. I remembered seeing her name, but Bri’s was last. I ipped several more pages.
ey were all blank. No, her name was here. Bri Becker with a heart over the letter i. It was here. I saw it with my own eyes. Check-in date. Checkout . . . never.
“She was here. Bri Becker was here.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Grace. I told you the truth about her. She was never here.” He rubbed his brow.
“But . . . but . . . I saw.” My words fell o . I saw it. Didn’t I? I scanned the page again. Her name was gone.
“I lied about Albert and liking brussels sprouts and even lied about enjoying reading.” He walked to the bookshelf and slid several books out, holding them
up. “I’ve never read a damn one of these. I just bought them to make me look
smart.” Calvin tossed the books onto a chair. “But I didn’t lie about Bri Becker.” He let out a pained breath and ran his hands down his face.
My mouth parted but no words came out. I didn’t know what to say.
Calvin walked toward the front door, stopped, and turn back to me. “I’m going to get your vehicle working and x the lock on your door. And then I’m going to make sure you have a great last night on my ranch.” He sealed his promise with a heavy nod.
My stomach was in knots. I took a few small breaths, trying to keep my composure. I saw her name, didn’t I? It was dark in the basement, and I was on edge, had been since I arrived. Maybe I had imagined it. Maybe he wasn’t the one lying.
“Okay,” I said.
I didn’t know what else to say.
He let out a sigh and smiled. I forced the corners of my lips up. ey quivered, but he didn’t notice. He smiled a little wider and then headed outside. I closed my eyes and tried to picture the guest book the way I had seen it the day before. It was clear as day. I had seen it. ere were few things I trusted, but my eyes were one of them.
Calvin may have been telling the truth about Albert—or Uncle Albert, for
that matter. But he wasn’t telling the truth about Bri. I saw her name. Checkout . . . never. She was still here. I could feel it.
