Chapter Two — “The Things We Bury”
890 Words
Morning broke gray and cold, a fog crawling low over the fields. Lena stood on the porch of the Hollow Spur, arms wrapped around herself, a steaming mug of coffee in hand. The boards creaked under her feet — old wood, old ghosts.
She hadn’t slept much. Every shadow had felt like a memory trying to claw its way back.
The spray-painted word still glared from the barn door: THIEF.
She couldn’t look at it without her stomach twisting.
Ruth’s voice drifted from inside. “Coffee’s getting cold, Lena.”
“I’ve got it,” Lena murmured, staring out toward the far fence line. There — the place where she and Cade had stood last night. Something about it pulled at her, a tiny flash she couldn’t shake from her mind.
When Cade dropped her off, she’d caught a glimpse of metal half-buried in the dirt near the old fence post. It might’ve been nothing. But in her world, nothing often meant something.
She finished her coffee, grabbed her jacket, and walked down the path.
The ground was still damp from last night’s rain, soft beneath her boots. A few crows wheeled overhead, their cries slicing through the quiet.
She crouched near the fence, brushing aside a layer of mud. Something cold and solid met her fingertips.
Lena froze.
It was a rusted piece of jewelry — a bracelet, delicate and old, engraved with the initials C.W.
Her heart gave a painful jolt. C.W.
She knew those initials. Everyone in Silver Creek did.
Cassidy Wren.
A name whispered in gossip and grief — the girl who’d vanished ten years ago. The same night everything between her and Cade fell apart.
Lena stood slowly, eyes wide. “Oh God…”
She pulled out her phone and hesitated, thumb hovering over Cade’s number. Calling him meant opening doors she wasn’t sure she could close again. But this — this couldn’t be ignored.
Before she could dial, the sound of a truck rumbled up the drive.
She turned — Cade stepped out, one hand on his belt, hat pulled low against the sun.
“Morning,” he called, though his tone said he’d barely slept too.
“You came early,” she said.
He nodded. “Wanted to check on the vandalism, see if we could track tire prints.” His eyes followed her gaze to the ground. “What did you find?”
Lena swallowed. “A bracelet.”
He moved closer, crouching beside her. The moment his hand brushed the mud, he froze too.
“C.W.” His jaw tightened. “Cassidy Wren.”
Lena nodded. “She went missing near this ranch, didn’t she?”
“Yeah,” Cade said quietly. “Ten years ago. Folks thought she ran away. Others…” He trailed off, eyes darkening. “Others didn’t.”
The weight of his words settled heavy between them.
He stood and looked toward the pasture, scanning for signs of disturbance. “You didn’t dig around here, did you?”
“No. Just moved a little dirt.”
“Good.” Cade turned, voice suddenly sharp, professional. “Step back, Lena. I’m calling it in.”
For a moment, she almost smiled. This was the Cade she remembered — steady, protective, always trying to shoulder the storm. But there was something else there now, a flicker of fear behind his eyes.
Deputy Tessa Vale arrived minutes later, her SUV kicking up a swirl of dust. She jumped out, ponytail swinging, expression all business.
“What’ve we got?”
Cade pointed. “Possible evidence. Get the techs out here.”
Tessa knelt, eyes narrowing as she took in Lena’s presence. “You found it?”
Lena nodded.
Tessa gave her a look — not hostile, but guarded. “Funny how you just got back and the past starts digging itself up.”
Lena stiffened. “You think I planted it?”
“Just thinking out loud,” Tessa said, standing.
Cade shot her a warning look. “Enough.”
Tessa raised a hand. “Yes, Sheriff.”
Lena turned away, pulse quick. She wasn’t here to fight with anyone. But it was clear — coming back had stirred something dangerous.
Within an hour, the techs had cordoned off the area. They dug carefully, inch by inch. Cade and Lena stood side by side, watching.
At first, it was just dirt. Roots. Stones.
Then — bone.
A murmur rippled through the team.
The lead tech glanced up. “Sheriff, we’ve got skeletal remains. Female, judging by size. Could be ten years or more.”
Cade’s shoulders tensed. He didn’t say a word.
Lena felt the world tilt slightly. She’d reconstructed faces from skulls before, given names back to the nameless. But this — this was different.
Cade turned to her, voice quiet. “You sure you’re up for seeing this through?”
She met his eyes. “If that’s Cassidy Wren, I owe it to her.”
He nodded once. “Then we do it together.”
As they covered the site, clouds rolled in again — gray and heavy, pressing low over the hills.
Lena looked toward the barn, the red letters still shouting from the door.
THIEF.
For the first time, she wondered if the message wasn’t meant for her father.
Maybe it was meant for her.
- Writer
