Page 62 of Refurbished

“Are you going to keep working for me?” He hit on something that had been on my mind lately.

“I might cut my hours back. The Sanctuary really takes a lot of my energy, but I want to talk to Eion about it. He might prefer that I be gone several nights a week.” I really hoped not.

“I suspect he wants you around as much as possible if the way he looks at you is a sign.” West chuckled and gave me a hug. “Go find your man. Dinner will be ready soon.”

I walked into the living room where Allison slept on the chair. On the back patio, East and Tyler were talking. West joined them in the yard, which made me wonder where Eion was. Maybe he was overwhelmed and took a break out front. There were some chairs out there, and it would be quiet. Barnaby was also missing, which made me more sure of my assumption. I walked out the front door. “Hey, Babe, dinner is ready.” The chairs were empty, and my car was still in the driveway, so he had to be at the house somewhere. Going back inside, he still wasn’t in the backyard.

“You guys know where Eion is?” They all looked at me, shaking their heads.

“He took Barnaby outside,” Allison said.

I squatted down so I could talk to her more directly. “He did. When did he do that?” She shrugged. “Which door did he go out of?” She pointed at the front door. I kissed the top of her head. “Thank you.” The fact that she saw him leave through the front door was odd. He did have a tendency to walk away when he struggled or was frustrated. I joined my friends in the backyard.

ANGUS

Dinner is almost ready. Come on back, Baby!

Twenty minutes later, Eion still hadn’t come back to the house or returned my text message. This wasn’t normal for him. Even when he was most stressed, he wouldn’t hold others up. He’d at least text.

ANGUS

I am worried. Where are you?

We ate without him, and I officially started to panic. I put a serving in a plastic container for Eion. East took Allison upstairs to bed while we cleaned up the kitchen. “Still no response?” West asked me after I put the last bowl in the dishwasher.

“No. Nothing.”

“I’ll drive around the area to see if I can find him,” Tyler said as he walked out the front door.

“It’s been more than an hour, West. When should I call the police?” I was sick to my stomach, worried something terrible had happened to him. I called his phone, and it went to voicemail, but the text messages were showing as delivered. Okay, that was something at least.

ANGUS

I am about to call the jails and hospitals. If you are okay, please tell me.

I’m not mad.

West looked at me with sympathy. I had no idea what was going on, but my body started to shake. I knew that this was bad, but I didn’t know what had happened. The three text dots appeared on my phone, then disappeared. A minute or two later, they showed up again, which meant he was typing—or someone was typing—a message.

EION

I’m at my sanctuary. Not in the hospital or jail.

For a moment, I was relieved that he wasn’t injured, but I didn’t understand why he had left. Either way, I needed to go home. It hit me like a ton of bricks as I drove. He hadn’t said he went home or that he was at the Sanctuary. Eion had very specifically stated ‘my sanctuary,’ which meant he was making a point. He intentionally excluded me.

Expecting to find my boyfriend in the trailer, I was surprised to find it empty. I headed toward the other buildings and saw a light on in the medical suite attached to the nursery. That made sense. Someone must have needed him for an animal emergency. Knowing I might find him performing surgery, I looked into the surgery room, but it was empty. It was obviously unused tonight. “Eion?”

I heard the raccoons shuffling around, so I stuck my head in to see that everyone was doing well. Zach took good care of our residents, but I still loved North and South as if they were my own children. I looked forward to when they had their own space to run around more freely. That was one of the first things I hoped to build. West might have been on to something with me no longer working for The Dapper Duck, because there were plenty of projects for me to do around my home.

When I looked in, I found Eion in a sleeping bag on the couch. This wasn’t completely abnormal if an animal came in and he wanted to watch it overnight. “Hey,” I said quietly, not wanting to startle whomever our new guest was. “I’ll get the air mattress and bunk out here with you.”

I didn’t see anybody new, but it was pretty dark, and they could be in the back. I wasn’t going to turn on the lights and poke around. “No. I want you out. Get off my land.”

“What?”

Louder than I had ever heard him, he screamed at me. “GET THE FUCK OFF MY PROPERTY.”

I stepped back like I had been slapped. “Eion?”