Huntsman - Morgan Brice Page 0,4
valuable. To Liam, the car was precious, since it was essential transportation and he was going to be short on cash for a while. That care spoke well of Russ, and Liam sighed. Figures I find a good one when it’s too late.
Russ climbed into the cab, cheeks red from the brisk night air. The puffy down vest made his chest seem even broader while revealing very nice arms clad in a Henley beneath a flannel shirt. “You doing okay?” Russ waited for an answer instead of barreling on, which just made him even more attractive.
Liam nodded. “Yeah, thank you. I didn’t expect help to get here so soon.”
Russ grinned. “You’re only a few miles out of town, and I happened to be on emergency shift tonight.” He pulled out onto the dark highway, and Liam tried hard not to stare.
“So you said something about starting a new job? You wouldn’t happen to be our new librarian, would you?” Russ asked.
Liam looked up, alarmed that a stranger knew so much about him. “How did you know?”
His companion chuckled. “Small town. You’ll get used to it. There aren’t a whole lot of jobs that bring people to Fox Hollow. Some open up now and again at the Institute, but they’re looking for…special skills.”
That made sense. Liam knew he couldn’t keep on expecting the worst from everyone, but since someone had tried to kill him tonight, he thought he had cause to be a little freaked out.
“A former professor of mine is on faculty with Fox Institute,” Liam replied. “Which is how I heard about the library position. Dr. Jeffries.”
“No shit? You know Rich Jeffries? He’s a good guy.” Russ glanced over to Liam. “So…are you a spook like him?”
Liam chuckled. “A psychic? No. I just took a lot of folklore classes from him when he taught at Ithaca. Turns out he understood what he was teaching on a much deeper level.”
The Spiritualists that fled Lily Dale founded the Fox Institute—named for the unfortunate Fox Sisters—as a place to educate, research parapsychological phenomena, and gather like-minded seekers.
“You went to Ithaca? Good school. That’s pretty countryside down in the Finger Lakes area.”
“Yeah, it is,” Liam agreed. “I liked it there.” He couldn’t keep the wistfulness out of his voice. The day had started to catch up to him. Liam hoped Russ didn’t ask why he left.
“So…how do you know Dr. Jeffries?” Liam asked since they had time to kill.
“Rich is the Institute liaison for community events, like the arts festival and the Fall Fling—or the firehouse fundraiser. Probably how he knew about the library opening.”
“You’re a firefighter?” Liam raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah. Small town, remember?” Russ replied with a smirk. “Fox Hollow has a lot more going on than you might think for a town its size, but none of that happens by accident. Our folks step up to the plate, and that means we all wear at least three or four hats.”
“So you own the auto body shop, and you run the tow service, and you fight fires?” Liam was used to academics shouldering multiple roles, but he didn’t think the same was true outside of a campus environment. Damn. Every time he opens his mouth, he’s more impressive.
Russ chuckled and blushed adorably.
No. Not “adorably.” Just kinda cute. Must. Not. Notice.
“Like I said, small town. Fox Hollow is a very special place. I hope you’ll like it.”
“I hope so too,” Liam replied, wishing with all his heart for it to be true.
“So, you’re getting in late, and it’s still before the tourist season starts. Do you have a place to stay lined up?”
Liam nodded. “Dr. Jeffries said he’d taken care of it. I’m supposed to call him when I get there, no matter what time it is.”
Russ nodded. “Good. I’ll get your car tucked away, get you fed, and then we’ll give Rich a call.”
Liam perked up when they came to a sign welcoming them to Fox Hollow. He saw a restaurant and an ice cream shop, then what looked like a general store, and more buildings he’d need to get a better look at in daylight. His research had shown him the tourist brochure highlights, but the real thing looked even better. Liam found that despite how exhausted he was, exploring tomorrow sounded like fun.
“Here we are,” Russ said, pulling the tow truck into a car care station that took up a whole corner on the main street. Liam saw a gas station, repair bays, and a neat cinderblock building offering tires,