“It sure is,” he said putting a hand on the big bay mare’s nose. She tossed her head and knickered softly. “I can hardly believe it’s fall already. Seems like the year has just flown by.”
“You can say that again,” I said. “I think having Pumpkin Hollow Days made the summer go by quickly. But I sure am glad it’s fall now. It’s my favorite time of the year.” I was trying to come up with a way to ask about the things I’d heard about him without being obvious about it. Talking about the weather was usually a good opening.
“I second that,” he said and scratched the horse’s ear. “I was just leading Belle out to the pasture to get some fresh air. I usually get down here first thing in the morning and let all the horses out so they’ll be fresh for the evening hayrides, but I had a lot of errands to run this morning, so I’m running a little behind.”
“I love coming down here and seeing the horses,” I said and reached out and scratched Belle’s cheek. “I always wanted a horse of my own. I told Ethan one of these days I was going to have a farm where I could have a couple horses, and maybe some goats and chickens.”
He chuckled. “So you’re a farm girl at heart?”
I nodded. “I guess so. I don’t know where I get it from, my mother says it doesn’t come from her, and my dad claims I must be a throwback from a few generations ago.”
“I’ve always liked the animals too,” he said. “If I get around to it, I might add a few more to this place. Make it feel more like an actual farm.”
I nodded. “That’s a good idea. Aaron, I haven’t seen you since I heard about Olivia Summers’ death. I just wanted to tell you how sorry I was that she passed away.”
He sobered now. “Thanks, Mia,” he said, looking away. “It just doesn’t seem real. I don’t know how this could’ve happened.”
“Did Olivia have problems with anyone that you were aware of? Did she mention anything that makes you think she was worried someone might harm her?”
He turned and looked at me again. “Olivia and I broke up more than a month ago. To be honest, we had a rocky relationship for some time before we broke up.” He swallowed and breathed out heavily. “I don’t know what it was, but we couldn’t seem to work things out. We were always at odds with one another. But if there was someone she was worried about, she never mentioned it.”
“Some relationships are tricky,” I said carefully and ran my hand along Belle’s neck. “So you hadn’t seen her for a few weeks before she died?”
“She came by my apartment and picked up some of her things about two weeks ago. But she still has some things there at my apartment. I don’t know what I’ll do with them. I guess I can give them to her family now.”
His eyes teared up as he spoke, and I watched him carefully. Were they genuine tears? Or was he just trying to make me think he was the grieving boyfriend? Or rather, grieving ex-boyfriend.
“They would probably appreciate getting her things back.” Belle nudged me with her nose when I stopped petting her, so I ran my hand along her neck again. “So you don’t have any idea what might’ve happened to her?”
His brow furrowed as he thought a moment. “Honestly? If I were going to take a guess, I think it could have been Bryce Jenkins. He had a thing for Olivia, and she didn’t like it.”
“What do you mean she didn’t like it? What did she say about him?”
He shrugged. “She didn’t say a lot, but she said he would show up at places where she happened to be, just pretending to run into her. Like at the grocery store, or the dry cleaners.”
“She didn’t think it was a coincidence?” I asked him. Jane had mentioned that Aaron had done the same thing and it made me wonder.
“At the time she said it felt odd. I asked her if she wanted me to talk to him, but she said no. Then another time, she brought it up when she’d seen him again and she said it was creepy. I offered again to go and talk to him, but she wouldn’t hear of it. She said maybe she was just being paranoid.”
“Did Olivia tend to be paranoid?” I asked him. It made me wonder if she really felt she was being followed or if she was jumping to conclusions.
“Not that I noticed. I don’t really know what was going on, and when I brought it up later, she acted like it was no big deal. They used to date you know, she and Bryce. A few years ago.”
“I think I heard that. Do you know how long they dated?”
Belle began to pull on the lead rope he held, wanting to be turned out with her other horsey friends out in the paddock. “Whoa, girl,” he said and chuckled. “Let’s walk her down to the paddock and let her loose with the other horses. I think Olivia and Bryce dated for about a year and a half and they broke up about three years ago, if I remember right. She said things didn’t end well.”
“Did she say exactly what that meant?” I walked alongside Belle, keeping one hand on her shoulders. The smell of horses always made me happy.
