Free 4 Big Easy Hunter by Maddie Cochere

in the morning, and I was wide awake. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the numerous night sounds. There were crickets for sure. Oh my gosh! A million of them. Or maybe I was hearing cicadas. Or maybe it was both. A lot of this noise was probably frogs. Aunt Sony had said something about cricket frogs making loud noises. And now, here was an owl added to the mix.
    The more I concentrated on the sounds, the louder they became until it was thunderous. I scooted off the bed and quietly opened the bedroom door. I peeked around the hallway, and all of the doors with the exception of the bathroom were closed. The house seemed quiet and creepy. I tiptoed down to the kitchen and poured a glass of water from the pitcher in the refrigerator. A glance into the foyer showed the front door to be wide open. As I stepped out onto the porch, a shudder ran down my spine, and I had visions of a crazed ax murderer coming into the secluded, unlocked house during the night and chopping all of us up. No one would find us until next week when the ladies from the auxiliary came to visit, and the stench of our mutilated bodies would -
    “Can’t sleep?” came a voice from the dark.
    The sound startled me so much, I jumped ten feet in the air and spilled most of the water down the front of my babydolls.
    “Darby!” I hissed at him. “Geez, you nearly gave me a heart attack! I thought you were an ax murderer!”
    He laughed softly and said, “Come here. Sit down with me.” He patted the spot beside him on the wicker loveseat. “What are you doing up?”
    I sat down with a sigh and noticed that he, too, was in his bare feet. He was only wearing a pair of cotton shorts. “It’s hot, I feel like I can’t breathe, the noise is deafening …” my voice trailed off. I looked at him and said, “I’m sorry I was such a pain in the butt today. This is all a little out of my wheelhouse.”
    “I know,” he said with a laugh. “It’s actually a little out of Nate’s wheelhouse, too. He didn’t want to stay the night after the bathroom incident.”
    “Seeing a naked lady scared him that much, huh?” I asked innocently.
    Darby laughed louder but quickly returned to hushed tones. “Susan, that’s going to go down as one of the funniest things we’ve ever gotten ourselves into. A ghost, a naked you, and a passed out Nate. We should write a movie.”
    “It wouldn’t be a very long movie,” I said sarcastically, and he laughed again.
    We sat quietly for a few minutes. The night sounds seemed soothing and much softer out here on the porch.
    “There’s something on your mind. What is it?” Darby asked.
    “Oh, I’m just restless, I guess,” I said. “We’ve only been gone one day, but I feel uncomfortable here without Mick. I know it’s because of all the trouble back home, but if you weren’t here, I don’t think I’d stay. I feel like something bad is going to happen here without him.”
    “Susan, that’s silly talk,” he said. “I think you feel that way because we’re out here in the sticks. If we were staying in the city, you’d probably have a completely different outlook.”
    “Yeah. You’re probably right,” I told him. “I suppose I can manage here one more day.”
    He picked up my hand and held it in his. “We’re lucky, aren’t we?” he asked in a wistful tone.
    “In what way?” I asked.
    “Mick. Nate. All of us together,” he said. “The day you showed up on my doorstep with your bowling ball, and baseball bats, and ironing board … well … it was a good day, and my life has been better for it.”
    I could feel sentimental tears starting to well up in my eyes. “Me too,” I said as I leaned my head against his shoulder. “Did you know I didn’t want to buy a house because I couldn’t bear the thought of not seeing you all the time? Or not be able to cook with you at the drop of a hat? Mick and I saw some great houses, but I didn’t want any of them.”
    He smiled, laughed a little, and said,