We spend the entire day around Jaxon’s house. No more hiding. No more anger. Just seven years of caged hunger for each other and everything we’ve missed. Wrapped up in his arms is my favorite place to be. Our conversation isn’t heavy. Our time together isn’t even full of sex, surprisingly. It’s just us finally getting our chance to be a couple in every sense of the word.

After lunch, Jaxon picks up his old backpack and fills it with a canvas and supplies, and we walk to the pool of the falls near his house. He’s feeling inspired and wants to paint. I let him be, knowing how rare that feeling has been for him. I’m content to watch him as I sit on a patch of grass, my feet stretched out and ankles crossed, my palms pressed into the ground behind me. I angle my head up to face the sky, closing my eyes and smiling as the sun warms my cheeks.

It’s such a beautiful day. Easy. Everything is just as it should be. Lacey pads over, a stick in her mouth, and we start to play fetch. I throw it farther away every time until she reaches the river’s edge, pausing to stick her nose in the pool and lap up the water. I laugh as she pops her head up and shakes it, spraying water in every direction before she dips into it again.

Jaxon is completely focused. He doesn’t even notice at first as I strip down to my birthday suit and dive into the river. Lacey follows, carrying her stick, and our game continues.

“A little distracting, don’t you think?” Jaxon’s voice reaches me from the edge of the river.

I laugh and bend my knees to sink deeper into the water. “You seemed pretty focused. I wasn’t trying to distract you. I promise.”

He grins and reaches behind him to tug off his shirt, revealing glistening, tan skin. His torn jeans move down his legs next, and then he’s diving into the water and swimming toward me.

He runs a hand through his hair, now straight and darkened from the water. Beads of river drip from his beard while other droplets remain stuck there, glistening in the reflection of the sun. He scoops me up and pulls me toward him, and I smile as I wrap my legs around his waist.

“I’ve been curious.” His tone is as light as his smile.

I bite down on my bottom lip. “I don’t like the sound of that.”

His smile widens. “Why in the hell did you work for a law firm after college? That seems so…” He trails off like he’s afraid to offend me.

“It was kind of just the first opportunity that popped up. I wasn’t planning to go to law school or anything like that. I just needed a job while I figured out what was next.”

“How long did you work at the firm?”

Heat creeps up my cheeks. “Two years. Time just seemed to slip by me.”

“I know that feeling.”

I run my fingers through his hair, tousling it and watching some of his curls bounce back to life.

“Did you mean what you said about traveling the world?” I hear more than his question. There’s fear of rejection trapped behind the gruffness of his voice.

My heart turns to putty at his words. “Yes, Jax. We can go now if you want. Anywhere you want.”

He brings his lips to mine. “Right now?” he whispers, a playful smile tugging up the corners of his mouth. Water moves around us, and I realize he’s walking me backwards. A few seconds later I’m pressed against a boulder, the slick surface and rough edges adding to the thrill of what we’re about to do—and where we’re about to do it. “Anywhere?” he asks, his beard tickling my jaw.

“Anywhere.” My words float out on a breath just as his mouth crushes mine. Our lips are slick as we find our desperate rhythm. He lifts me from the water, aligning our bodies, and he pushes himself inside me in one quick thrust.

And there beneath French Broad Falls, we make love, marking a new beginning. One that doesn’t have an end. At least, I can’t feel one—not this time.

 

 

Jaxon is in his room getting ready for Canvas and Wine, and I’m in the art room looking at the smeared canvas from this morning. I bite back a smile just as the doorbell rings.

When I open the front door, I half expect to see Val or Scott standing there with accusing eyes. I feel almost guilty for spending the entire morning with Jaxon after Scott left the café hurt and angry yesterday. But guilt transforms into dread when I see a fully uniformed Tanner Brooks standing in front of me, a look of deep concentration written in his expression.

“Hey, Tanner,” I say slowly. A million reasons for his being here trample through my mind, the first being the intimate swim Jaxon and I just shared beneath the falls. But there’s no way he could know about that. Lacey would have sniffed him out if he’d gotten too close. No, something else is up.

“Why am I not surprised to find you here?” There’s an edge to his tone that I can’t quite read, like he’s annoyed and disappointed all at once.

I shift in my stance, suddenly feeling as if I’m doing something wrong. But that’s ridiculous. “Why are you here?”

“I need to talk to your boyfriend.” His eyes pan over my head before locking back on mine. “And you.”

I cross my arms, already sick of whatever power trip he’s on. “He’s getting ready for work. I can relay a message. What’s got your pistol in a knot?”

Tanner’s jaw ticks in irritation. “I’m happy to wait, Miss June. Or perhaps maybe I should just take you down to the station to have this discussion.”

I freeze.

“Whoa, what the hell is going on?” a voice booms behind me. Jaxon approaches, pushing open the door to reveal himself. He’s still wet from his shower and wearing only a towel around his waist. “Tanner? What are you doing here?”

“Sorry to stop in unannounced.” Tanner tips back on his heels, pressing his eyes to the sky. “There’s been a report.”

“What kind of report?” My heart is already beating fast.

He looks at me pointedly. “A familiar report.” Then he looks back at Jaxon. “I’m alerting all the residents in the area. We ask that you not wander around out there until our search is complete.”

“Search for what?”

Tanner sighs and bows his head, whatever annoyance he held earlier dissolving into something that resembles defeat. Not even Tanner wants to give this news. “A man reported his girlfriend missing this morning. A female in her early twenties. They were scheduled to leave on a hike today. Apparently, they’d gotten in a fight at Franco’s and she hitched a ride with another man. I managed to track down the man’s car at the abandoned cottage near Hollow Falls, but so far, no trace of either of them.” He lets out a heavy breath. “I need to ask you two a few questions while I’m here.”

Now that I look at Tanner again, his eyes are red, his brows are turned down, and his face is a mask of unruly stubble. He looks exhausted, but I can hardly feel sorry for him as I’m plagued by his words.

A familiar report.

Another hiker gone missing.

“I thought you said Balsam Grove hasn’t had a missing person in years.”

“We haven’t,” he snaps. “Not until you decided to grace us with your presence again.”

Fire roars in my chest. “Excuse me?”

Jaxon’s strong hand squeezes my shoulder. “I know you’re not accusing Aurora of having anything to do with this.” He speaks in a level tone behind me, but I can feel the rumbled warning beneath his words.

“I’m not accusing anyone of anything. But I’m going to need to ask you a few questions.”

“What questions?”

Tanner’s jaw clenches. “I’d like to know where you both were last night between the hours of ten p.m. and four a.m.”

My heart moves to my throat as I try to piece together my memories from last night. How did I get here? Did I really walk here during a storm? Why? The last thing I remember before going to sleep is staring at a half-finished canvas in front of me, convinced I had lost myself to my art so desperately I did it blind. It was a heavy night. I had just destroyed my friendship with Scott, and my future with Jaxon was on thin ice. It makes sense that I would want to forget and zone out. But it’s not that simple.

A hiker went missing last night. A girl in her early twenties. Everything about the description Tanner painted awakens every tremor in my body. It’s all too familiar. Why her? Why now?

“Aurora was with me last night. We got off work, closed the studio, and came back here. Afraid neither of us can help you.”

Tanner cocks his head. “I seem to remember seeing Aurora’s car parked in the lot next to the station last night, but now it’s nowhere to be found. You sure that’s the story you’re going with, Mills?”

“What are you implying?” Jaxon’s voice rumbles with anger, and I squeeze his arm to beg him to calm down.

“I’m not implying anything. Look, you’re giving me every reason in the world to book you both right now. All I’m asking for is the truth, and what you’re telling me doesn’t add up. You get one more chance to tell me where you and Miss June were last night.”

I squeeze Jaxon’s arm again to have him let me speak, but he starts before I can even attempt it. “Aurora dropped her car off at her place, and I brought her here. We haven’t gone anywhere except for around my property. Thank you for the warning. I hope you find your missing girl, Deputy.”

“Can we help?” I ask, hoping to cut in before a dick-measuring contest breaks out. “With the search?”

Tanner eyes me hard, frowns, then releases a sigh as he shakes his head. “No, we’ve got a team coming in from the north. My dad and Danny are already out there searching other parts of the woods. Just go about your business and heed my warnings. Let’s pray the girl turns up in the next eight hours or so.”

I want to ask why in the next eight hours, but I think I already know. That would make it twenty-four hours since she disappeared. And if she’s not found within the first twenty-four hours, chances are the girl, whoever she is, is dead.

We get to Jaxon’s class just fifteen minutes before it starts. It’s my fault, really. After Tanner’s visit, I helped Jaxon take his mind off his anger at the deputy. I promised him everything would be okay. They would find the girl. This isn’t the same town it was seven years ago when there was a serial killer on the loose. People get lost in the woods all the time, and it’s rarely anything sinister.

“Thanks, babe.” Jaxon kisses my head after the last of the canvases is placed around the room. The look in his eyes is so tender, so sweet. It’s incredible how fast my heart pounds when he looks at me like that. Like I’m his entire world.

Peering over my shoulder, I see the crowd lined up outside the door, so I slide my hands down from his back to his ass and give it a squeeze, a grin of appreciation breaking across my face. “You’re welcome.”

He leans into my neck, a look of warning in his eyes. “Two hours, and then I’m throwing you on this desk and painting you while I fuck you,” he growls.

A chill snakes up my spine. “Just remember to close the blinds.”

“Oh, I—” Jaxon’s tease is cut off by a moan coming from the café next door. At first it’s so faint, we both kind of miss it. But then it comes again. “Jax,” a strangled voice cries. We both turn toward the sound.

“Is that Claire?” But as I’m asking the question Jaxon is already jogging into the next room. I hurry behind him, my heart beating frantically in my chest. Something is seriously wrong.

I turn the corner and freeze in my tracks. All I see is blood. Blood on Claire’s hands. Blood staining the front of her gray dress. Jaxon is just standing there, staring as Claire looks down at herself with one palm pressed into the counter like she needs help standing.

Her expression of shock and horror makes my heart shatter in my chest. She can’t lose that baby.

A tear slips from one of her eyes, rolls over her cheek and drops to the floor as she looks up and catches Jaxon’s eye. “Will you take me to the hospital? I can’t get ahold of Danny. I-I think I’m losing my baby.” Claire’s face crumbles at her words as more tears stream out of her eyes. “I think I’ve already lost her.”