Josh bypassed the house and went directly to the garden. Expecting to see Shay hunched over the soil tending the seedlings, when he was greeted with silence he was surprised. Water glistened on the seedlings and the ground was damp, so she’d been working out here. Turning towards the house, he smiled. She must have finished what she’d needed to do and had gone inside to take a break.

With a purpose in his step, he strode to the kitchen door and pulled it open.

“Shay?” he called out, expecting a reply. When the only sound was the soft hum of the refrigerator, he went into the living room but found it empty.

Maybe she was upstairs. Taking the steps two at a time, he reached the top then went into her room. The bed had been converted back into a fold-out couch and the room looked a little too tidy. A sense of unease engulfing him, Josh looked in the drawers where Shay kept her things and found them empty.

What was going on? Where was she?

He went to the window that overlooked the front of the house, his gaze shooting in all directions. She was nowhere to be seen.

Had Will found her and taken her?

Fresh panic swept over him.

How could he have found her? Had she texted him after all? After she’d left a message for her mother, she’d turned her phone off. Had she waited until she’d been alone and decided to get in touch with Will, tell him where she was?

He thought about the look of determination he’d seen in her eyes at dinner. Did that have something to do with this?

His mind in a whirl, he made his way to the kitchen. His mouth had gone dry. Pouring himself a glass of cold water, he leaned against the counter as he gulped it down, then he surveyed the kitchen, picturing Shay working at the counter, loving the image.

He had to find her. She could be in danger.

Then a slip of paper on the table caught his eye. In three steps he was to the table where he snatched the paper from the tabletop and quickly read the note.

Josh - Thank you so much for all you’ve done for me. You didn’t know me, yet you helped me when I needed it the most.

It’s time for me to move on, but I couldn’t leave without telling you how much I appreciate your kindness.

Don’t come for me this time. I need to do this on my own.

Shay

The first emotion he felt was relief. Will hadn’t taken her. Immediately after that a mix of annoyance, worry, and determination surged through him—annoyance that she would leave without telling him face to face, worry that she was in danger, and determination to find her.

Setting his jaw, he grabbed the keys for his ATV and headed to the garage. When he stood beside his ATV moments later, he paused. Was he wrong to want to go after her? She’d specifically asked him not to, stating that she needed to do this on her own. Do what? Throw herself to the wolves? He hadn’t forgotten the story she’d told him about the men trying to force her into their truck.

Picturing her being dragged away by men who meant to do her harm, or by Will who had stated that he was going to find her, that he was done being reasonable, Josh felt adrenaline flood his veins. He had to get to her. Immediately.

Jumping onto the ATV, he started it and drove out of the garage. When he reached the road, he hesitated, not sure which way she’d gone, but then he figured she would head toward Burton as that was the way she’d been going before.

He pulled onto the road, keeping close to the shoulder. How long ago had she left? She had to be on foot, so she couldn’t have gone very far. Unless she’d already hitched a ride.

Urgency to find her before she climbed into a car with a stranger made him open the throttle.

* * *

Keeping a steady pace, Shay continued walking. Several cars had passed her, but she’d ignored each one. Confused by her reluctance to shorten her walk, she analyzed her feelings. Was she resistant to putting distance between herself and Josh? If so, why? She had no illusions about her level of attraction to him. The more time she spent with him, the deeper her attraction to him had grown. At first it had been all about his incredible good looks—who was she kidding, that still played a large part. But it had become more than that. Despite his occasional threat to kick her out, he’d been nothing but kind and thoughtful. The polar opposite of Will.

Maybe that was the problem. She was afraid of falling for him and having him turn into someone else, someone she hadn’t realized he truly was. She could sense that he was hiding something from her, and her fear of whatever that thing was had scared her away.

Yet…yet. She already harbored some level of regret for leaving. She could have stuck around, figured out what he was hiding, decided if he was worth it. But what if she’d fallen harder for him and then discovered that he was into something bad, something criminal? Then what? It would have been that much harder to leave.

No, she’d made the right choice.

Then why did she feel so discouraged?

Her future was wide open, which should have filled her with optimism. Yet it didn’t. That future would not include Josh. It couldn’t.

And then there was Will. How long would he look for her before he gave up and moved on? The man could be relentless, and she knew she’d hurt his pride by leaving. Maybe he even cared about her in his own twisted way.

When she’d turned her phone on again the night before to see if her mother had called back, she’d also been curious to see if Will had sent any new texts. He hadn’t, and that continued silence worried her.

But he had no way to find her. No way to know which direction she’d gone. She was safe. She had to be.

The sound of an engine reached her ears, but it sounded different than the vehicles that had passed her. It almost sounded like an ATV.

Could it be? Had Josh come after her even though she’d asked him not to? Heart racing, Shay spun around to look in the direction of the sound. Moments later a woman flew by on an ATV, then a man who wasn’t Josh drove past on his ATV.

Disappointment slammed into Shay, and to her shock she realized she’d been hoping Josh would come for her.

But she’d told him not to. Of course he wouldn’t. He would respect her wishes.

Regret uncoiled inside her. She could turn around and go back, but that would put her right back where she’d been that morning—on unsteady footing with regards to whether or not she could stay with Josh, not to mention her uncertainty and concern over what he was hiding.

No, she needed to continue on the path she’d chosen when she’d walked away from Josh’s house that morning.