“Any idea where you want to go?”
“How about where you found Sarah?”
Logan’s expression doesn’t change, but the blue of his eyes deepens, the same color as the sky over the ridge when a storm front is coming in. “Get your coat.”
The ridge pullout is only twelve minutes from his front door. Jesse used to bring me here when I was crying about something I wouldn’t name, usually Logan. From here, you can see Lush Hollow spread out below like a postcard.
Logan parks the truck and gets out. I join him.
The cold hits clean and sharp. I lean against the truck with my arms wrapped around my stomach. Logan stands beside me, close enough that I feel the warmth coming off his jacket.
“Sarah was two grades ahead of me,” I say.
“Her older brother filed the missing person report. I took the call. We were… friends.” Logan keeps his eyes on the valley. “I ran the investigation by the book. Pulled phone records. Interviewed friends. Sat across a table from Sarah’s boyfriend and came out of that hour-long interview with a gut feeling he was telling the truth. But I also had a feeling someone in the department was steering me away from a particular line of questioning.”
“Sheriff Miller.”
“Yeah.” The wind moves through the pines below us. “I had no evidence. Just small things that didn’t add up. But when Monica Reyes came to town, asking questions for her cold-case crime podcast, and Gideon found Sarah’s compass on the ridge, I knew my instinct was right. And it was time to get to the truth for her family’s sake.”
“And yours.”
A muscle works in Logan’s jaw. “I found Sarah in the mine shaft, but she’d died when part of the bridge collapsed. Dale put her body where she wouldn’t be found.” He takes a breath and exhales slowly. “I…”
“What?”
“The shaft isn’t that far from this pullout. I’ve driven this road more times than I can count, but I never thought Sarah was this close.”
I don’t say anything.
He turns to face me fully. “I don’t need your sympathy or pity. You asked so I’m telling you. But you should know what’s sitting behind my ribs when I make decisions about your safety.I waited with Sarah. I won’t do that again. I follow what my gut tells me. Nothing else.”
“I understand.” At least I’m trying.
Below us Roz’s lights are on. Mrs. Porter is closing the library. Smoke rises from a woodstove somewhere off Main Street. The valley looks peaceful from up here, but I know better than most how quickly that peace can shatter.
“But don’t try to help or fix me because you couldn’t save Sarah,” I add.
He doesn’t flinch. “That’s not what I’m doing. You’re a different situation. A different case. I made a rule for myself and I’m applying it. That’s how I do my job now.”
Logan has told me a lot of things in the last twenty-four hours, and I believe him. Now I need to do the same. “I want to tell you about the Valentine’s date night auction.”
“Go on.”
As the wind comes off the ridge, I stare at the valley. “The first reason I didn’t bid was that I didn’t want to drag you into what happened in Seattle. The second reason… I didn’t think I could survive being rejected by you again. I know it was a long time ago, and I’m sure you had your reasons for turning me down, but I was young and had our future planned in my head and my heart.”
The light dips another inch along the ridge. His gaze meets mine. “Sophie…”
“I left Lush Hollow because I couldn’t stay and watch you live happily ever after with someone else. And when I came back, I realized how much I missed my family and this town. I wanted to stay, forever this time. But I was afraid if you…”
“I want you, Sophie. I’ve never not wanted you.” His voice is low and rough. “I let your age get in the way, and I’m sorry. But I’ll never reject you again. Never.” He takes my hand. “Do you know how many times I’ve parked outside your apartment?”
“What?”
“I knew why, but that was as close as I could let myself get to you, other than at Roz’s. I’ve been waiting.”
“For what?”
“A sign. I don’t really know. But it’s always been you, Sophie.” His voice drops even lower. “It will always be you.”
