“Yeah. After graduation. I’m just going to hit the highways, see every state. Eventually I’ll get out of the country and see everything else.” He nudges me with his shoulder. “You should come with me.”
He says it almost too casually, like he’s tossing out a wild suggestion but testing my reaction.
I laugh it off. “Oh yeah, sure. Me and you, riding off into the sunset?”
“Why not? You said you want to see the world.”
“You’re not serious.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Who says I’m not?”
“You’re just saying it to make me feel better or something.”
“Nah. I’m saying it because I think it’d be fun. You’d get to photograph every single place we go.” Before I can blink, he pulls me between his legs, digging his hands into the pockets of my jeans. “You’d love it.”
I suspect he’s right.
“Have you spoken to Everett at all?” I ask him.
“A little,” he admits.
“How’s he doing?”
“He seems kind of numb, if anything. And Nikki is losing it.Begging JP to push the FBI into opening a new investigation into their mom’s disappearance.”
“I saw one of the FBI agents earlier. He let me read my dad’s journal.”
“What did it say?”
“Honestly, it was a lot of rambling. Stream of consciousness. But he did mention Leah quite a lot. She was sitting for a portrait. That’s why all those sketches and drawings of her were found in his studio. And some of the personal items—there was a scarf, a bracelet. She probably just forgot them there.” I hesitate. “Supposedly, she told my dad she was having an affair.”
“You thinking she ran off with another man?”
“Maybe. That’s my aunt’s theory.”
“That would mean she’s probably still alive,” Chase points out.
“I know.” I let out a breath. “I feel so bad for Everett and Nikki and JP. It’s like everyone else in town got closure except them.”
“Let’s not talk about this anymore,” he says gruffly. “Not tonight.”
Before I can say anything else, he leans in, his lips hovering over mine. My pulse quickens as I await his next move. I’m desperate for him to kiss me, and I think he knows, because his lips curve into a smile as he presses his mouth to mine. It’s a tentative kiss, like he’s waiting for me to pull away, to tell him I can’t. But I don’t. I melt into him, letting his warmth and steadiness fill the cracks, letting myself believe for just a moment that I’m not defined by all the darkness.
We kiss for a while, soft and sweet and unhurried. When we finally pull apart, he wraps one arm around my shoulders and we stand at the railing, staring up at the stars.
An hour later, I’m about to sneak back in through the mudroom door when I catch the low hum of voices coming from the backyard. For a second, I think it’s my cousins, but as I creep closer to the source, I realize it’s Maggie and Dan. I don’t know what they’re doing out here, but they don’t sound happy.
“…can’t do this anymore, Dan. Just tell me the truth. Do you know what happened to her?”
I freeze.
There’s a pause, and then my uncle’s voice, weary. “Mags, I swear to you. I don’t know what happened to Leah.”
Why would Maggie think he knows anything about—
My heart hammers as the pieces slide into place. I remember the last time I heard them arguing. I thought I heard the wordaffair.
Now I know why.
