It was a cemetery.
In the distance, in what I assumed was the cemetery’s parking lot, sat a neon green four-door Jeep Wrangler. My skin instantly buzzed, the fine hairs rising to attention. I laughed at my stupidity and rubbed the odd sensation from my arms. It wasn’t Gale. How many similar Jeeps were out there in the country? Hundreds? Maybe thousands? Besides, we were three hundred miles from home. It couldn’t be him.
Olivia’s phone call came back to me.
Gale was missing.
But Newton, Kansas? Why would he be in Newton, Kansas?
Wait. Why werewein Newton, Kansas? “Okay, maybe not so stupid.”
But… did Olivia know he was here?
I turned my phone over, contemplating the dark screen. I had her number since she’d called the previous day. Should I text and let her know I’d found him? No. Her call hadn’t exactly been friendly, and weren’t we in competition with one another? Why would I help?
Why did I care?
I checked the time and returned inside the restaurant to collect the food. I’d ordered so much that the plastic bags stretched and threatened to break when I hung them off my wrists. We were five hungry guys, and CineVision was footing the bill, so I’d gone overboard.
As I walked back to the Comfort Inn, my attention kept straying to the neon green Jeep in the cemetery parking lot. I scanned the grounds, but there was too much foliage to make out pedestrians among the hidden monuments. From this distance, I would never be able to identify anyone.
Besides, it wasn’t Gale. It couldn’t be Gale.
But a storm was coming.
The Jeep’s color was unique.
He was a meteorologist—no, an atmospheric scientist. It sounded the same to me, despite his explanation.
Gale would have studied the forecast. He would know where to guide Olivia’s team.
But it wasn’t Gale.
Regardless, my skin continued to tingle. I imagined a slow-building electric charge that would snap like lightning if I shook his hand. I thought of the quiet storm inside him and his white-knuckle grip on the sink at CineVision.
I pushed the thoughts away and focused on dinner, on the stuff we wanted to film for CineVision, but even as I trekked toward the inn, my skin continued to buzz.
This needed to stop.
I kicked the door when I arrived, my hands too full to open it, and was greeted with cheers. Vern helped me unload the haul onto the vacant TV stand, popping lids off an endless collection of containers. Steam and savory aromas filled the room. Everyone dug in, filling paper plates and commenting on the selections.
I hung back, unable to ignore the curious tug at the base of my skull, urging me to march across the street to prove it wasn’t Gale’s Jeep. Phantom sensations notwithstanding, my conscience thought it was only right to check if it was Olivia’s missing brother. What if she still hadn’t found him? I had to find out for sure.
It was the noble thing to do, right?
“I’ll be back,” I muttered. “I, um… need to check something. Save me food.”
Before anyone could question my agenda, I exited, hoping the green Jeep would be gone, and I could relax and forget this nonsense.
It was still there. Nearly an hour since I’d first spotted it. I hesitated, but only for a moment, before marching toward the cemetery.
It’s not him. It’s not him. It’s not him. You’re an idiot. It’s not him.
Except, subconsciously, I knew it was.
15
Gale
