Page 207 of Silent Shadows

For years, moments like this hollowed me out. Made me feel foolish. Sometimes devastated. Like belief had embarrassed me again.

But tonight, I’m not embarrassed and I’m not gutted. Standing here doesn’t feel empty, and neither does life after this case. With our last avenue of exploration checked off the list, I feel freer than ever. Free to move on.

Daisy steps closer and pulls me into her, looking up at me. Cold cave air curls around us as her flashlight paints strange shapes dancing across stone.

“You okay?” she asks, running her fingers through my hair at my temple.

And somehow, I am. Mostly. Enough.

I look around once more. At darkness. At stone older than human memory. At a place I thought held answers but offered only emptiness. Then at her. Hair messy from climbing. Cheeks pink from the cold. Still holding my hand without seeming to notice.

“Yeah,” I say. And mean it.

A tiny smile pulls at her mouth.

The walk back feels quieter. Less tense. With no looming expectation, the grip of adrenaline loosens.

And finally, as we step back out into open air, moonlight spills silver across sandstone.

Daisy looks up at the stars overhead and exhales dramatically.

“Okay, wow.”

“What?”

“Being alive is incredible.”

I laugh. “You really thought cave murder was imminent.”

“I had accepted my fate. After last night with you, I was going to go willingly.”

She nudges my shoulder. Then slips her hand into mine.

We radio back to let everyone know we’re back out, but then we just stand there for a second at the mouth of the cave. Nothing magical happened and nothing impossible was revealed, but somehow I still feel fulfilled.

“You okay?” she whispers.

I look at her. At the woman who walked back into our chaos with strategy and softness and honesty. At somebody who stopped performing long enough to stay.

Something settles inside me and I nod in response to her question.

My fear—the old one—the one asking if belief made me foolish. If wanting something impossible meant something broken lived inside me.

I feel it fall away.

The desert stretches in front of us, and I’m reminded of all of the memories, old and new, I’ve made here. Somewhere beyond the ridge are the people I trust most, watching over us like guardian angels. And beside me is Daisy. Here. Mine. Real.

Her fingers squeeze mine. “What now?” she asks quietly. The question feels bigger than the cave. Bigger than tonight. Bigger than Bigfoot.

I look out toward the dark desert stretching endlessly ahead. Toward uncertainty. Toward everything I still don’t know. Then down at her.

And suddenly, the answer feels simple.

“We keep choosing each other,” I say. Her smile arrives slow.

“Good,” she says. “Because I’m kind of attached to you.”

chapter