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“Why don’t I give you all a few minutes to discuss everything,” Ashley said. “I’ll be in the lobby when you’re finished, and we can chat more.”
Mia waited for the other woman to leave the room, closing the door behind her, before sitting up straight and wiping her eyes. “I’m fine. I wasn’t expecting to get hit in the gut with all these feelings while doing this. I figured I’d be trying not to die.” She forced a laugh, but it came out on a choked sob. “I’m sorry. I’m just a little overwhelmed. And then with what happened to Chet earlier, and how he reacted when I touched him.”
She squeezed her eyes shut, absorbing the blow that came along with the way Chet had winced when she’d tried to comfort him. At the feeling of rejection at his relief once she’d agreed to go with Zoe and Brooke.
“Oh, honey. You have nothing to apologize for,” Zoe said. “You’re going through a lot right now. Trust me, I understand. And with Chet…” She shrugged. “You’ve got to understand how much this weighs on him.”
“I do understand. My heart breaks for him. It’s just that the last couple of days has brought us so close, and I could see him rethinking everything. Maybe I should do the same.” She’d come to Pine Valley to heal from a broken heart and regain her focus on her dream. Not to get sucked back into a relationship with a man who’d always see her as second best. A man who’d always choose solitude and living in the past over discovering a new future with her.
Brooke swung off her bike and stared at her with large, sad eyes. “I know you have so much whirling around inside you right now. Questions and fear and confusion. But until a few days ago, I hadn’t seen Chet smile the way I’ve seen him smile when he looks at you—haven’t heard him laugh. Despite all the bad things that have happened, he’s come alive again. You’re the reason. Don’t give up on him too soon. Don’t give up on what you two could be. You bring out something special in each other.”
Mia considered her words as she gulped down water from her bottle. She didn’t want to give up on Chet, but she also didn’t want to waste her time on someone who couldn’t give her everything she needed. Everything she deserved. She’d made that mistake once and it’d nearly cost her everything. She’d be a fool if she made that same mistake a second time.
18
Chet sat on the hard bench nestled off the brick pathway that cut across the grassy square downtown. He kept his gaze glued on Truly’s Trading Post, willing Eddy to return from his lunch break. All the steam that had carried him down the hill to town had slowly leaked away, billowing into the afternoon breeze.
A quick glance at his watch told him he’d waited for nearly an hour. Eddy should be back soon. The cashier he’d spoken with when he’d arrived told him he’d just missed Eddy. So he’d found a spot outside, sat, and waited.
And tried to forget the flash of hurt in Mia’s eyes when he’d flinched away from her comforting touch.
Running his tongue along the inside of his mouth, he forced the image away. He couldn’t get sucked into her vortex anymore. He had to focus on finding the killer and nothing else. Only then would he find some sort of peace in this twisted world. And if he found out that Bobby was the man who’d murdered so many innocent women, including his family, then the world was even more twisted than he’d even realized.
An old red truck with Truly’s Trading Post scrawled along the side in white loopy letters turned onto the square and parked in front of the store. Eddy unhooked his seatbelt then twisted to search for something in the back seat.
Chet stood and crossed over the ankle-high grass to meet Eddy. His heart thundered in his chest with each step. His nerves stretched so tight they threatened to snap. Eddy had lied once to protect his uncle. Chet needed to make sure that didn’t happen again. Not when the stakes were this damn high.
Chet rapped his knuckles against Eddy’s window, his mouth pressed in a firm line.
Eddy jumped, then turned toward him. Relief sagged his shoulders, a frown firmly in place, and his eyes shifted like a child who’d been caught in the wrong—already coming up with excuses.
Instead of stepping out of the truck, Eddy powered down the window. “Hey, man. What’s up?”
“You tell me,” Chet said, crossing his arms over his chest and ignoring the itching sensation burning rings around his wrists.
Eddy narrowed his gaze. “Excuse me?”
“Don’t play dumb. How could you lie to the police about where Bobby is? How could you lie to me? I thought we were friends.”
A flash of irritation rippled across Eddy’s face, turning his pale skin red. Chuckling, he rubbed the back of his neck. “Friends, huh? Is that why you’re always chasing me away? I’ve tried for years to be your pal. Yours and Tucker’s. You’ve never seemed too interested in that, until now. When you want me to turn my back on my family even though we both know Bobby isn’t capable of hurting anyone.”
Eddy’s answer reared back Chet’s head. Sure, Eddy could be a bit of a pest, but he and Tucker had always included him. Letting him tag along whenever he was in town. But that shouldn’t matter. All that mattered was the truth. “Dude, I don’t have the time or the patience to dissect whatever the hell type of relationship me and you have. Friendship. Pals. Acquaintances. That’s not the point. The point is you lied to cover for Bobby. That doesn’t help anyone here. Not even him.”
Hanging his head, Eddy gripped the bottom of the steering wheel and sighed. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I just got scared, all right? Those bodies showed up on Uncle Bobby’s property and he’s nowhere to be found. That doesn’t look good. I figured if I mentioned he was with Aunt Missy on that cruise, all suspicion of him would blow over so the police could focus on who was responsible. I mean, you don’t really think it could be him, do you?” He straightened and locked his weary gaze on Chet.
Chet looked away, unable to meet his eye. “I don’t know what I believe anymore.” Saying the words out loud made his stomach roll. Bobby had stood by his side, hell had carried him from one day to the next, in his darkest hour. The idea that he could be a serial killer was almost more than he could bear. But he couldn’t ignore the facts, and those facts were piling up against Bobby.
“I need to talk to him. Do you have any idea where he could be?”
Eddy shrugged. “I’ve checked all his normal hunting spots and nothing. Called and there’s no answer. I don’t know what else to do to get him back here. I know he can clear his name. We just have to find him.”
Chet swung his gaze toward the storefront of the trading post. He’d spent countless hours inside with Bobby, buying camping gear and bait for fishing. The older man had been like a father to him when he’d needed one. Had acted like a father when he no longer had a child of his own to look after. That was what had bonded the two of them. That deep loss.
A thought dawned on him. “I didn’t know Bobby before Shelly died.”
Eddy stiffened, crushing his eyes closed for a moment before opening them again and letting out a deep breath. “He was a different man then. Hell, we were all different before Shelly passed.”
A human didn’t stumble along the path of grief without it leaving scars. But he wanted specifics. “How so?”
