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Giving into a moment of whimsy would lead nowhere. She had a purpose for coming here, and she couldn’t let anything distract her.
“I can take it from here.” Her voice hardened. She had to let him know she wasn’t changing her mind.
She couldn’t be deterred from her purpose.
“I can wait with you until the tow truck gets here,” Duke said. “I don’t mind.”
If he waited with her, she might change her mind. She didn’t want that.
“No, really,” she insisted. “I should be fine. I need to go check out the truck, make a little path to the door anyway.”
By telling him to leave, she was essentially saying she was going back to Fairbanks. Leaving this little murder club behind.
Leaving her new friendship with Duke in the rearview mirror.
Was that really what she wanted?
In truth, all Andi wanted was to get away from Duke right now. The man did something to her emotions that scared her. Suddenly, everything she was fighting for didn’t seem as important.
And that wasn’t okay.
Those people who had died because of Victor deserved justice. She couldn’t follow a whim and expect to be able to live with herself afterward.
“Andi . . .” Duke’s voice trailed.
She glanced at him, almost fearing what he might be about to say.
Quickly, she grabbed her bag and scrambled from his SUV. She only leaned inside quickly enough to say, “I hope you figure out who killed Henrietta and Craig.”
Then she slammed the door and hurried toward her truck.
As she did, an ache of regret pulsed in her chest.
* * *
Duke watched Andi go.
He wanted to stop her.
Why was that? Was the desire purely platonic?
That’s what he told himself.
But Duke knew better. He knew he had feelings for Andi—not that he’d act on them.
After all, Celeste could still be out there. She deserved a man who’d wait for her. Who’d search for her. Who wouldn’t give up.
If Duke started dating someone else, that would mean he’d moved on. Duke didn’t care what his friends said. Loyalty was important to him.
He watched Andi as she practically hopped through the snowdrifts. He hid a bittersweet smile at the sight of her petite frame leaping the mounds of icy precipitation.
A moment later, she reached the truck, and after a couple tries, she managed to get the door open.
She glanced back at him, an almost wistful look in her gaze.
Then she climbed inside and slammed the door.
Duke’s smile faded.
