Sounded about right.
As Ansley smelled the food, her stomach grumbled. They shared basic chitchat as he cooked the chicken and a foil packet filled with veggies. The conversation hadn’t been especially deep—mostly they’d chatted about Philly cheesesteaks and how Ryan had learned to cook in the firehouse.
When the food was done, Ryan set a platter on the wooden table on the deck and lifted up a prayer before they dug in.
“You seem different.” Ansley raised her fork and observed him across table. She pulled her flannel shirt closer, the air already turning colder.
“Do I?” He sounded laid-back.
“You do. I can’t pinpoint what it is.” It hadn’t been for lack of trying, either. The man had consumed her thoughts entirely more than he should have.
“Maybe I just got older, more mature, more handsome.”
“No, it’s definitely not that.”
Ryan chuckled. “Noted.”
Ansley winked and listened as Ryan masterfully turned the subject back to her.
“You seem different too.”
“Older, more mature, more beautiful,” she suggested with a teasing lilt to her voice.
“I can’t deny it.”
She’d expected Ryan to tease back. But at his serious tone, her cheeks flushed. She looked away. Shrugged. Took her time chewing.
You seem different too . . .
Life hadn’t turned out the way she expected. But, after facing the threat of death, she’d realized her time here on Earth was too short to be such a screwup. “I am. Life has a way of humbling people.”
“Yes, it does.”
Ansley swallowed hard, sensing that there was a deeper conversation to be had here. But neither of them seemed to want to take the first step.
“You don’t always have to try to be strong, Ansley.” Ryan’s voice sounded quiet, serious.
She paused with her fork in the air. She’d been anticipating the shift, yet she still felt off-balance at his words. “What do you mean?”
“I can see the flashes of fear in your eyes—as soon as it appears, you try to cover it up so everyone will think you’re tough. But it’s okay not to have everything together.”
“I don’t try to be strong,” she scoffed.
Ryan’s eyes locked on her across the table, his gaze so intense she felt he could see into her soul.
“Don’t you?”
The finality of his words caused her guard to go up so quickly that the air left her lungs. “You’ve only been around me two days. You can’t come back here and pretend like you know me. You don’t.”
He raised his hands. “Touché. I get it. I overstepped.”
“Yes, you did. You have no idea what it’s like to be in my shoes.” People always judged Ansley, assumed they knew her when they didn’t. Most people—most men—didn’t want to know what was inside her. They only cared about the outside.
Instead of rebuking her, Ryan asked, “What’s it like, Ansley?”
His question hung in the air. Ansley supposed she’d opened herself up to the inquiry. But this was the last thing she wanted to talk about with Ryan Philips. She opened her mouth, about to formulate a snappy response. Before she could, a knock sounded at the front door.
Good. She could avoid that question for longer. Maybe forever.
Because she didn’t intend to see Ryan Philips that much once that was all over, so there was no need to get too close.
Ryan reluctantly left the conversation to answer the door. Luke stood there.
“You have a minute?” he asked.
“Come on. We were just sitting down to eat? Want to join us?”
Luke raised his brow. “Us?”
“Ansley is here.”
Luke squinted, as if trying to process that information. “Harper’s working late, so why not?”
“Busy job, huh?”
“There’s an emergency town meeting to discuss how the ziplining accident could affect tourism and also to continue planning the upcoming Fog and Hog Festival at the end of the month.”
“That still one of the highlight events of the area?”
Luke let out a chuckle. “Of course. There’s just something about fall in the mountains . . . and with the fog in our area, we don’t need any haunted houses. The area already seems haunted enough.”
Ryan led his friend through the house and onto the deck, his conversation with Ansley still playing in his mind.
Ryan wasn’t sure why he wanted to know more about Ansley, why he’d hoped she would open up and reveal more of her inner workings. Images of who she’d been clashed with all the transformations he’d seen. Sweet little sister. Wild teenager. Man eater. And now this.
The evolution of a life marred by unwanted change. The fight for self-preservation.
Ryan couldn’t push her, though. It wasn’t like he’d taken down all his protective walls and told Ansley about what had precipitated his move back to Fog Lake.
He’d have to think about all of that later.
Luke joined them at the table on the deck and added a piece of chicken and some veggies to his plate. As he cut into his chicken, he said, “Since you’re both here, how about if I tell both of you the update?”
“I’d love an update,” Ansley said.
“We took all the evidence we could from your apartment, Ansley,” Luke started. “Including the opossum.”
She visibly shivered. “Thank you.”
“Do you have any clue why someone might have done that?” Luke stared at his sister, part big brother and part sheriff.
She frowned and lowered her own fork back to her plate, her food nearly untouched. “I was at Hanky’s not too long ago. As I went to grab something from the back, an opossum jumped out of the closet at me. I mean, it was crazy. It must have been hiding there. I probably scared it just as much as it scared me.”
“What happened?” Ryan asked.
“I screamed and ran back out into the dining area,” Ansley said. “I made a real spectacle of myself, I suppose. But when I realized that I was okay, I calmed down, and I coolly explained what had happened. I told everyone how much I hated rodents.”
“Who was there?” Ryan hadn’t expected her story. He should have asked her earlier, he supposed, but he had no idea there could be some kind of history with an opossum. He’d just assumed someone had wanted to send a threatening message.
Ansley sighed, and her gaze drifted out over the mountains. “It was all the usuals, to be honest. I mean, that was a good month ago. I remember seeing Chigger. Thickie. Murphy. Dustin. Danny. No one out of the ordinary. Why? You think someone who was there did this?”
Luke leaned closer to his sister. “I wonder if all this goes back to someone who, in this twisted kind of way, is trying to look out for you.”
Ansley’s skin lost all of its color, and she crossed her arms as if suddenly chilly. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, Thickie gave you a hard time, and then he almost died. Dustin acted like a jerk to you, and he did die. Even this opossum, as minor as it might seem, it irritated you. So—”
“Someone took care of it,” Ansley filled in, her words listless.
Luke nodded. “Unfortunately, yes.”
She squeezed the skin between her eyes. “I . . . I don’t know what to say. That sounds crazy. I don’t need someone killing other people to watch out for me.”
“I didn’t say this person was rational,” Luke said. “And, in other news, I tried to talk to Roadkill Ronnie today. I finally found someone who actually knows something about where he might be.”
“And?” Ryan asked, feeling like he shouldn’t insert himself into this conversation but doing it anyway. He was wrapped up in this, whether he wanted to be or not.
“And he’s on a business trip in Mexico.”
Ansley snorted and stabbed a piece of her chicken—a piece she had no intention of eating, if Ryan had to guess. “I think we know what kind of business that might be.”
>
Luke took a long sip of his sweet tea. “I think we all do. But we pinged his phone. I think this person was telling the truth. Roadkill Ronnie isn’t in town, and he hasn’t been for the past week.”
“So he can’t be guilty?” Ansley clarified.
“We don’t believe he is or that he got any of his men to do this. Dustin was better off to him alive.”
Luke’s words made sense. When a person dove into motive, it just wasn’t there for Roadkill Ronnie. However, Ryan would rather blame someone who was an obvious threat than explore the possibilities that a killer could be living among them, blending in, and unnoticed.
“I can see that,” Ansley said, still playing with her chicken. “So who does that leave?”
“We can’t find anything solid to hold Thickie on right now,” Luke continued. “I’m not ruling him out as a suspect, though.”
“But, again, you have no evidence?” Ansley asked.
“That’s correct. We need to find someone who has the motive to target you. Maybe someone you dated and who feels the need to protect you? Or this could be some kind of twisted vengeance maybe?”
“I agree.” Ryan’s gaze fell on Ansley. “It might be a good idea to make a list of men you’ve rejected or hurt in some way. Maybe we can narrow down the suspects.”
Ansley and Luke exchanged a glance.
“What?” Ryan asked, wondering what he was missing.
Ansley put down her fork. “It’s just that . . . well . . .”
“She used to have what I call flavors of the month,” Luke filled in.
Regret filled Ansley’s gaze as it shot over to Ryan. She frowned and her shoulders tightened. “But I’m not like that anymore. I haven’t dated anyone in a year.”
Ryan’s eyebrows shot up. Not dating for a year was impressive. But just how many guys were they talking about here? “Okay. Well, who are some of these guys?”
Ansley and Luke exchanged another look.
“Where do I start?” she murmured.
Ryan’s eyebrows shot up again. “How about locals, people who might still be in this area?”
“I don’t know . . . there was Landon, who works at Hanky’s,” Ansley started. “Leo, who’s a whitewater rafting guide. Murphy from the fire station—”
“Wait, you dated Murphy?” Ryan had seen the two of them talking, but he had no idea they had a history.
“Dated is a strong word,” Ansley said. “We went out a couple times.”
Ryan nodded slowly. At least, he was getting a glimpse into Ansley’s life. It wasn’t flattering, and maybe it wasn’t all something she was proud of. But the truth was the truth. Hiding it only made things more complicated.
She listed a few more guys that Luke made note of.
“What about that photo Kit took?” Ryan asked. “Any updates?”
“Here’s where things get interesting.” Luke put his fork down and reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone. “I was able to blow the photo up so we could get a better look. It’s still grainy. The camera was far away. But this is what we got.”
Ansley and Ryan leaned together to better see the picture. Ansley let out a little grunt at the image there. It was grainy, but the image looked like a man wearing a vest, shorts, and hiking boots.
“It is hard to make out who it is,” Ansley muttered.
“That doesn’t look like anyone you recognize?” Luke still waited, studying her expression.
Ansley examined it again, narrowing her gaze. “I’m not sure. It’s so hard to make out any details.”
“Look one more time.”
She nibbled on her bottom lip as she looked again, not bothering to hide her irritation. Then she sucked in a breath and straightened. “Wait, it almost looks like . . . Jonathan Turner.”
A smile lit Luke’s face. “Exactly. What do you know about Jonathan?”
Ansley shrugged. “I don’t know. He came to the area probably six years ago. If I remember correctly, he came here to work summers while going to college and loved being a rafting guide. He decided to drop out of college and stay here.”
“Ever had problems with him?” Ryan asked.
“Problems? Not really. I mean, he’s a bit of a player. I’ve called him out on it before. But he hasn’t seemed to hold it against me.”
“Do you really think Jonathan did this?” Ryan turned to Luke. “The same person who helped us rescue Ansley? The one who found the bolt cutters in the river?”
Luke raised a shoulder. “I know how it sounds. But this could be evidence that Jonathan was at the zipline on the day before the accident happened. If we can place him there, then he’s our most likely suspect.”
The man would have a lot of nerve if he did this and then helped with the rescue, as well. Plus, Jonathan had been the one to turn in the bolt cutters. Was the man playing a twisted game with them?
“Did you question him?” Ryan asked.
“He went into Gatlinburg today to meet someone—a date, apparently. But as soon as he gets back, I’m going to talk to him.” Luke turned back to Ansley. “In the meantime, I’m stationing a deputy outside your place. We want to be careful. If someone slipped into your apartment that easily, it makes you vulnerable.”
“How did they get in?” Ryan asked.
“We found some marks on the windows. You should tell your roommate to be careful also.”
“I will,” Ansley said. “There’s one other thing. I don’t know if this is relevant or not. But as I’ve been organizing those files, I noticed that Jonathan applied to be a firefighter. He was rejected.”
“Why?” Ryan asked.
Ansley shrugged. “I’m not sure. But maybe Chief Johnson could tell you, just in case there’s some kind of link.”
Ryan’s muscles tightened. He would follow up, just to be on the safe side.
But what really bothered him was that Ansley seemed too proud to ask for help. The situation she was in right now could be deadly. She could be as careful as she wanted, and this madman could still get to her.
Ryan didn’t like any of this.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
I don’t know why I’m spiraling. I had everything under control. I had a plan.
But now hunger is starting to consume me. It’s making me want to do things I hadn’t intended on doing.
So many people have wronged Ansley. So many.
I want them all to pay.
When they do, I’ll have her all to myself, the way it should be.
From the moment I first met her, I knew fate had brought us together.
How could I make her see that, though?
I need to prove to her that I’m on her side.
And Ryan Philips keeps getting in the way. He’s always there. Always watching.
He’s going to mess everything up.
That can’t happen. I’ve known he was a threat, but now he’s moving to the top of my list. He must be eliminated.
I put my binoculars down. I’m in my secret place where no one can see me.
But I see them. I smile at my cleverness.
But my smile slips. I had that other place, but Ryan discovered it and ruined things.
I can’t stand that man.
My focus goes back to the present. I see Ryan walking Ansley to her door. I see them flirting as they stand there. Do they even know they’re flirting?
Maybe not. They’re both too proud. But everyone else can see it. See the way they like each other. They even do that lean thing that people talk about—as if some kind of internal force is pulling them together like a magnet and a refrigerator.
And why shouldn’t they be drawn together? They’re both beautiful and injured.
My grip on the binoculars tightens.
I know how I can ruin him.
I continue to watch.
Ansley jabs Ryan in the chest, and he playfully steps back.
I nearly snort.
It’s so pathetic. The dance of love.
My curiosity
turns into white-hot anger.
I need to accelerate my plan. There’s too much that can go wrong.
My next step is to eliminate Ryan Philips.
Tomorrow. That’s the big day.
I’ll fell him like a tree. I won’t even appreciate the product afterward. He’s not like a tree. He’s more like a weed that masquerades as a tree.
I smile and watch as a sheriff’s cruiser pulls up. Someone will be keeping an eye on Ansley tonight.
That will make two of us.
Chapter Thirty
Ansley nearly jumped out of her skin as a footstep sounded behind her the next morning. She’d been preparing some yogurt and granola when she heard the sound.
She twirled on the kitchen floor, halfway expecting to spot a prowler holding a knife.
Or bolt cutters.
Instead, Kit stood there and raised her hands. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I thought you heard me coming down the hallway.”
Ansley tried to relax her shoulders as she turned back to her breakfast. “Sorry, I’m a little on edge.”
“I know. You’ve had a lot going on.”
The two of them had caught up last night. Kit had told Ansley about Wallace Ackerbury coming into her bookstore, and Ansley had told Kit the updates on the case. It felt good to have a girlfriend to chat with. Ansley hadn’t had a BFF since elementary school.
“I really don’t like where all of this is going.” Kit shoved her hip against the counter. “I could hardly sleep. I kept thinking I heard someone.”
“I feel like I should be able to say the same, but I was out like a light.” Ansley could hardly remember anything from the time she took her pain medication until she woke up. To say she was surprised was an understatement. “Hopefully we’ll get some answers today.”
“So you think Jonathan is behind this?” Kit began straightening some mail on the counter, sorting it into a neat little pile.
Ansley shrugged. “He’s the one who makes the most sense now. But we’ll see.”
“Everyone in town has been talking about it.” Kit’s voice sounded low, like she wasn’t sure if she should mention that fact.
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