by C. J. Miller
He had no right to judge her for that. She had been through a lot in her life. Her family had left her. Her fiancé had betrayed her. Her business was failing. Wallowing a little was allowed. “I’ll have you know that I did speak to my mother. But you have no idea how much history is there. You’re one to talk about shutting people out. When other people are around, you pretend as if we have no relationship.”
“I don’t pretend we don’t have a relationship. I put some distance between you and how I feel about you and this case. I don’t want to think about the Huntsman getting close to you or hurting you,” Nathan said.
She didn’t know what to say to that. They stared at each other for several long moments.
Nathan backed away from her. “I have no right to tell you how to live your life. I’ve said too much. I’ll go.”
As he walked away, she knew everything he’d said was the truth, and it burned her to the core.
Chapter 8
“Hey, Mom,” Nathan said when his mother answered the phone. She sounded tired. Had she been sleeping? Worrying? This was a call he had been dreading since Blaine had been arrested.
“Nathan, we’ve been following the news. Do you have anything to share?” his mother asked.
The news that the FBI had a suspect in custody under suspicion of being the Huntsman was a national headline. Blaine’s identity hadn’t been disclosed, but Nathan knew it was only a matter of time. Local gossip was already buzzing about Blaine Reed.
If only Nathan believed Blaine was guilty, he would enjoy sharing what he knew with his family. But Nathan believed the Huntsman was at large. “Still investigating, but we’re getting close.”
“The FBI made an arrest.”
“Yes, they did.”
“Why aren’t you elated? This is what you’ve been working for,” his mother said.
Her voice had taken on a color of hope and Nathan hated to white it out. But he wouldn’t lie to his mother. “I am not sure they have the right person.”
His mother sighed. “I knew something was off when I saw the news and you hadn’t called.”
“I’m sorry, I wish I had better news,” Nathan said.
“I know you’re doing everything you can,” his mother said.
His best hadn’t been enough. Not enough to shield the Reed family and not enough to find Colleen’s killer and stop him. He would take more lives. At least at that point, the FBI would have to admit they had the wrong man in custody.
“I miss your sister every day,” his mother said.
“I know you do, Mom. I do, too.”
“I think it’s my fault.”
He and his mother harbored guilt that they had a role in Colleen’s death. If they had been able to quiet her demons, she wouldn’t have needed time away so desperately that she’d been willing to ignore conventional wisdom and hike alone.
“It’s no one’s fault but her killer’s.”
Her mother’s breath hitched on a sob. Nathan wished he was with her. He heard his niece and nephew running and playing in the background and his heart ached. They’d lost their mother. They were confused and grieving and because of how up and down their relationship with their mother had been, they hadn’t fully grasped what had happened to her.
Nathan’s mother had stepped up to help his former brother-in-law with the children and making the adjustment, but they deserved better. They deserved their mom in their life.
“Tell me how you are, Nathan,” his mother said.
Should he tell his mother about Autumn? “I met someone.” Someone who was important enough to mention to his family.
A pregnant pause. “Who is she?” his mother asked.
“She found one of the victims of the Huntsman,” Nathan said.
“Nathan, you know how bad it is when you get involved in drama,” his mother said.
He did know. He was aware of his dating pathology and the mistakes he repeated in relationships. His first marriage had been fireworks and excitement and had imploded because it was too much too fast. “It’s not like that,” Nathan said, but he could point to many times over the past several days when his and Autumn’s relationship had been intense and over-the-top with problems and excitement. “I like her. I like her a lot.”
“If you like her, then you know I will, too. Just be careful. I don’t want you to be hurt again,” his mother said.
Nathan talked to his mom for a few more minutes, said hello to his niece and nephew, and then disconnected the call. Letting his family down hadn’t been an option, and now he had someone else important he couldn’t disappoint. Autumn needed him to find the Huntsman and prove Blaine wasn’t the killer.
* * *
Nathan shifted in his sleeping bag, turning his back to the wind. Autumn’s porch provided some shelter, but sleeping outside alone wasn’t his idea of a good night. Returning to sleep in the cabin he’d rented was tempting, but he wasn’t leaving Autumn alone and unguarded.
The FBI was thrilled to have a man in custody under suspicion of being the Huntsman. Blaine fit the profile and the timeline, and DNA at the scene pointed to the Reed family, but his gut told him Blaine wasn’t guilty. Nathan had no proof Blaine was innocent of the crimes he was accused of, but with even a 1 percent chance that the Huntsman was at large, Nathan had to keep Autumn safe—and that meant staying close to her.
Nathan had called Henry, an old pal of his, after Blaine’s interview with Roger Ford. While his friend wouldn’t betray attorney-client privilege, Henry indicated Blaine had a good defense.
Nathan hoped so—the evidence stacked against him was strong and incriminating. What did Henry think he had? Pinning most of the evidence collected on circumstance?
Nathan closed his eyes, but couldn’t sleep. The case he could shut out and he could ignore the cold, but he couldn’t forget the look on Autumn’s face that night. He’d hurt her, and that didn’t sit well with him. She’d been upset about her brother, and he shouldn’t have pushed her. She’d needed him to be a friend and he’d been an investigator.
Perhaps just shy of regret, she was confused about their relationship and scrambling for more stable ground. He’d known Autumn was a closed book and he’d tried to stay away from her. Tried to construct some boundaries and keep them from being crossed. But he couldn’t.
Even tonight, with the anger spewing from her lips, he’d wanted to take her in his arms and convince her everything would be fine. He wanted to run a trail of kisses down her neck, flick his tongue over the soft skin of her collarbone, and lower to her breasts, suck her nipples in his mouth... He groaned and rubbed his hands together, trying to generate some warmth inside his sleeping bag. Thoughts like that would get him nowhere, and he had a long, cold night ahead of him.
He tried to block thoughts of her, but they filled his head. He was awake when she turned off the light in her kitchen, and he imagined her changing into her soft pajamas and slipping between her sheets. Sheets he wanted to be on with her.
Closing his eyes, he let thoughts of her drift him to a dreamless sleep.
He jolted awake when her screen door hit him in the cheek. He rolled to the side so Autumn could step onto the porch.
“What are you doing?” she asked, more surprise in her voice than anger.
He peeled his sleeping bag away, hating the frigid cold that seeped into his bones. “I slept out here. I didn’t want to leave you alone.”
She angled her head, her eyes narrowed. “You’ve been on my porch all night?”
“Yes.” And it had been brutally cold. Next time he was in town, he was buying some breakable heat packs to stuff in his sleeping bag.
“Alone?”
He looked around and lifted a brow. “Yup. Just me and the bears.”
She folded her arms over her chest. “Why di
dn’t you sleep in your cabin?”
“Because I can’t hear or see you from my cabin.”
This morning she was the image of warmth. She wore a scarf around her neck, a plush coat around her body and thick pants on her legs, and he’d bet beneath it all, she was fresh from a hot shower.
“Why do you think you need to hear or see me?” she asked, inclining her head, her ponytail dropping to the side.
He rubbed his hands together, trying to get the blood flowing in his arms. “The Huntsman is still out here. I don’t think you’re safe.”
Something flared in her eyes. “You think Blaine is innocent.”
He didn’t like the word innocent. Everyone was guilty of something. “I don’t think he killed those people. I don’t think Blaine is the Huntsman.”
Autumn’s shoulders relaxed a fraction of an inch. “I have some errands to run.” When she spoke, her words were soft.
Didn’t she realize he was on her side? Though he had asked her to help him, now that the situation was reversed, he wouldn’t walk away. “I’m coming with you.” He came to his feet. He needed coffee, food and a hot shower. But it could wait. Autumn shouldn’t be moving around town without protection.
“I’m fine on my own.”
He shook the cold from his limbs. “I’m coming.” His instincts told him not to leave her alone. The media would soon figure out that Blaine was in custody, whether from rumors or someone spotting him at the jail. When they did, they would descend on Autumn and the Trail’s Edge. They would invade Autumn’s privacy, and given how much she liked the quiet of her cabin, it would be hard for her.
Autumn sighed and glanced at her watch. “Come inside. I have a few minutes. You can get a shower and I’ll make you breakfast.”
Had he convinced her that he wasn’t working against her and her brother? “You don’t have to do that. I’m fine.”
“You slept on my porch in the freezing cold. I owe you a hot shower and some warm food.”
When she turned and went inside, he didn’t argue. He just followed after her.
* * *
“I’d like to go into the bank alone,” Autumn said, gathering her folder of paperwork from the backseat of the car. She had the loan documents from the remodeling of the Trail’s Edge tucked inside. If she could get another loan or extend the one she’d taken, she’d have cash on hand to pay Blaine’s legal fees. She wouldn’t take another loan unless it was an emergency, and Blaine needing legal aid more than qualified. Increasing her mortgage payment made her feel sick, but somehow, she’d fight through this.
“I’ll come with you and keep my distance,” Nathan said from the passenger seat.
She hadn’t been wild about him coming on her errands, but she had agreed because he’d shown such dogged persistence. He had slept on her porch the night before when he could have been warm and comfortable in his cabin. It had given her a secret thrill that he cared enough to stay when her words should have sent him packing. He’d believed Blaine was innocent. He and her mother might be the only people who did. Nathan was methodically breaking down her defenses and the reasons to keep him away.
She needed more people on her side, especially now, when she felt so alone. If only her father were here or even her uncle. Anyone who knew Blaine would know he was innocent and help her do what was needed to defend him. She thought again of her mother, but what could she say to her? How could she tell her mother what she needed?
“Have you considered how the town will react to Blaine being arrested?” Nathan asked.
She hadn’t, but at that moment, the memories of the vicious rumors that had spread through town about her mother and her uncle hit her with force. They had hurt. As a child and then as a teenager, she had turned away and tried to hide. She was stronger now than she had been and if she had to listen to someone accuse Blaine, she wasn’t sure she would stand and listen quietly. But starting a fight that might bring Daniel to the scene would be worse. He would take the side against her. He would like to have her and Blaine locked in jail. “I’ll be careful. I can do this.”
He relented, nodding his agreement that she would go into the bank alone.
Autumn left him in the car, glancing over her shoulder once, expecting him to follow her. He didn’t. Her tension dropped a few notches. It was embarrassing to be in this financial situation. She had nothing except the Trail’s Edge and the loans that went along with it. Blaine’s lawyer hadn’t cashed the check she’d given him, but unless she wanted to bounce a check for Blaine’s defense, she couldn’t spend any more money. She went inside the bank, its tinted windows and deep brown bricks preventing Nathan from watching her when she was inside.
She needed privacy to deal with this matter. It wouldn’t be pretty.
After waiting for twenty minutes, she was led to the desk of a loan officer. Autumn pleaded her case and showed sales records and explained her slumping income by pointing out the problems with the Huntsman, letting the loan officer know she wholeheartedly believed that when the killer was caught, occupancy would increase.
“My understanding is that the FBI has arrested your brother in connection with the murders,” the loan officer said.
Small-town gossip infuriated her. Autumn worked to stay calm. She wouldn’t let facts fluster her. “Our lawyer is working to have him released. My brother is innocent.”
“But that situation is pending a trial,” the loan officer said.
Autumn checked her patience. “The case won’t go to trial. There is no concrete evidence against my brother.”
The loan officer seemed skeptical. She glanced at the paperwork Autumn had brought. She gathered it into a pile and handed it back to Autumn. “I know this must be hard for you, given your family’s history, but we can’t entangle ourselves in a criminal case.”
“I am not asking the bank to be involved in any criminal case.”
“Your business is floundering. You have no income from the campground. We can’t extend you any further money.”
Autumn had known this was a possibility, but she had hoped that something would go her way. “The Trail’s Edge has been in operation for fifty years. It’s a sustainable business.”
The loan officer shook her head. “I’m sorry, Ms. Reed. We cannot help you.”
Autumn took her papers and fled the bank, catching her reflection in the glass door. A face filled with disappointment. Tears threatened to spill down her cheeks, and her throat was tight. Given her nearly nil income over the past few weeks, the bank wouldn’t help her. She had no one to turn to and nowhere else to go. She climbed into the truck and closed the door harder than she intended.
Nathan didn’t speak, but offered her a nod of understanding. Her face made it plain it hadn’t gone well.
She wouldn’t make this his problem and she certainly couldn’t look at him. She’d burst into tears, confide in him and share the burden. But this was her baggage to carry.
Autumn was tired, she was frustrated and she felt cornered. She hadn’t had much sleep the night before since she’d been up late organizing her financials. Her thoughts were hazy. How could she fix this?
She hit the steering wheel with the palm of her hand, trying to force out some of her aggravation.
“Tell me what’s going on so I can help.”
A command, not a question. “Help? How will you help?”
Nathan rubbed his stubbly jaw. She’d offered him a fresh razor that morning, but he’d declined. The effect of a day’s worth of growth on his face made him more handsome, more rugged and devastatingly masculine. She tried to steel herself against her feelings for him, but one look and she melted.
“I assume this errand has something to do with Blaine. I’ll talk to Henry and see if he’ll take the case pro bono.”
Her internet research on Henry Summers the ni
ght before had revealed he was no small-time lawyer. He was a founding partner of his impressively sized law firm and had a nearly impeccable record of successes. “Why would he do that? He doesn’t know Blaine or me. I don’t even know if he believes Blaine is innocent.”
“I didn’t think you would accept his help if you knew it was a favor to me, but this is beyond pride. You need my help and I want to help you. Henry and I go back to college. He has a philanthropic streak in him and besides that, we trade favors often enough.”
A mental image of Blaine in a jail cell crushed her pride into silence. “Thank you. That would be very kind.”
“It’s no problem.”
She took a deep breath, pulled out of the parking spot and navigated to the trailhead near where they’d found the journal. She parked in the sun, hoping its rays would keep the vehicle warm.
“Am I allowed to ask what we’re doing here?” Nathan asked.
In troubled times, she could rely only on family. It wasn’t just her future at stake. It was Blaine’s, too. But Nathan had been strong and true. She’d be cautious in what she’d share with him. Now that Blaine had a lawyer, she should consult him on everything to be sure Blaine was protected. If she got Blaine into more trouble, she would feel terrible. “We found a small piece of evidence when we found that book at Hilde’s. There might be more out here. Something to prove Blaine is innocent.”
What else could be waiting on the trail that would free her brother?
“The crime scene investigators have gone over the scene,” Nathan said.
“They don’t have as much experience as I do in the wilderness,” Autumn said. Her eyes were more attuned to nature and looking for footprints and other signs that humans had been present.
Autumn climbed out of the car, her boots crunching against the gravel of the lot. After popping the trunk, she circled the truck to lift it. She grabbed her pack and threw it over her shoulders. Though the sky was clear, the smell of snow was heavy in the air, the crispness biting at her nose.
