by Deirdre Dore
“Thank God. Are you okay?” Raquel demanded. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
“I’m okay, but I’m lost and my phone’s dying.”
“All right,” Raquel said calmly, her voice brisk and businesslike, the way it always was in an emergency. “We’ll give one of the dogs your scent. Atohi will find you.”
Tavey didn’t want that, didn’t want to be rescued. “No, I’m going to use the map on my phone, get my bearings, and come home.”
“Tavey Collins, you will sit your ass down and wait for us to come get you.”
Tavey paused, considered protesting, but realized that Raquel was right. It would be foolish to continue stumbling through the dark with a bruised skull and twisted ankle. She would survive having her pride battered.
“All right. I’ll check my phone, get my bearings, and try to text you my general location.”
“Good. Hang up and get to it,” Raquel ordered, and ended the call.
Tavey pulled up her mapping app and hit the GPS navigation button, watching the little blue arrow center in on her location. She was in a small valley about a mile from the house. She texted Raquel a general description and had just hit send when her phone died, taking the only light aside from the moon. After a moment, her eyes adjusted and the dim glow was enough for her to make out the vague outlines of the trees.
She led the dogs slowly over to a big oak tree, carefully placing her feet, listening to the snap and crunch of the twigs and leaves beneath them. She hoped the noise and the presence of the dogs would keep any overly aggressive animals away. The night air was soft and humid, smelling of earth and blooming trees. Bracing herself against the tree with one arm, she lowered herself carefully so that she was sitting next to the trunk.
The dogs came and sat next to her, sharing their warmth and the comfort of their steady panting.
She patted them, closing her eyes but not sleeping.
She remembered every crisp, vibrant detail of the dream, better than she remembered the events of the day. She remembered Summer’s face, mostly grown up, her white-blond hair hanging down. “The dead smile and sit up and return to the world,” Tavey repeated, remembering what Summer had said. Tavey felt one hot tear slide from her right eye. It was the quote from the book the FBI had found at the paper mill. Summer was dead. Tavey felt certain of it in a way she never had before.
It didn’t seem possible, really, that Summer was gone. She was so much a part of Tavey’s life, of Raquel’s life, of Chris’s. Even when insisting that Abraham knew where to find her body, some secret part of Tavey had hoped that Summer would be found alive, undamaged, even after all this time. She’d believed it because she’d always believed in Summer, and her heart was broken all over again.
24
TYLER DROVE FASTER than was wise on the narrow roads that led to Tavey’s property, thinking of Tavey lost, maybe hurt, attacked. He was surprised at how much he hated the idea. He never wanted to see anyone hurt, but the idea of Tavey hurt—suddenly it was untenable.
When he arrived at the house, the lights were blazing. Burns’s Jeep was still parked where it had been this afternoon, as was Raquel’s motorcycle. He pulled up behind the Jeep, his tires spitting gravel as he came to a stop.
Jerking the car door open, he jumped out, making sure he grabbed his cell phone and the big flashlight he kept for emergencies.
“Tyler’s here.” He heard Raquel’s voice, and when he crossed in front of the Jeep, he saw her standing with Atohi and one of the tracking dogs in the light blazing from one of the security lamps on the outside of the house. The dog was wearing a vest, a long lead attached to the back of him, the other end rolled in a loop and held in Atohi’s hand. Atohi was standing with his legs braced on either side of the dog.
“These are her pajamas from last night.” She handed Atohi a pair of silk pajamas.
“Okay, boy. You ready?” He let the dog sniff the pajamas. “Find ’em.”
Atohi handed the pajamas back to Raquel. “All right, boy. Get ’em.”
The dog lifted his head and sniffed, turning in a slight half circle, before heading off into the trees.
“Wait a sec.” Raquel caught his sleeve.
Tyler didn’t want to wait a sec, he wanted to catch up with them, find her.
“She’s okay,” she reassured him. “She called. Sent her general location.”
“Call her back,” he ordered.
“Can’t,” Raquel responded succinctly. “Her phone died.”
Tyler cursed and looked around. “So we’re just going to wait. Is that it?”
“No,” she snapped, “but I don’t want to get in the way, either. Atohi has a GPS tracker. We’re going to follow at a distance.” She held up her phone.
Tyler nodded, pissed but relieved. “All right.” He looked around. “We should get some supplies. Is she hurt or anything?” He noticed Burns standing in the shadows by the porte cochere, his hands in his pockets, his brow furrowed.
“Don’t know.” Raquel’s eyes were on her phone, on the little green dot making its way deeper into the woods.
Tyler nodded to Burns. “What’s he still doing here?”
Raquel didn’t bother to glance up. “I asked him to stay.”
“Why?” Tyler didn’t get it. Why would she want a documentary filmmaker, one who had put all her mother’s faults, her addictions, her poor judgment, on display, to see this mess unfold? He didn’t think Tavey was going to be pleased about it, but he couldn’t imagine Tavey was going to be pleased regardless. She didn’t mind doing the rescuing, but God forbid she should need saving on occasion.
“Never mind that. My grandmother is getting Tavey’s emergency supply kit. There’s a thermal blanket and first aid supplies in it.”
“Here it is,” Bessie replied, her voice soft as she came from the house, a backpack in her hands. “Atohi said she was carrying one of these when she left. She’ll be all right,” she reassured Tyler as she handed him the pack.
Tyler accepted it.
Burns walked over, still with his hands in his pockets. “I’m coming, too.”
“Not necessary,” Raquel informed him.
He shrugged. “I’m big. If she needs carrying, Tyler and I can handle it better.”
Tyler could tell Raquel didn’t like being told she was small, but she was smart and practical.
“Fine,” she muttered. “Let’s go.”
Tyler clicked on his flashlight as they approached the tree line at the back of the property, where the manicured lawns ended and the woods began. On the other side of Raquel, Burns did the same, while Raquel led the way. Both men did their best to light the path for her even as they struggled to step over twigs, brambles, and dips in the forest floor.
The woods were busy, loud and bright, the moon overhead sliding into sight above the trees and then disappearing again. Up ahead, Atohi called for Tavey as the dog led him through the woods.
Tyler hadn’t been there the night that Summer Haven had disappeared; he’d been at home in town with his mother, but he’d heard it described, how the entire sheriff’s department had been called out to the Collinses’ farm. Townspeople had shown up to help armed with flashlights and compasses, stamping their feet as they waited for instructions, trying to stay warm in the late fall weather. There hadn’t been cell phones then, or at least no one in town possessed one, so they’d given a radio to each search team. Tavey, though only nine years old, had been with the searchers. Jimmy had told him about it: he’d been going over the instructions for the search with a small group and Tavey was in the center, her small face red-eyed and determined. Tyler would never have let her participate if he’d been her grandparents, but apparently she hadn’t given them a choice.
Just as she hadn’t given anyone here tonight a choice. Tavey had done what Tavey wanted to do. He was so furious his
teeth were clenched as they made their slow way through the brush.
About half an hour after they’d entered the woods, excited barking up ahead indicated that Atohi had found Tavey.
Raquel’s cell phone rang.
“Yeah, we hear you. We’ll be there in five minutes,” she answered, and hung up, shoving the phone back in the pocket of her cargo pants.
The dogs greeted them first, barking as the three of them approached. Atohi was helping Tavey to her feet. She had a silvery survival blanket around her shoulders; it sparkled when the beams of their flashlights hit her. She raised a hand to shield her eyes, and both Burns and Tyler quickly lowered them.
“Thanks,” she croaked, sounding a little hoarse.
Raquel reached her first, handing Burns the GPS tracker as she wrapped Tavey in her arms. Tavey was much taller, bending over the smaller woman’s embrace, her eyes closed as she pressed her cheek to Raquel’s hair.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
Raquel sniffed and hugged her tighter. “Damn right you’re sorry.”
When the two women finally stepped apart, Tavey stumbled a little, as if she’d hurt one of her legs. Tyler stepped forward automatically, catching her arm and the blanket in one grab and steadying her against his body.
She braced her hands against his chest and looked up at him, her eyes dark, her face sharply shadowed in the harsh glare of the flashlights.
He found himself looking at her, just looking at her, at her bold nose, the wide eyes, the stubborn set to her jaw. She’s waiting for me to yell at her, he realized, and felt a small sharp stab in the center of his chest. He’d yelled at her a lot over the years. He’d cursed her. He wanted to yell at her now, shake her for being so foolish, but instead he yanked her into his arms, so relieved that she was okay. Suddenly all he wanted was to erase the years of animosity between them. Seeing her so vulnerable, he was reminded of that sobbing teenager he’d kissed on his uncle’s porch, a kiss he’d replayed in his mind more times than he could count.
He held her, feeling the soft, warm press of her against his body, the silk of her hair against his chin. He wanted to squeeze her into his body, hold her so tight that she’d become a part of him, safe and protected.
He didn’t know how long they stood like that. Long enough that Burns was shifting his feet. One of the dogs, a pit bull mix by the look of her, came over and pressed herself against Tavey’s legs.
“We should head back, Miss Tavey,” Atohi said neutrally into the silence. “Can you walk, or should we carry you?”
Tavey eased away from Tyler, the look on her face a twist of confusion, pleasure, anxiety.
“I’m fine,” she said simply. “I just need someone to help me along.”
“I’ve got you.” Tyler stepped closer to her again, taking her arm.
Tavey looked at him like he’d lost his mind, but she didn’t protest. “Okay.”
Tyler handed his flashlight to Raquel so that she and Burns could lead them back. Atohi took the leads of all three dogs and followed parallel to Tyler and Tavey as they made their slow way back to the house.
25
TAVEY DIDN’T KNOW quite what to make of Tyler’s behavior. He seemed furious, but at least he was helping her. She tried not to lean on him too much, not wanting to seem helpless or weak, but his grip on her was steady and sure, helping her up small hills and over fallen limbs.
Chris and Ryan were waiting when they finally reached the house, Tavey’s beagles milling around them. Chris ran over and hugged her, nearly knocking her down, but the firm grip Tyler had on her arm kept her steady and upright. The beagles joined in, jumping up on the three of them and howling.
“You scared the shit out of me,” Chris commented, her voice soft. They were standing next to the porte cochere, in the bright light of the flood lamp she’d secured on the driveway side of the house.
The guilt, which had been rolling through Tavey in waves, hit her anew. “I’m sorry. I should have told someone more clearly where I was going.”
Chris pulled back. “Where were you going?”
Tavey felt Tyler come to attention next to her. He wanted to know that as well. “I just wanted to get out for a while, see how Penny did trekking through the woods. I never meant to go far.”
Raquel gave her a skeptical look, but Chris seemed to accept what she said.
Next to her, Tyler’s face was unreadable. He clearly didn’t believe her.
“Tavey needs to sit. Let’s get inside.” Tyler urged everyone toward the house with a jerk of his chin.
The group of people who’d gathered to see her home included Bessie, Thomas, and Sylvia as well. Sylvia looked pale, her fingers trembling, and Tavey flushed, ashamed. Sylvia had endured so much, having a child out of wedlock with her employer, dealing with the scandal of him being a criminal, and then, on top of everything else, her daughter had been the victim of a kidnapping this past fall.
With the exception of Atohi, who left to return the dogs to the kennel, everyone followed Tyler and Tavey as they made their way into the house.
They went through the back door and Tyler tried to get Tavey to walk down the hall to her bedroom.
“I’ll sit at the breakfast table,” she insisted, not wanting to be a pain in the ass but unwilling to be put in bed like a toddler, either.
Tyler’s body tensed like he wanted to protest, but then he nodded and walked her carefully into the kitchen and deposited her in one of the straight-backed wood chairs. He took a seat next to her, his eyes focused on her face.
“I’m making cocoa,” Chris announced, and began rummaging in the walk-in pantry. Thomas, fretful at the idea of someone invading his kitchen, moved to help her.
Tavey closed her eyes as her friends and family bustled around the kitchen, murmuring and making snacks for everyone. Tavey doubted they had eaten dinner if they’d been worried for her.
A glass of water was placed at her elbow, along with some small finger sandwiches and, after a few minutes, a cup of hot tea. Tavey opened her eyes when it was placed at her elbow and gave a faint smile. Sylvia had made the tea. It was chamomile with lemon—what she always made when Tavey was ill.
“I think she should see a doctor,” Raquel argued with her grandmother. “If she was knocked out, she could have a concussion.”
Everyone in the room with the exception of Tyler and Thomas knew how much Tavey hated doctors. Other than her annual physical and woman’s exam, Tavey refused to go; she didn’t have time for that nonsense. Luckily, she was rarely ill, and when she was, Bessie and Sylvia took turns caring for her.
“No doctors,” Tavey insisted. The last thing she wanted was to sit around an emergency room waiting in a hard plastic chair.
“Stubborn,” Tyler muttered, looking displeased.
Tavey tried to raise an eyebrow at him. He was one to talk. He’d been beaten like an old rug and wouldn’t allow anyone but the vet, Doc Clive, to take care of him. The motion made her head hurt, though, so she settled for a mild glare.
“You should at least sit somewhere quiet and comfortable,” Raquel pleaded.
Tavey didn’t have to look at Tyler to know he agreed wholeheartedly with that sentiment.
“I’ll be fine,” Tavey said, closing her eyes.
“This is ridiculous.” Tyler stood. “Tavey, let me take you to your room where someone can sit with you in peace and quiet or we’re taking you to the hospital to have your head examined. I think we should do that anyway.”
Tavey’s head hurt too much to look up at him, so she silently acquiesced. Tavey lifted her arms, thinking he meant to help her up so she could walk down the hall to her room, but he slid his arms beneath her and picked her up instead.
Tavey gasped and clung to his shoulders. She’d never been picked up in her life. She was tall, athletic, and probably too imposing for any man t
o presume she wanted to be carried.
The room went silent, making Tavey uncomfortable, but she lifted her chin as if men carried her all the time.
“Everyone eat something, please,” Tavey urged. “I’m sorry I worried y’all.”
Raquel and Chris shook their heads. “She’s ridiculous,” Chris commented. “Isn’t she ridiculous?” she asked Raquel, who agreed with wide eyes and an affirmative nod.
“Could someone feed the dogs as well?” Tavey continued as if they hadn’t spoken.
“I already did,” Thomas assured her from the counter, where he was whisking cream for the cocoa.
Tavey noticed Burns standing off to the side a little, almost in the hall that led to the living room. He had an uncanny way of making himself invisible so he could watch them more closely. She was upset that he’d witnessed so much about her family, but there was nothing she could do about it now, so she looked away from him, at Tyler’s face.
He looked both amused and exasperated. “If you’re finished playing lady of the house, I’d like to get you in bed.”
Tavey felt herself flush red, acutely conscious of the feel of his arms around her.
Tyler, realizing what he’d said, flushed as well, and Chris let out a snort of laughter.
That small sound was enough to have everyone laughing, except Sylvia, who was calmly cleaning up the dishes from the cocoa, her back to the room.
Tyler, deciding that a quick exit was in order, turned her sideways to leave the kitchen, then hefted her a little closer to his body as they walked down the hall.
He didn’t say anything, didn’t even look at her as he pushed open the door with his boot.
Her bedroom was feminine but not fussy, as Tyler had expected. The bed was a huge four-poster king with a white eyelet coverlet and simple blue pillows. Nightstands on either side had antique lamps with simple blue shades and wood-framed pictures.
“Which side?” he asked, his voice slightly husky. He couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to join her, to lay her on the bed and then kiss that mouth.
