Though maybe I should have just become a guide. Maybe I should have gone to work for an outfitting company, pandering to the wealthy tourists who came to the Pacific Northwest in search of a wilderness adventure.
Hell, maybe I shouldn’t rule that out yet. Depending on the outcome of the investigation, that might be my fallback option.
“How can I believe you?” A flash of guilt crossed her face, like she hated to even ask. Like a month ago, she wouldn’t have had to ask.
But then she’d met Cormac.
And I knew firsthand how he could destroy a person’s ability to trust.
I fished my phone from my jeans pocket, quickly pulling up a newspaper article. “This spring, two sixteen-year-old kids went hiking. A thunderstorm blew in fast and they got lost. I went out and found them.”
The paper had called me a hero. Ironic that just months later, I’d become the bad guy.
I scrolled down the article to the photo they’d taken of both Alec and me after the rescue. The two of us were dressed in tan canvas hiking pants and matching button-down shirts. My badge glinted under the summer sun as brightly as Alec’s bald head.
Handing the phone to Lyla, I waited as she scanned the article and inspected the picture. Her shoulders slumped as she reached the end.
“Thanks.” She returned my phone, then crossed her arms. “I told Winn who you are.”
“I just came from the station.”
Another flash of guilt crossed her face.
“It’s okay,” I told her.
Lyla glanced past my shoulder, staring into the darkness. She looked anywhere but at my face.
“Are your toes cold?”
She dropped her gaze, like she’d forgotten her own feet. “Yes.”
“Grab some socks. I’ll wait.”
With a nod, she turned, partially closing the door. She returned a minute later, her feet covered in thick wool socks. She’d pulled on a sweater too.
She’d bundled herself from the cold because I was not invited into her house.
Damn.
At least I could give her the truth she deserved, then leave her alone to find her peace with it.
“Alec is the guy in the photo with me, from that article,” I said. “The backcountry unit is a small part of the sheriff’s department, so most of the time, I work alone. But in a sense, you could consider him my partner. He’s only been around for four years. Before that, my partner was a guy from Alaska.”
Lyla shifted, leaning against the door’s frame as she listened, like this day had worn her out so entirely that she needed the support.
“His love for the outdoors was tenfold mine. He was into survivalist stuff. He talked about applying to be on that show Alone. Have you seen it?”
“Yes,” she murmured.
“He had a lot of skills. He taught me a lot. More than I’d ever learned as an Eagle Scout.”
“You were an Eagle Scout?”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “Other guys did basketball or football in high school. I was a Boy Scout.”
Literally. Figuratively.
No one was surprised when I’d decided to go into law enforcement.
“That man from Alaska was Cormac. He was my partner.”
Lyla’s gasp rang loud in the still night.
“Not just my partner. He was my best friend. My mentor.”
Her gaze snapped to mine. “That’s how you know so much about him.”
“He was a good man. I looked up to him. I learned from him. In a way, he was who I wanted to become.”
“Vance . . .”
“It doesn’t make sense. The Cormac I knew adored his wife. He doted on his children and treated his family like they were his entire world. He was a good man.” Or so I’d thought. “It’s been four years. How did I not see the monster he became? How did I miss that? How could I be so wrong?”
Those bright blue eyes were so sincere. So honest. “I’m sorry.”
“Me too.” I gave her a sad smile. “If I don’t find him, no one will. He’s too good. Too careful. But I have to know what happened that night. I have to know why he . . .” Murdered them.
Lyla’s face softened as desperation cracked my voice. “Did I ruin everything today? Going to Winn?”
“No.” I shook my head. “I should have gone to her from the start.”
“What did she say?”
“She said she couldn’t stop a guy from hiking.”
A ghost of a smile crossed Lyla’s lips. “Really?”
“She wants Cormac found for what he did to you. I’m her best chance.”
“And mine.” She closed her eyes, drawing in a long breath. Then as she exhaled, she stood tall. “Thanks for telling me.”
“Sorry I didn’t sooner.”
“It’s probably not the easiest thing to relive.”
Of course she’d understand why I’d kept it to myself. There was something uniquely special about Lyla Eden. Her heart.
She was the woman waiting in the coffee shop with a kind smile. The woman so steady, so constant, that not telling her everything had taken effort.
“Good night.” I turned to leave. My boots thudded on the porch boards, but before I could jog down the stairs, Lyla called my name.
“Vance?”
I twisted. Those pretty eyes waited.
She took a step back into the house, then opened the door wide. “Come inside.”
“You sure?”
“Please.”
The corner of my mouth turned up.
It felt like a lifetime ago, but it had just been this morning when I’d promised to make her say please.
Time to make good on that promise.
So I crossed the porch and walked inside, closing the door. Then, right there in the entryway, I sealed my lips over hers and stripped her out of that sweater and those socks. The rest of her clothes came off too.
And when she was pressed against the wall, my cock buried inside her, I bent my lips to her ear. “Say please if you want to come.”
A shiver rolled over her shoulders as her pussy fluttered around my length. “Please.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
LYLA
“You’re taking the day off?” Crystal’s eyebrows shot up, practically skimming her hairline. “Again?”
“Um, I don’t have to.” I wanted to blow off work today but wouldn’t if it made her uncomfortable. “I can stay.”
“No!” She shook her head and waved her arms in the air. “I was just surprised. Go.”
“Are you sur—”
“See ya.”
A smidge of guilt prickled, but I shoved the feeling away as I took one last glance around the kitchen. I’d been here baking since four this morning. The display case and walk-in were both stocked. Most of the prep work was done and every dish and coffee cup was clean.
For the second day in a row, I was leaving Eden Coffee in Crystal’s hands. If today was anything like yesterday, I had nothing to worry about.
When I’d come in this morning, the shop had been spotless and the kitchen gleaming beneath the bright florescent lights. Crystal had reorganized the shelves beside the dishwasher, swapping the bowls and plates, moving the latter down. We used the plates twice as often as the bowls and now they were easier to grab.
It was a little change, one I hadn’t even thought to make myself. Now it was glaringly obvious that we should have done it ages ago. What else was I missing because I’d refused to step away?
“Thank you,” I told Crystal, making a mental note to give her a raise.
“Of course.” She smiled, her lime-green lips splitting wide.
She’d be fine on her own today, but maybe it was time I hired another barista. Someone to help her out if I was gone. A part-time employee to work weekends or days like this, when I had somewhere else I wanted to be.
Vance and I were going to the mountains today, on the hike I hadn’t gone on yesterday. I’d left him in my bed earlier, his hair tousled and wild as he’d hugged a white pillow. Before I’d slipped out of the bedroom, he’d woken just enough to ask if I wanted to go along on his search.
After his confession about Cormac last night, saying yes had been easy.
But first, I’d needed to ensure Crystal was happy to take charge. More than happy, judging by the smile on her face.
“The cutest brunette ever came in yesterday,” she said. “We flirted a little bit. I’m really hoping she comes back today.”
“Ooh.” I laughed. “I hope she comes back too.”
It wouldn’t be the first time she’d dated a man or a woman she’d met at the shop. Crystal was as sweet as the apple turnovers I’d just pulled from the oven, and part of why I’d hired her was because she was so friendly and open. But she had a tendency to gossip with customers, so I always made sure that if there was something private to discuss, I did it where she couldn’t eavesdrop.
“What are you going to do today?” she asked as I pulled on my coat.
“Clean my house,” I lied. I adored Crystal, but my tryst with Vance would be all over Quincy if I let it slip. “Maybe go out to the ranch. We’ll see.”
“Well, don’t worry about the shop.”
“I won’t.” I actually believed that too. What was the worst that could happen? The building burning down? Once upon a time, that would have been the end of my world. Now . . . I’d be sad. But I’d pick myself back up.
Just like I had weeks ago along the riverbank.
“I’m glad you’re taking a day for yourself,” Crystal said.