Page 88 of Vacation Friends

He’d already hiked to the top of another ridge to make an emergency call. Meanwhile, he left a different guide with them to ensure he didn’t lose anyone else.

A nervous whisper traveled through the group. Even Josh appeared apprehensive as his eyes darted around and he ran his hands through his hair.

Where could Fowler have gone? It didn’t make any sense to Maddie. The guy was level-headed and cautious. He was one of the only people in the group who’d brought a walking stick with him on the hike, and Bree had said he liked to always be prepared.

He wasn’t a risk-taker.

“It’s not like him to just leave.” Bree sounded frail, on the verge of panic as she stared up at the area where she’d last seen him. “He has no reason to do that. He loves his job. He loves me.”

“You’re right.” Brody’s jaw tightened. “It doesn’t make any sense, but maybe there’s a logical explanation. Let’s just give it some time.”

“If he got into an accident of some sort, you would have seen him, right?” Maddie studied Brody, temporarily forgetting her vow not to talk to him. Finding Fowler was more important.

Brody nodded slowly as if thinking through her question. “I would think so. It’s not like there’s a steep cliff on the other side where he could have fallen. I would have seen him.”

“So what could have happened?” Adrienne’s voice lilted higher with confusion, and she wrapped her striped, teal towel around her shoulders, pulling it tight. “This doesn’t make any sense.”

“Let’s wait to hear what Nighty says,” Brody told them. “He knows this landscape much better than I do.”

Brody was right. They shouldn’t jump to any conclusions. The best thing was to be patient.

Maybe if Fowler had wandered off, he would find his way back soon.

Ten minutes later, Nighty appeared on top of the ridge, a pensive look still on his face.

That probably meant he didn’t have good news, Maddie realized. Her throat tightened with apprehension.

She squeezed Bree’s hand, sensing her friend’s anxiety.

Nighty came closer before announcing, “I’m sorry, but I didn’t see him.”

A cry of despair escaped from Bree.

Maddie and Adrienne wrapped their arms around her.

“I know that’s not what anyone wants to hear—including me,” Nighty continued, appearing like the antithesis of his name. “But we have a great search and rescue team here on the island. They’ll find him. They’re already on their way.”

“What do we do now?” Josh asked. He’d been strangely quiet.

Had he had time to do something to Fowler when they both were up there?

Her heart thudded into her chest at the thought.

She didn’t think so, but she couldn’t totally rule out the possibility either.

“I need everyone to head back to the dock,” Nighty said. “The best thing we can do is to get you all somewhere safe and out of the way. It’s supposed to rain soon, and sometimes that can make the creek crossings more treacherous. We need to go now.”

“But what about my boyfriend?” Tears rolled down Bree’s cheeks. “We can’t just leave him out here.”

“We’re going to do everything we can to find him,” Nighty assured her. “Search and rescue is sending up a helicopter to have a better view of the area.”

“Where could he be?” Josh stepped closer. “He couldn’t have just disappeared. There aren’t any roads out here. Only mountains, right?”

Based on the tension stretched across their guide’s face, Nighty had at least one idea of what could have gone wrong.

“This probably isn’t what happened,” Nighty said. “But if your friend wandered another twelve feet up that rocky path, there is a sinkhole. If he accidentally fell through it, the cavern would have spit him out down at the base of the mountain, near another waterfall. But . . .”

“But what?” Bree’s voice cracked with tension.

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