Page 51 of Cold Light of Day

She tossed and turned until finally she fought, then failed, to escape her memories and dreams.

Autumn loved her swimsuit with pink flowers—the one-piece Mom had given to her as a surprise for their trip to theCaribbean. She’d meant to give it to her for her eighth birthday only three days away, but with the trip,she needed the swimsuit. Dad bought a big, fancy boat, which they took to St. Thomas. It had a hugedeck. Bigger than theJessie Lynn, which Dad kept at a lake near their home, and she had her own bedroom and everything. It was the best vacation ever—andwould be the best birthday ever too. She stared up at her beautiful mother, with her long, dark hair. Momwore a turquoise swimsuit underneath a pink T-shirt and white shorts.

They’d go swimming as soon as Dad and Nolan got back from taking the skiff to shore to get forgotten supplies.

Men suddenly appeared behind Mom, who whirled around to face them. Where had they come from? Mom argued and shouted, pointed for them to get off the boat. Autumn was scared at what they might do, and she couldn’t stop the sudden tears. Where were Daddy and Nolan to protect them?

Autumn bolted awake from her dream—a combination of memories and things that made no sense.

Like...her mother speaking another language.

And the suspicious man from the street in Shadow Gap was on the boat with her mother.

TWENTY-TWO

Grier might have been in a sour mood because he’d skipped his favorite breakfast at the Lively Moose and cooked up a plate of scrambled eggs at home instead. Hard to believe he couldn’t even scramble a decent plate of eggs—but to be fair, he’d gotten distracted and burned the eggs. He would have gone into the Lively Moose, but he hadn’t wanted to run into Autumn there. She must have stayed with her grandparents for the night since her house was still a crime scene.

But at least he’d made it to Main Street, where he had important work to do, breakfast or no breakfast. From his vehicle across the street, Grier watched Autumn walk into the hospital, presumably to check on her father. Elbow against the door, he rubbed his forehead as if that could work the confusion out of his mind.

Again, he had to ask himself—what was he doing? Why had he taken it upon himself to protect her under any circumstances? She was the police chief, after all. Still, those in law enforcement needed others to have their backs. And right now, Grier wasn’t entirely sure anyone was watching Chief Long’s back, at least at the required level. Not even her brother, anAlaska State Trooper. But who was Grier to think he was the guy for the job?

Maybe playing the hero in this little town had gone to his head. Regardless, he sensed he needed to move on before it was too late.

The chief didn’t need his help.

Just let her go.

Leaving this town behind might just take all his mental and emotional energy.But he could do it. He had to try.

Grier steered out of town and back to his cabin. He let Cap out and tossed sticks so the dog could retrieve them, and when Cap had had enough, Grier knelt and rubbed his head, behind his ears, and around his neck just the way he liked.

“I’m no good for you, you know?” Cap licked him as if to counter his statement. The reverse was true, and the dog had been good for Grier. “You’d be better off with someone else who could take you on long walks. Your kind loves to pull sleds, so you need to be with someone besides me.”

Cap whined. Had the dog sensed Grier was saying his goodbyes? He allowed the beautiful husky with two different color eyes to lick his face once more. He couldn’t just leave him here in the hopes that someone else would come along in the nick of time like Grier had, though Cap probably would have found a way to survive. Still, Grier would contact the property manager and let her know his plans to leave, cutting his lease short. But more importantly, Cap needed someone to watch out for him. If she offered him no reassurances, he could always ask Hank to take him.

Inside the cabin, Grier had just started packing up his gear when he heard tires crunching across the gravel. No one ever came out to see him. The people he expected to show up were not the kind to knock on the front door. He gripped his weapon, then peered out the window.

A Shadow Gap Police Department Interceptor. His pulse kicked up. What was this about?

Cap barked before the knock came. Grier opened the door and stared into Autumn’s striking-colored eyes, then ran his gaze over the crazy, curly hair she’d tried to tame. Why did his heart have to knock around inside at the sight of her, skipping a beat or two or three?

And yeah...he should go ahead and admit to himself that this woman was the reason he hadn’t left sooner.

“Chief”—he cleared his throat—“what are you doing here?”

He grinned at the fact that it was finally his turn to say those words to her.

Without an invitation, she walked right by him and into the cabin. He shut the door and crossed his arms as she glanced around the small space.

She turned to face him. “You were surveilling me. Why’d you stop?”

Wow. Her question startled him. She didn’t mince words. But how did he answer? He moved to the already burning woodstove.“Why’d you stop?”He couldn’t help the smile that formed, but he needed time to figure out his response. He grabbed a couple of mugs from the cupboard to the right of the stove. “You want coffee?”

Uh-oh. She was eyeing his gear. “What is this? Why are you packing up?”

“Too many questions.” He poured her a cup to go with his, then turned and offered it to her. “Careful, now, it’s hot.”

“No thank you.” She rubbed her hands, then crossed her arms.

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