Page 250 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

The server set down their salads, and Emily picked up her fork.

Sam waved her hand to get her attention. “Pete saved you from a bear?”

“No. He helped me disperse a crowd gathered around a sow and her cubs, but he was incredibly rude. The man gets under my skin.”

“He is a man.”

“At least the bears were cute.” Emily grinned around a lettuce leaf.

“Pete’s not bad looking, but Austin is adorable.”

“Is this you admitting you have a crush on Austin?”

“I work at Ricketts, and he works here. An hour-and-fifteen-minute drive on a good day. Long distance relationships don’t work. I wouldn’t even try.”

“You’re both DCNR rangers, so you could transfer here, or he could relocate there. I could ask him if he’s interested.”

“No.” Sam put a hand on Emily’s arm. “I’m not ready. Besides, it needs to wait until after you tell Wade that you and Austin aren’t an item.”

Emily raised her hands in surrender. “Fine. I give up.”

Sam laughed. “Eat your salad.”

Emily staredat her steak but couldn’t eat another bite. She pushed her plate away to prevent the temptation to overeat.

Sam’s eyes widened to saucer proportions as she stared over Emily’s head.

“What’s the matter?” She turned in her chair to see what caused Sam’s reaction, and her gaze met Wade’s. She turned back to Sam. “Did you tell him we’d be here?”

“I didn’t.”

“Maybe he’s meeting a date.”

“That makes sense. He’s handsome and has a good stable job. A woman would have to be crazy not to notice him,” Sam said.

“If you say so.”

“He’s coming this way.”

Emily took a deep breath and counted to three before he arrived at their table. “I didn’t know you two would be here. Do you mind if I join you?”

Sam smiled. “We’re finished eating, but we can keep you company while you eat.”

He looked to Emily for confirmation, and she nodded. What else could she do? It would be rude to refuse.

She scooted over in the booth and Wade sat beside her. He was so close she could feel the heat of his leg next to hers. Itdidn’t take long for her to notice something was off with him, but she couldn’t pinpoint what it was. It was as if his cocky self-assuredness had drained away, and all that was left was the boy she’d fallen in love with back in high school. But, in that moment, she wanted to bring back his easygoing confident grin. “What’s wrong, Wade?”

“Is it obvious something is bothering me?”

“Yes.”

“I was sifting through missing persons’ files all afternoon, and I came across a familiar name.”

“Nora?”

He nodded.

“Was there anything new in her file?”

---