Page 35 of Finding Chaos

“Are you going to ignore me all night?” she asked, pulling out the sofa bed and tossing the blankets on top.

“You lied to me when you could have told me the truth.” My voice was whisper quiet. My family knew not to push when I took that tone. Destiny not so much.

“Right.” She chuckled in that way that made her sound crazy. “Because saying, hey, my parents aren’t really my parents but I believe my mom’s dead bones are on the mountain and she’s haunting the woods, will you help me look? Yeah that sounds sane and rational. You would have told me to take a hike,” she spat back. “Oh, and what about you and your secrets. You’ve been able to see those women since you were a child, Walker. They told me.”

“My secrets affect more than just me, and did you honestly think that I’d be stupid enough to tell a reporter what I can do?”

My family was going to be livid. After years of hiding our abilities, the ghosts were going to shatter our wall of lies.

“You could have trusted me with the truth.”

“And you could have trusted me. It would have saved us both a lot of time and hiking.” I swallowed around the lump in my throat.

“You’re right,” she whispered. “I’m sorry, and your secret is safe with me. The world will never know about what you can do. After I dig up the bones, I’ll tell them the ghost led me to the spot and you were just along for the walk.”

“Destiny. I thought we had something between us,” I said surprising myself with the admission. When the hell had I let that happen? I was a one and done type guy, but something had changed. Spending time with Destiny in the cabin had made me realizing I’d started to fall for her. One night would never be enough.

“We did. We do.” She took my hand and squeezed it tight. “I like you, Walker, and I should have told you the truth. I’m so sorry.”

“Truth from here on out?”

“Yes. There’s more I need to tell you, but it can wait. It’s not important.” She kissed me.

My sister had said it wasmydestiny. Days ago, that meant something much different than it did now. My destiny wasn’t a place to end up or a path to follow. My Destiny was a strong, resilient woman who was searching for the truth to put her past to rest and offer peace to the spirits haunting my woods. She was my Destiny, mine as much as I was hers. I could see it now, no matter how much I wanted to fight it. Fight settling down. Fight having someone care about me. Someone to care about. No matter how hardheaded she was, no matter the job she performed. Everything about her made me want her more. Made me want to help her shoulder those secrets and get to the truth. The ghosts in these woods deserved that, and so did Destiny.

“You found the bones?”

“Jane led me straight to hers, but the ground is too frozen to try and dig.”

I rose from my spot and grabbed the satellite phone.

“Where are you going?” she called out as she climbed beneath the covers trying to get warm.

“I’m going to make a call,” I said.

“To who?” she asked.

“I’m calling a friend to cancel winter for a few months because I want to help you get the answers you need.”

I stepped out onto the porch, looking out into the darkness before punching in the sheriff’s number. How was I going to ask them to cut their honeymoon short?

I hit Send and pressed the phone to my ear. Sheriff Clark Weller answered on the first ring.

“We’re on our way,” he answered in way of hello.

I held in my sigh of relief. “My sister must have called you.”

“Me? No, she bypassed me. I would have told her she could wait.” Clark chuckled. “She called Mercy instead, and well, you know your cousin would never abandon any Bennett when they need her.”

“I owe you.” It wasn’t something I’d said often, to anyone.

“Damn, I never thought I’d see the day.” Clark chuckled.

“What?” I asked, confused.

“The day you’d fall so hard for a girl that you’d ever declare that you owe me. I’d say we’re pretty even for the way you helped me save my wife,” Clark said.

“Give me that phone.” I heard Mercy in the background before there was a tussle and her voice came on the line. “Ignore him, Walker. We’re bringing the sun with us. You should feel the effects by morning when the search party arrives.”

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