Page 42 of Finding Chaos

Chapter 20

Destiny

Her life shattered in those moments. Finding the bones had been her quest, her dream to get to the truth, but now knowing it was real, the severity of it was seeping in.

Her father would be questioned. She’d wanted the truth all along, but now that it was here her stomach fluttered as bile rose to her throat. Could she go through with this? The man who’d raised her would know she’d been instrumental in the quest—the reason for the scrutiny. Putnam would destroy him in the reports, and that would just be the start of the accusations, regardless of what could be proved.

Months of testing would eventually deliver the truth. Painful, agonizing days of waiting were in her future.

Walker had led her back to his house. They hadn’t needed to hike. The four-wheeler they’d ridden on was in the same spot he’d left it. They drove in silence as the dark night took hold and the lights from the recovery team at the Pit slowly diminished until they were hidden by the forest.

Walker hadn’t pushed her to talk, as if he sensed Destiny needed some time to process everything. When they arrived at his house, this time he’d invited her in, unlike the first time she’d seen it.

She hadn’t cared about the pizza boxes or beer cans. She hadn’t cared about anything at all. Exhaustion had overwhelmed her, melting her bones, but not in a good way. Her eyes were blurry, the lids heavy. The need to be woken from this nightmare sat like a rock in her stomach.

“Where’s the bedroom?” she asked.

He led the way and then watched as she undressed and climbed beneath the covers, closing her eyes as if that would make the rest of the world right again.

It didn’t.

An hour later, after her tears had soaked the pillow and her entire being was emotionally and mentally fatigued, the mattress dipped as he climbed in beside her.

He pulled her into his arms and pressed a tender kiss to her hair. That simple act drained away the last of the exhausting energy from the day.

* * *

“You don’t needto go back. You can stay here,” Walker said as he leaned against the counter and sipped his coffee.

“I need to talk to Putnam. There’s no getting around it,” Destiny said as she washed the last dishes from their breakfast, glad that he’d even had real eggs in his fridge, not the powdered kind they’d eaten at the ranger station.

“I’ll go with you.”

Destiny wiped her hands on the rag before touching his chest. “We both know you’ve got more important things to do, like reclaiming your mountain, filing reports, checking in the sheriff. I’ll be fine. Your babysitting duties are over,” she said, sidling up closer to him. “You can pick me up, though, tonight if you’re not too tired.”

He cupped her cheek with one hand and lowered his lips to hers. “I’ll pick you up at seven. Pack a bag. You’ll be staying the night.”

“And here Monique told me that you don’t like keeping your conquests around.”

“You aren’t a conquest.”

Twenty minutes later, Walker pulled up outside the Mountain View Inn. Putnam’s news van was parked outside the door.

“I guess this is the only place to stay in town.”

“Yep.” He leaned over and kissed her. “Let me know if he gives you any trouble,” Walker said.

“I can handle him. I dated him, remember? I’m just going to check in with my mother and let her know I’m safe before I go inside.” Destiny climbed out of the truck and held the door open.

“I’ll see you later.”

“Yes, you will.” Destiny smiled and shut the truck door before dialing her mom and putting the phone to her ear.

Her mom answered on the first ring.

“Mom.”

“Destiny, are you safely off the mountain now?”

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