Page 29 of Wilderness Search
“Still, makes me think I’m losing my touch.” Carter returned his focus to his food. “I usually have a good memory for good-looking women.”
“So do you think her brother did it?”Dalton asked. “Killed that girl? And does he have anything to do with Olivia’s disappearance?”
“The charges were dismissed because we didn’t have any real evidence against him,” Aaron said. “Just a couple of girls who had seen him talking to Rachel earlier in the day, and he fit theFBI profile. At the time, the sheriff thought he was acting guilty, but he was probably just scared.”
“Yeah, but what does your cop instinct tell you?” Dalton asked.
Aaron shook his head. “I don’t know if I believe in ‘cop instinct.’ At the time, I convinced myself he was guilty, because that’s what everyone around me said they thought. Now—I don’t think he was.”
“What a terrible thing to happen,” his mother said. “I can’t imagine having to change my name and move all the way across the country to start over, just to get away from a scandal like that.”
A scandal Aaron had helped to set in motion. Whatever Gary may or may not have done, Kat—Willa—was innocent. But she had suffered just as much as her brother had. She was still suffering.
This afternoon, when he had opened the door to find her there, it had taken all his will not to pull her close. She had looked so shaken and afraid. And when he had dared to touch her he had felt the connection like an electrical current. He had looked into her eyes and thought she felt it, too. The connection and the longing to be together again.
Then he had realized he was letting his emotions lead him in the wrong direction. Willa hadn’t come to his home for help. She had come to accuse him of arresting her brother. That was still how she saw him—as the enemy. The person who had ruined her life.
So he had done the only thing he could see was right and let her walk away. She would never know how much that had cost him. He turned to Carter. “Do me a favor, and don’t ask her out,” he said. He doubted Willa would say yes—not when she realized who he was. But no sense taking chances. The only thing worsethat not having Willa would be seeing her with his brother. “And don’t say a word about her name change.”
“I won’t,” Carter said. For once his brother wasn’t making a joke out of the situation.
“Let me get this straight,” Bethany said. “Kat—who is now Willa—broke up with you because her brother was suspected of murdering this little girl at the summer camp. Except now you don’t think he did it, and in any case, he was never charged with the crime. And now your former girlfriend and her brother are living in Eagle Mountain, with new names.”
“Yeah.” Aaron looked down at the remains of his lasagna; his appetite vanished.
“Wow,” Bethany said. “Of all the places for her to end up. Maybe it’s because the two of you are meant to be together after all.”
“That’s not how life works, Bethany,” Aaron said.
“You only say that because you’re a cop,” Bethany said. “But there are people who believe—”
“Bethany, did you look at those bridesmaids dresses in the link I sent you?” his mother interrupted.
Aaron guessed after so many years of raising four children his mom was an expert in heading off an argument. And he really didn’t want to argue with his sister about fate and destiny and all that nonsense. He and Willa had been good together, but now she hated him and he had to learn to live with that.
“I did, Mom.” Their mother couldn’t see it, but Aaron didn’t miss the conspiratorial look Bethany sent Ian. “We’re thinking of something a little simpler.”
“Some of those dresses were quite plain,” his mother said.
“Yes, but we’re looking or a more rustic wedding venue. We want to keep it very casual.”
“I don’t see why you can’t have the wedding in a church and the reception in the canyon,” his mother said.
It was an old argument. One his mother was not going to win. Bethany had defied her parents to see Ian and that had given her all the courage she needed to stand firm on her wedding plans. Good for her. But Aaron didn’t want to get involved. He slid back his chair.
“I have to go now,” he said. “Thanks for the dinner, Mom. It was great.”
“But you haven’t even had dessert. It’s lemon Italian cream cake—your father’s favorite.”
“And we have to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Dad,” Bethany said.
“Think I’ll skip the cake tonight.” He patted his flat stomach. “Have to stay in shape.”
He lingered long enough for “Happy Birthday,” then he left, back to the side of his life he felt better equipped to handle. He might not solve every crime, and they were no closer to finding Olivia after two days of intense searching, but he knew how to investigate and dig and the next steps he should take. Relationships—whether romantic or familial—were a lot more unpredictable.
Willa’s first patientafter lunch on Wednesday was a camper from Mountain Kingdom who had fallen on a hike and broken her arm. Juliet was twelve, with a cloud of curly red hair and a gangly frame. She had a tear in her shorts and tears running down her face, but Willa praised her for being brave and talked about what a great story she would have to tell her friends back home, and eventually coaxed a smile from her.
After X-rays and an examination by the nurse practitioner, Willa presented Juliet with a lollipop and set about casting the injured arm. While this was being done, the counselor was called into the business office to complete some paperwork.
