Page 107 of Stepping Into Tomorrow

He tucked the phone back in his pocket. If he wasn’t enough for her now, he’d never be.

Nash pulled on his hair, pain pricking his skull. He deserved it. “I should have gone after her.”

“Nash?” A solid hand landed on his shoulder, making him jerk.

His father frowned at him in worry. Roman and Sheriff Bently stood by his side.

“What the fuck are you doing, disturbing a possible crime scene?” Bently demanded.

“She’s here,” Nash confessed, his voice as hollow as he felt.

Bently moved around him, scanning the area. “I’ve got my deputy and a team coming with forensics. You really should have waited, Nash. This won’t look good.”

“You don’t mean he’s a suspect, do you?” his father asked.

“He’s got an alibi,” Roman argued. “He wasn’t even in the state when she went missing.”

Fuck. He was going to drag his family through this again. What if they lost contracts a second time around? The town gossips would have a field day with this. Oh, God, Bella and Eli. Shit. They were going to get tangled up in his mess.

“I know. Which is why he’s not in cuffs right now. But this doesn’t look good. The woman you were engaged to, who went missing, ends up found on your property. It means everything will be given another look,” Bently explained.

“You gonna arrest me?” Nash asked.

“Did you do this to her?” Bently didn’t mince words.

Rage burned so hot it clouded Nash’s vision. “Of course not!”

“I’ll probably need to question you again, but unless new evidence comes forward, there is no reason for me to suspect you on account of your alibi.”

“Give him the letter, Nash,” Roman urged him.

Nash dug into his pocket numbly, lifting the ring and the letter out. Bently pulled a glove from his pocket and slipped it on before taking a look. “Who else touched this?”

“Just me,” Nash answered.

“Look, I know this is hard, but you gotta let me do my job so I can find out who did this to her, okay?”

Nash turned to the shallow hole he’d dug. He’d searched for years and Ana had been here all along. He’d wanted answers, believing that was the key to his torture. But he was even more lost than he’d been before.

Bently stepped forward. “I know it doesn’t feel like it, but this will be a good thing. It will give us a wealth of new evidence, and we can figure out what sick fucker did this.”

“She was here the whole time.” Nash scanned the area. He’d brought Bella up here for a goddamned picnic. His house was visible from this view now that the trees had lost their leaves. Ana had been so close and yet so far.

Pain slashed at his chest. He barreled over from the force of his emotions. Regret and grief. Guilt and anger. All of it slammed into him like an avalanche of boulders. He sucked in a jagged breath and shut it all out, detaching from everything and sinking into the numbness where only icy-cold darkness existed.

48

ISABELLA

Isabella stared at the stars above. Her breath came out in white puffs as she shivered. The creak of the trees and occasional hoot of an owl were the only other sounds out here as she sat on the front porch.

She checked her watch for what felt like the millionth time; it was after midnight and Nash still wasn’t home . . . again. Ever since they’d discovered the remains on the property, Nash had shut everyone out. He’d turned into this version of himself that was barely recognizable. He didn’t come near her or speak much at all. He only responded to Eli, but even that was only when Eli approached him.

Nash was a shell. She wanted to help him—if he’d only let her in. She’d been terrified the sheriff was going to arrest him, but thankfully, the Emersons were far more open than Nash and filled her in on the facts of the case, confirming that Nash was not a suspect.

Isabella placed a hand on her belly. “Where is your daddy? I wish he would let me be there for him.”

The crack of a broken twig had her attention darting to the side of the property and the woods that bordered it. Nash stumbled toward her along the same path he’d used every day since the discovery close to two weeks ago. The trail that led to where they’d found her.

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