Page 124 of Stepping Into Tomorrow

“That would be lovely,” Bently answered.

Nash rounded the counter and grabbed the kettle from her hands. “I got this.”

Hurt flashed in her eyes. “Oh, okay. I’ll just, um, go upstairs, then.”

She moved to step around him, but he gently gripped her shoulder, holding her in place. “Stay. Please?”

Big whiskey eyes looked up at him. “You sure?”

He slipped his fingers in between hers, linking them together before he brought them up to his lips for a kiss. “Absolutely. You go sit down and put your feet up. I’ll handle this.”

“Okay.” Her lips curved in a small smile, her eyes glittering with a mix of joy and hope.

He’d do anything he had to in order to keep that mix of emotions there.

Nash prepared the drinks and brought them over to everyone.

“Thanks.” Bently took his.

He set Bella’s in front of her and kissed her temple before sitting between her and Bently. His heart thudded. “What did you find?”

Bently took a sip and set his drink down. “We got the autopsy report. And we can confirm the remains are Anastasia’s.”

His body tensed. His muscles contracted until he was rigid stone. He’d had no doubt it would be her, but the confirmation released something in him.

Bella’s warm hand landed on his thigh, bringing him a sense of comfort. Relief trickled through Nash, along with a sigh. His shoulders lowered a fraction.

“Are there any leads? Any idea who could have done this?” His voice came out hoarse.

Bently cleared his throat. “They’re still processing evidence.”

The sheriff was holding something back. Nash could feel it in his bones. “How did it happen?”

“The answers to that will only cause more pain. It’s better to remember her—”

“How?” Nash insisted.

Bently glanced at Bella and then met his gaze head-on. “We believe she was strangled due to the broken hyoid bone.”

Nash nodded and pulled his hands off the table, allowing them to fall by his sides as he sat back in the chair.

Images of Ana all alone up on the hill with her attacker flashed in his mind. Did she call out for him? She’d have been terrified in her last moments.

Bently’s voice droned on, but Nash couldn’t bring himself to tune in while his thoughts were spiraling.

I should have been there for her.

I should have—

“Nash?” Bella’s voice pulled him back to reality.

“Is that all?” Nash asked Bently.

There was still a killer out there. Someone who had targeted someone he cared about and buried her body on his land.

“For now. I’ll let you know if we get any leads, but I’ll be honest—it’s a cold case. The killer was likely feeling some guilt and reached out. It’s not probable they’ve stuck around to get caught. I want you to know my team is doing all we can to try and figure out who did this, no matter how impossible it seems, but we may never get answers. That’s unfortunately the way a lot of crime goes,” Bently assured him.

“I appreciate that.”

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