Chapter 13
THIRTEEN
T
ripp stopped partway up the trail back to the parking area when he spotted people coming down it toward him. He hadn’t seen them right away because of the reduced peripheral vision in his right eye. It was still something he was trying to adjust to.
He recognized Rafe in his uniform, followed by a woman he’d never seen before, then Willow...walking a dog.
“Morning,” Rafe called out to him.
“Morning. You here on official business?” His attention was on Willow.
“Yeah, we’re about to do a grid search of the beach. Wanna give us a hand?”
Grid search? For what? “Uh, sure,” he said slowly, giving the new woman a polite smile before zeroing in on Willow.
She was dressed in hiking gear, the form-fitting clothes hugging all her sweet curves in the most distracting way, her shiny brown hair twisted up in a clip at the back of her head. Time had made her even more beautiful now that she was in her mid-thirties.
“Hey,” he said to her.
“Hi. This is my friend Bronwyn, just arrived for a visit. Bronwyn, this is Tripp.”
He nodded at the blonde, who smiled at him. “And who’s this?” he asked, gesturing to the dog, who had slowed down and was watching him with clear apprehension.
“This is Rufus. He’s a rescue, and pretty skittish of men especially, so don’t be offended if he doesn’t seem too friendly.”
“Okay.” He crouched down on his haunches and rested his forearms on his knees, adopting a nonthreatening posture with his body angled away from the dog as they approached.
Rufus stopped well out of reach and stuck his neck out to sniff the air between them. Tripp kept his face averted and stayed still, avoiding eye contact even though the dog couldn’t see his eyes because he was wearing sunglasses.
“I can see you’ve had some experience with skittish dogs,” Willow said, urging Rufus closer. “Come on, buddy. This is my friend Tripp. He’s nice. See?”
Her friend. He had been, once upon a time, and the shift to being polite acquaintances now, hurt. He wanted that friendship back, but the reality was things could never be the same. “How old is he?” he asked, not moving.
“They’re not really sure, but he’s a senior. Good boy, Rufus. You’re safe, I promise. Tripp won’t hurt you.”
The dog cautiously moved a little closer, sniffing at his arm and leg. Tripp slowly lowered one hand to the ground, palm up, and waited. Rufus sniffed at it, then gave him a tiny little lick before backing away quickly. “Was he saying hi, or checking to see if I’m tasty?”
Willow laughed. “He’s saying maybe there’s a chance you can be friends as long as you don’t make any sudden moves and don’t try to reach for him at all.”
He glanced up at her as she stood over him. Her eyes were hidden by sunglasses as well, but something in her tone gave him the distinct impression that she wasn’t just talking about Rufus. “I can do that.” He would be as patient as she needed him to if it meant having her be part of his life again.
He waited for Rufus to move farther away before standing, not wanting to startle or scare him. Leave it to Willow to take in a senior rescue dog.
“What are you doing down here in the middle of a workday?” she asked.
“Just taking a break and getting some inspiration.” This whole past week had been tough. Seeing her at The Skelly had triggered his PTSD.
Sleep had become torture again, the short stretches filled with restless dreams and nightmare flashbacks. He was running on fumes, wanted time and space to think in a peaceful place, and this was a favorite of his. It reminded him of happier times.
Most of them included Willow.
“So what are we looking for?” he asked them.
“Human bones,” Willow said.
He jerked his head around to stare at her. “What?”
“Rufus and I were down here earlier, and he found a leg bone. Bronwyn’s a bone expert. She verified it was human.”
Bronwyn was shaking her head. “I’m actually not an expert—”
“We came back to see if we could find any more,” Rafe said.
Tripp pushed aside the instant spike of foreboding and kept his expression impassive. “Probably from one of the old wrecks offshore. Occasional remains still wash up here from time to time.”
“It’s possible,” Rafe said. “But I need to check it out.”
Yeah. Of course he did.
“So where did you find it?” Rafe asked Willow, trying to sound casual.
“Over there.” She pointed across the large field of boulders standing between them and the cove, and led the way.
Tripp reluctantly joined in, sticking close to her. Rufus got busy sniffing between all the rocks on their route, checking out every crevice at the end of his leash while everyone else fanned out on the far side to look along the high tide line on the beach.
After about twenty minutes without finding anything, Willow gathered Rufus in close to her and spoke to Rafe. “Maybe we should split up. I can go take a look where the old burial ground is supposed to be at the top, see if I find anything there.”
“I’ll go with you,” Tripp said before anyone else could answer.
“Okay. Come on, Rufus.”
Tripp followed them up the pile of boulders toward the top of the bank. Rufus climbed them easily, but Willow’s foot slipped partway up.
Tripp’s hands shot out to grab her hips and catch her before she fell. She gripped the edge of a large boulder to steady herself and glanced over her shoulder at him, the ends of the two leashes she was using to secure him in her other hand. “Thanks.”
“Of course. You good?” He was acutely aware of their position. Of how close he was behind her, and the feel of her hips in his hands. Pliable. Just soft enough for his fingers to sink in.
“Yes.” Resisting the urge to squeeze the tempting curves he held, he let her go, his palms tingling. Unbidden, an image of him grasping her hips from behind, both of them naked, flashed through his mind.
He shoved the fantasy away. Whatever might have been between them was dead and buried. Another lifetime ago.
At the top of the bank Willow climbed over the edge, brushed some dirt from her pants, and stood tall to look around.
Tripp followed her as she walked slightly ahead of him.
Rufus kept shooting anxious looks back at him, silently warning him to keep his distance.
Whether away from him or from Willow, Tripp wasn’t sure. Either way...
I don’t blame you, buddy.
“How close to the edge was the old burial ground supposed to be up here, do you remember?” Willow asked.
“Pretty close.” He really didn’t want to be involved with this, but it gave him an excuse to spend time with her.
“You head right, and I’ll go left.”
His instinct was to stick close to her. “I’ll go with you. The edge of the bank could be unstable.”
For a moment, he thought she might argue, but then she turned away to resume her search. He paid far more attention to her and the terrain than looking for signs of graves. Rufus stopped at a few spots to sniff around, but kept going.
“He’s sure got a good sniffer on him,” Willow remarked, sounding like a proud mother.
“What made you decide to adopt a dog?” he asked, coming up beside her as she squatted down to examine a slight mound in the earth near the edge.
“We always had a dog growing up. I wanted to adopt one in New York, but Br—my ex kept saying no.”
Tripp was more than a little curious about him. “How long were you guys together?”
“Almost four years. We met right after I moved to New York.”
That was a long time together. Whoever the guy was, he had to be a complete fucking idiot not to fight with everything in him to hold onto her. Because if there was even the slightest chance to make Willow his, Tripp couldn’t imagine letting her walk away.
“What about you? Are you seeing anyone?”
“No.” He’d pretty much cut himself off from the rest of the world since entering treatment. And as far as dating went...any other woman paled in comparison to her anyway.
Willow nodded and rose. She was quiet a moment as she looked out at the sea, then faced him and sighed.
She was stunning like that, framed by the ocean, the soft wind blowing little tendrils of hair around her face.
It made him want to step close, pull off her sunglasses so he could look into her eyes as he tucked a lock of it behind her ear.
“Look, I need to get something off my chest,” she said.
He braced himself, going still inside. This was it. The moment he’d been living in dread of for the past two years.