Chapter 24 Autumn
AUTUMN
I was mid-stretch, with my arms extended in what was supposed to be restorative yoga in your pajamas. In reality, I was just lying flat on my rug while Lulu tugged at my sleeve, convinced it was playtime.
“Lulu, stop,” I groaned, attempting a deep inhale just as the instructor said.
Lulu pounced on my arm.
“Yoga,” I muttered. “We’re doing yoga.”
She responded by shoving a slobbery chew toy into my hand.
“Lulu,” I warned.
She thumped her tail, her eyes bright, a picture of pure canine joy.
I sighed, letting my head fall back. “We’re failures.”
Lulu barked once, then promptly stole my sock.
The doorbell rang.
“I’ve got it!” Mom called, and I heard her light jog across the entryway.
A moment later, her voice floated back, bright and welcoming.
Then came a reply, low and unclear. But definitely male.
Lulu sprang into high alert, nearly skidding off the rug. She caught herself just in time, my sock still clamped in her teeth, her tail whipping in manic loops.
Normally, she got like this when she needed to be let out, but something about her pacing felt different. It was less I-need-to-pee and more hey-you’ll-want-to-see-this.
Downstairs, Mom was chatting, laughing, and…flirting?
God, had she started dating again? Was I about to walk down there and find some middle-aged man standing in our living room? Or worse, was he so old that he couldn’t stay awake for dinner, so he’d shown up for brunch instead?
“Ugh. Gross.”
Lulu was pawing at my door, all but demanding a background check on the guest.
“Nope, I haven’t forgotten, Lu,” I said. She had a habit of overreacting with strangers, especially men.
But Lulu’s stance wasn’t wary. She was amped, sure, but not in a defensive way. She’d only ever wagged like that for—
“Autumn, honey, someone’s here to see you,” Mom called up.
That man’s voice.
The deep timbre of it.
Oh. Oh no.
Panic shot through me.
I scrambled to my feet, but Lulu thought it was a game and lunged at me, her tail whipping in excitement.
“Not now!” I hissed, dodging as she tried to nip at my other sock.
I had no time for this, no time for Dom, and no time for the way my pulse kicked at the sound of his voice.
There was only time to escape.
I yanked my window open and swung my leg over the sill.
The roof was familiar territory. I had used it as an escape route in high school whenever I wanted to sneak out past curfew. Now, at twenty-one, I couldn’t believe I was doing it again, but this time, instead of escaping a grounding, I was running from the man who had turned my world upside down.
My foot found its mark on the sloped tiles. I balanced and crouched low, moving with ease. The drop to the ground wasn’t far. I’d done this dozens of times. With a controlled breath, I pushed off, landing in a crouch on the grass.
Victory surged through me.
Right up until I turned toward the back gate and saw Dom standing there with his arms crossed, blocking my way.
Nice one, genius.
All that top-shelf strategy, outmaneuvered in five seconds flat by Mr. Lawman himself.
He took his time looking me over, his gaze sweeping from my wild hair to my bare feet before inevitably landing on my T-shirt.
My I Buffaloberry Hill T-shirt.
Perfect. Just perfect.
“Hello, Autumn.”
“Dom.”
Damn. Even now, standing there like a fugitive caught mid-escape, his name still felt good on my tongue.
But it didn’t stop my throat from going dry when I asked, “What are you doing here?”
His expression gave away nothing. “Take a drive with me.”
I glanced down at my T-shirt again, cringing. “Let me get dressed.”
His gaze stayed on me, appraising. “Fine. But no funny tricks. If you run, I’ll find you.”
The chill didn’t come from the air. It came from his tone. I replied, “No funny tricks.” Then I darted back inside.
Mom was waiting in the hallway, her eyebrows raised. “Where did you come from?”
“The back,” I said, already halfway to my room. “I need to get changed. I’ll be out for a bit.”
Mom followed me. And to my horror, she let out a dreamy sigh. “What a gentleman.”
I shot her a look. “What?”
She beamed. “Finally, a man with some presence.”
I rolled my eyes, yanking my berry-print T-shirt from the laundry hamper.
Still damp. Letting it drop, I reached for my backup.
Hanging in my closet was the flowy dress I’d picked up from the Buffaloberry boutique.
I hadn’t worn it in a while, but it still reminded me of how it felt to be safe with him.
When I stepped back outside, he was in deep conversation with Mom, as if he’d known her for years. So much for him being all curt and cold.
I could already see that the jury would eat him up. Well, the female ones anyway.
Then his gaze landed on me, and something flickered in his eyes. Recognition.
But it didn’t linger.
“Ready?” he asked, his voice even.
I lifted my chin. “I’ll get Lulu.”
“Nah, leave Lulu with your mom.”
Mom nodded, already reaching for Lulu. “Yes, honey. Leave her with me.”
Dom wasn’t giving me a choice.
Having him drive me around my hometown was jarring, like he’d been dropped into the middle of my life after the Buffaloberry chapter had closed.
But the discomfort didn’t last long. My thoughts were louder, and I felt torn.
Part of me still wanted to escape, to protect the distance I’d put between us.
But another part, the part that had spent too many nights staring at my ceiling and missing him more than I’d ever admit, was undeniably glad he had found me. Even if I hadn’t wanted him to.
But this wasn’t an I miss you kind of reunion.
Dom’s face was hard, his jaw tight, his grip on the steering wheel firm. He wasn’t here as the man who had kissed me in the river, who had looked at me as if he couldn’t have anyone else. He was here as a man with questions. And he wasn’t leaving without answers.
We pulled into the park, stopping beneath a line of cottonwood trees. I braced myself as we stepped out and moved toward the open grass, the sky a wash of faded grays.
“How did you find me?” I asked, needing something, anything, to break the silence. “Don’t tell me it’s because you’re a lawyer.”
His lips pressed together for half a second. “Being a lawyer doesn’t mean you’re smart. I’m just a resourceful guy.” A pause. Then, without preamble, he continued, “Why did you lie to me about Cheyenne?”
I sighed, kicking at a loose rock with my shoe. “I didn’t want you to find me.”
“So you knew you were going to leave, yet you played along and made me believe I had hope. That we, you and I, meant something?”
Everything came rushing back—the stolen moments, the way he’d made me feel safe, the memory of his hands on my skin. And with it, the painful void I’d carried when I ran. Emptiness only hurts when what’s missing meant something.
Whether I wanted to face it or not, Dom meant more to me than he could possibly know.
But I couldn’t say that. My throat clamped shut.
His hands settled on his hips. Then, with a firm voice, he asked, “What did you do to that girl?”
I jerked back. “What? What girl?”
His eyes darkened. “Don’t lie to me, Autumn.”
“I swear, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He groaned, dragging a hand through his hair. “I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt, but I’m gonna ask you this. Where did you find Lulu?”
My stomach lurched.
I closed my eyes for a second, gathering myself, but the words still tangled in my throat.
“Autumn?” Dom pressed.
I forced myself to push past the panic. “Okay! Yes. Something happened on that trail, way before you found me. But seriously, Dom? You really think I could hurt someone?”
“You ran. You lied. What was I supposed to think?”
“How about thinking I had a reason? The best one there is. Protecting you.”
Something shifted in his face, like the words “protecting you” landed somewhere he hadn’t thought to look.
“I saw someone,” I said. “On the trail. Someone dangerous. And I didn’t want you getting pulled into it.”
He didn’t respond. He just looked at me, as if trying one last time to read the truth in my eyes.
I held his gaze and gave him all of it.
Whatever he saw, it was enough. His head dropped, a breath slipping out.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “If I came at you hard, it’s because I’ve lived through enough worst-case scenarios to know they happen more often than not.” He lifted his eyes again, his regret clear as day. “Please, just tell me what happened.”
“I started the hike at the Blodgett Pass trailhead. A few hours in, I saw a man burying a bag. Lulu was with him. She didn’t like him, and eventually, she disappeared.
He saw me, then told me it was nothing, acting casual.
But then he reached into the bag and pulled out a gun, so I ran.
He fired, but missed, and I didn’t stop until I was sure he’d lost me. ”
Dom’s gaze didn’t let up. There was no escape, not that I was planning to lie.
I continued, “I figured the safest move was to keep going, so I veered onto the Raven Bluff trail. But you know how that turned out. I slipped down the slope when I thought I was headed for the river.”
I drew a breath, then added, “Out of nowhere, Lulu showed up while I was stuck down there. And just as quickly, she was gone. Then you found me.”
Dom pulled out a nod, as if processing every word. Then his eyes sharpened. “Is that the full truth?”
“Yes. Lulu was his dog. He tore off her collar before she ran away from him.”
“Lulu wasn’t his.” Dom’s voice was quieter now, but no less intense. “She belonged to a girl named Deborah Sinclair.”
“No…what happened to her?”
“She disappeared just a few days before I found you, so your hike must’ve started right after.”
The air in my lungs turned sharp and cold. I slapped a hand over my mouth, and my lips quivered like I had been crying all day.
“Deborah Sinclair? I swear I didn’t know her,” I whispered, the words barely making it out. “That man…I thought he was burying drugs, or money, or weapons. There was no way it was a body. Or—or—”
The floor inside me gave way. My mind spun, careening toward the worst-case scenario.
“Oh, God,” I choked out. “No, it couldn’t have been her body. The duffel bag was too small. Even if…”
Dom’s expression didn’t change. “He chopped her body?”
I nodded, my hands shaking. A cold sweat broke over my skin. “Don’t tell me the girl is a child.”
“No,” he said evenly. “She’s about your age. Similar build.”
I forced a breath. “Okay. Okay. Yeah, there was no way that bag contained her body.”
Dom stared at me, and for the first time since I’d seen him standing in my backyard, something in his face softened.
“Dom, I swear, I’m telling you the truth.”
He didn’t answer right away. Then, finally, he asked, “So why did you run?”
Tears stung my eyes, but I forced them back. “Because my face was all over Buffaloberry Hill. That was supposed to be me, right?”
“I think so.”
“So what am I accused of?” I snapped.
“Robbery at gunpoint. Blodgett Pass Trail.”
“Jesus,” I muttered. “It has to be him. He took Deborah, then cooked up some fake robbery to throw the authorities off, and frame me at the same time?”
“And to flush you out,” Dom added. “Small towns don’t miss much. Lucky for you, the sketch wasn’t exactly a masterpiece. Not even Ms. O’Donnell made the connection.”
I shook my head. “Sketch quality doesn’t matter when the sheriff’s already decided I’m a violent criminal.”
“You should’ve trusted me, Autumn.”
I pressed the heels of my hands into my eyes. “I know,” I admitted. “But I panicked. I didn’t want to drag you into it, and I didn’t know where else to go.”
Then a new thought hit me. “Did anyone else know about Lulu?” I asked.
“Claire. She figured it out.”
My head dropped. “Of course. Lulu’s microchipped, isn’t she?”
He nodded.
I pressed my lips together, then said, “I’m sorry, Dom. I never meant to deceive you. I just didn’t want my trouble to become yours.”
Dom let out a long breath.
Then, slowly, he reached for me.
I moved toward him, our bodies brushing, his warmth sinking into my skin. It wasn’t much. Just a touch.
But after everything, it was the most glorious sensation in the world.
I didn’t realize how much I needed him until it was too late to stop.
Dom’s hand curled around the back of my neck, his fingers threading through my hair as he kissed me like he was making up for lost time.
Or maybe making sure I didn’t slip away again.
His lips moved over mine with the kind of urgency that stole every last thought from my head, leaving only this—this heat, this ache, this need.
My hands slid up his chest, memorizing the solid feel of him beneath my fingertips. I had missed him. God, I had really missed him.
I clutched at his shirt, fisting the fabric. He groaned into my mouth, and the sound sent a wildfire of sensation rushing through me. It wasn’t just a kiss. It was everything we hadn’t said, everything we’d been holding back.
“You believe me?” I whispered, my forehead resting against his.
His hands gripped my waist, his body pressed against mine, and I melted into him like I’d never left.
Like I never wanted to again.
He said, “If that kiss didn’t say I do, I don’t know what else would.”
“So what happens now?” I murmured.
“I’m staying here for one night,” he said, his hands still resting on my waist. “Would you come with me to Buffaloberry Hill tomorrow and clear things up with the sheriff? It’s the right thing to do. That girl…her parents are waiting for her.”
The reality of everything settled in, sobering the moment. “Of course,” I decided.
Dom studied me for a second longer, as if recounting every detail of my face. Then, his lips quirked. “Would you have dinner with me?”
The warmth in my chest spread, breaking through the lingering nerves. “How well do you know Idaho Falls?” I asked.
“Not well at all.”
I smirked. “Meet you at The Rustler’s Grill.”
His fingers skimmed my wrist before he let go and reluctantly stepped back. “See you there.”