Chapter 5
The sound outside grew louder.
Rowan set her fork down as the steady thrum pressed in around them, vibrating through the walls, the table, and even her chest.
“That’s close.” Sheriff Sutherland pushed his chair back.
Caleb stood. “Let’s take a look.”
“I’ll stay inside and guard the food,” Millie said. “And keep an eye on Grace.”
Smart thinking. These canines might be well-trained, but they would devour every bite of any leftover steak the moment everyone stepped away.
Chairs scraped as everyone rose, the mood shifting from relaxed to alert in a matter of seconds. Rowan followed.
They all stepped out onto the porch.
A helicopter above them came into view.
The aircraft cut across the sky at a low angle, closer than it should have been. The noise was loud enough to drown out any attempt at conversation, and the wind from the blades stirred the tops of the winter-barren trees.
Rowan’s gaze tracked it, searching for any markings or something identifiable. Was this a TV station? The paparazzi?
But she couldn’t make out anything clear.
“Is it a medical copter?” Naomi shielded her eyes as she glanced up.
“It doesn’t look like it,” Micah said.
The helicopter shifted, circling just enough to feel intentional before angling away again.
Rowan’s chest tightened. Someone is looking for something or someone. Something or someone like you.
The thought came fast and uninvited.
She swallowed hard, forcing herself to breathe through it.
No, that’s ridiculous.
No one knew she was here. No one could have followed her—not across the entire country, not this quickly. She hadn’t told anyone where she was going.
Vince didn’t know she was here. He couldn’t.
Why would he think she’d gone home? Would he have looked into her family? She did like to talk about them—about how wonderful they were. Maybe that had been a mistake. What if she’d made them a target by doing so?
Panic raced through her.
Had he had someone follow her?
No, she would have noticed that. Right?
Nothing made sense anymore.
The helicopter circled the house a couple of times.
Then it continued its path, the sound beginning to fade as it flew farther away. The tension eased from the air in small increments.
“It’s probably nothing,” Naomi said, though she sounded unconvinced. “We get the occasional flyover.”
“Not that low.” Caleb frowned as he stared at the sky. “And that doesn’t explain why it circled our property.”
Micah watched the copter until it disappeared beyond the trees. “I’ll check into it. See if anyone logged a flight in the area.”
“That’d be good,” Caleb said.
Rowan barely heard the rest of the exchange. Her focus shifted to Wes.
He stood a few feet away, his posture still. But his attention wasn’t on the sky anymore.
It was on her.
He’d always been able to see through her. To pick up on the smallest shifts, the things no one else questioned.
Nothing had changed. So much for an improvement in her acting skills. Wes could still read what she was thinking, no matter how hard she tried to disguise her inner turmoil.
“Let’s get back inside,” Naomi said. “Dinner’s getting cold.”
As everyone began moving toward the front door, Rowan lingered half a second longer on the porch, staring at the space where the helicopter had been.
Her pulse hadn’t settled. Not completely.
Because even as the sound faded, her unease didn’t.
Wes paused before going inside.
Just like Rowan, he kept his gaze on the sky another moment. Then he scanned past the edge of the property where the land dipped and rose again in uneven stretches.
Something caught his eye.
A thin line of gray against the dark sky.
Smoke.
His lungs tightened. “Hey, everyone. Hold on.”
Caleb turned toward him. “What is it?”
Wes lifted his chin toward the distance. “You see that?”
Caleb followed his line of sight. A second passed, then his posture shifted. “I see it.”
“Could be fire and rescue,” Naomi said. “Maybe the helicopter was theirs.”
“It didn’t have any markings to indicate that,” Sheriff Sutherland said. “But maybe.”
The column wasn’t thick, but it was steady. It wasn’t a passing haze or dust kicked up from a road. It held its shape, rising in a narrow stream before spreading at the top.
Sheriff Sutherland stepped closer, his expression tightening as he tracked it. “I don’t like the look of that.”
“It looks close.” Naomi rubbed her arms as if the words chilled her.
Caleb took a few steps out, angling for a better view. “That’s too close for comfort.”
Wes mentally measured the distance in his head. The direction. The way the smoke drifted with the breeze.
The fire could be on Refuge Cove’s property, but it was hard to know for sure.
“It’s coming from the direction of the Hendersons’ place,” Naomi added, her voice quiet.
No one responded. They didn’t need to.
Sheriff Sutherland already had his phone out. He stepped a few paces away and spoke in a low, steady voice—location, direction, what he could see from where they stood.
As he did, Wes kept his eyes on the smoke. The fire seemed contained—right now—and it could be accidental. Someone burning brush in the wrong conditions, in the wrong spot, at the wrong time of night.
Sheriff Sutherland ended the call and walked back. “Fire crew’s on the way. We should get back inside. We can monitor things from there. If it starts to spread, we’ll move.”
One by one, they headed back inside. Wes followed last, pausing in the doorway long enough to take one more look across the property.
The column had spread wider now, less defined but still visible against the sky.
He didn’t like what he was seeing. Didn’t like what it all might mean.
All his senses told him that danger was hovering just out of sight—and that it was all around them, just waiting to pounce.
Did this have something to do with the property? Or did it link to Rowan in some way?
He’d watched Rowan’s face throughout everything. The helicopter had shaken her up. Maybe she’d wondered if it was paparazzi. But the fire . . . the fire seemed to truly perplex her.
And scare her.
She was definitely keeping secrets.
He only wished he knew what they were.