Chapter Seven
Josh sat in his vehicle at the pull-off for Dead Man’s Pass.
There was a good place to park that would be difficult to see from the road, which was why he wanted to meet Amber there.
He didn’t want anyone to see them together.
A message from Maya popped up on his phone.
She’d texted him to let him know that she had to run to the Forest Service office in town to email some things to her boss.
He was glad. He needed to meet with Amber and close this part of his past mistakes.
He glanced at his watch. Sure, he’d been a few minutes late, but where was Amber?
She still hadn’t shown up. Was she messing with him again?
Should he warn Maya? Bianca had always told Josh that Amber would be trouble.
He didn’t miss Chicago, Amber, or any of the drama, but he did miss being able to visit with his sister on a regular basis.
It had been after Sydney’s murder that Josh had hit rock bottom. And he hit hard. The only person in his family who would talk to him at that time was his sister, Bianca. And even she had been hesitant because at that point all he asked her for was money.
Bianca had let him crash on her couch and fed him, but she soon realized how fast he was blowing the money on drugs and alcohol. She’d told him he could stay with her, but he had to get clean.
Instead, he’d moved out. Not his best time.
Not something he wanted to remember. He’d even thought about wading into Lake Michigan and ending everything there.
He was a disgrace to his family. His department.
What did he have to live for? But something had stopped him.
He could still see the image in his mind of his partner who’d been shot in the line of duty standing on the shoreline.
He’d told Josh that he forgave him and wanted him to get better.
Josh had always blamed himself for his partner’s death.
Was he hallucinating? Or was it a ghost?
Whatever it was, the image had changed his life.
The next morning, he called Bianca and begged her to take him to rehab. She had cried tears of joy and told him to stay put. She’d be right there. It was the best phone call he’d ever made.
Glancing at his watch again, Josh started his vehicle to stay warm.
Where the heck was Amber? He had noticed some tire tracks, but that wasn’t unusual.
People liked to four-wheel over the pass even in spring.
The higher elevation meant they could find some decent snow to board or snowshoe on for a little bit longer.
Were the tire tracks from a backcountry explorer or did Amber already come and go?
He would give her five more minutes and then leave.
And he would never answer another call from a Chicago area code unless it was a family member.
He knew when he finished his time at the rehab that he was a new person.
Stronger. Better. But he had to leave Chicago and even Illinois.
He needed to go somewhere far away where his past couldn’t follow him.
And he knew he wanted to continue in law enforcement.
It was his calling. He not only wanted to keep people safe, but he felt like he had a different perspective on life and could have some empathy toward those he arrested.
But who was going to hire a cop who was fresh out of rehab and had been fired from the Chicago PD?
Bianca had called their grandfather. She said he knew some sheriff in some Colorado mountain town.
Maybe he knew of a department that needed officers.
As it turned out, that sheriff was Wayne Thompson, or Pops, as Josh now thought of him thanks to Maya.
Pops, Maya’s grandfather, had hired him as a patrol deputy with the stipulation that he had to do a weekly urinalysis. Josh agreed.
It wasn’t long before Pops promoted him to undersheriff, but Josh still did random tests to prove he’d remained drug-free.
He’d continued attending AA and NA meetings.
While he made friends, he was careful about who he hung out with, and even though plenty of women around town had thrown themselves at him, he hadn’t wanted a relationship.
Then Maya came home after her military service.
When he saw her, it was like lightning struck, but the irony of it all was that she wasn’t interested.
Over time, that changed, and now he was the happiest he could ever remember.
Amber had almost ruined that for him. When he left Illinois, he swore his past was behind him. But it seemed like it kept finding him and haunting him.
She still wasn’t here and Josh wasn’t going to wait any longer.
Putting his vehicle in Drive, Josh turned it around and left.
He was done with Amber. He’d only agreed to meet her so that his past demons would stop chasing him.
Right now, as far as he was concerned, she was out of his life and he was finally free.