Chapter 8
As soon as Kori stepped back out onto Main Street after dinner, the cold hit her. Her belly was full—and satisfied—but her concern only intensified with every moment that passed.
If Kori was cold out here in a coat and hat, how did Mackenzie feel? Wherever she was . . . was she warm? Was she safe?
Wyatt paused and turned toward her. “If it’s okay, I’ll drive you back to Hollow House now so I can see that laptop.”
“Of course.”
She took a step, and her foot slipped out from beneath her.
Just as she felt herself falling, Wyatt caught her elbow. He helped her remain upright.
Her cheeks flushed as she looked up at him. “I thought I was steadier on my feet than that. Thank you.”
“Of course. It got slippery fast out here.”
“Yes, it really did.” She turned toward his truck when someone on the sidewalk in the distance caught her eye.
She sucked in a breath.
The tall, thin man was half a block away, striding toward them with a woman at his side.
Her stomach dropped.
Flint.
She straightened and kept her expression neutral, guarded.
She’d hoped she wouldn’t run into him.
She should have known better. In a town this small, the chances were slim that their paths wouldn’t eventually cross.
Flint seemed to spot Wyatt first, and an easy smile stretched across his face. “Hey, Wyatt. Didn’t expect to see you out tonight.”
“Just grabbing some dinner.”
Then Flint’s eyes moved to her, and his smile dropped. “Kori? I didn’t know you were in town.”
“I got here this afternoon.” She kept her voice—and her gaze—even.
He seemed to remember himself then, and he gestured beside him. “Sorry. Where are my manners. This is Dana. Dana, this is Kori and Wyatt.”
Kori nodded hello and observed the woman a moment. Tall, fair-haired, composed. Based on their body language—the way Dana leaned toward Flint—they were a couple.
Did Dana know about Flint’s past? About what his decisions said about his character? Or was he still hiding that from her—just like he’d hidden it from Kori?
Wyatt’s brow wrinkled. “You two know each other?”
“Kori and I actually went to Virginia Tech together.” Flint kept his voice smooth and easy.
Kori didn’t add anything to his statement. The less details Wyatt knew, the better.
The whole situation between the two of them had been devastating . . . and humiliating.
Wyatt glanced at her long enough to register there was more to that sentence than its words. Then he moved on.
Thank You, Jesus.
It shouldn’t surprise her that Wyatt knew Flint. After all, Flint worked for the Forest Service. Last she’d heard, he was in charge of marking and keeping track of certain kinds of endangered trees within the national forest system.
“I’m actually glad I ran into you,” Wyatt said. “I’m leading a search and rescue operation tomorrow morning. We have a missing hiker.” He paused. “It’s actually Kori’s sister, Mackenzie Hutchins.”
Flint’s composure disappeared as he glanced at Kori. “Mackenzie? What happened to Mackenzie? When did she go missing?”
“She was supposed to be back from her hike yesterday,” Kori told him, determined to keep her voice strong.
“Where did she go?”
“Lost Hollow Trail,” Wyatt said.
Something moved across Flint’s face at that. It wasn’t exactly surprise—more like a grim recognition.
Finally, he nodded slowly, his jaw tight and guilt simmering on the surface of his gaze. “Is there anything I can do to help tonight?”
“Not in this weather,” Wyatt said.
Flint glanced at Kori. “We’ll find her. There’s nobody better equipped for these types of situations than Wyatt and Thunder.”
She didn’t know what to do with his statement, so she said nothing.
Flint held her gaze a moment longer before nodding goodbye.
If only he were her biggest problem. But he wasn’t.
Finding Mackenzie was the only thing she cared about right now.
Wyatt pulled the truck to the curb in front of Hollow House and shifted it into Park.
The old bed and breakfast looked warm against the storm, with soft yellow light spilling from the windows and snow gathering along the porch railing and steps.
Kori unbuckled her seatbelt. “The laptop’s in my room. I’ll grab it.”
“I’ll come with you.”
She didn’t argue.
They stepped from the truck together, Thunder at their side. Snow swirled through the porch’s light as they climbed the front steps. Kori punched in a code before pushing through the front door.
The warmth inside Hollow House immediately wrapped around them. A fire crackled in the living room, and somewhere deeper in the house a clock chimed softly. Maggie must be in her room. But Wyatt knew she loved Thunder and wouldn’t mind him coming inside.
The dog made himself at home and padded across the rug.
Kori paused near the hallway. “Give me just a minute.”
Wyatt nodded. “We’ll be right here.”
While she disappeared, Wyatt stayed near the living room doorway while Thunder settled beside the hearth.
For the first time all evening, the quiet gave Wyatt room to think. His mind drifted back to the sidewalk outside Ember & Oak.
Flint Gentry.
The exchange between him and Kori had been brief, polite, and controlled. But heated emotion had simmered beneath the surface.
Wyatt had known Flint for a couple of years now. The man was good at his job. Competent. Even easy to work with most of the time.
But there had always been something about him that Wyatt didn’t quite like. It wasn’t anything specific, just a feeling.
Flint was the kind of man who knew exactly how he wanted to be perceived and worked hard to maintain his image. Wyatt had learned over the years that people like that were often hiding something. And when Flint saw Kori tonight, that look on his face hadn’t been casual recognition.
That had been something deeper.
Wyatt rubbed the back of his neck and glanced toward the hallway. Whatever had happened between Flint and Kori clearly wasn’t finished. And, for some reason he couldn’t pinpoint, that bothered him.
Thunder lifted his head as footsteps sounded.
A moment later Kori came back into the living room with a laptop tucked under her arm. “Got it.”
Wyatt gestured toward the couch. “Let’s take a look.”
They moved to the couch and sat beside each other. Thunder remained by the fire, watching them both.
Kori opened the laptop, and the screen flickered to life. Several videos were playing, almost as if someone were monitoring security footage in several locations at one time.
She clicked on one to enlarge it.
A narrow forest trail appeared—snow-dusted trees, branches swaying lightly in the wind.
Wyatt watched the video, looking for anything that might show why Mackenzie had this footage.
But other than the mysterious woman in one of the frames, there was nothing.
Wyatt sat back and glanced at Kori. “So, for some reason, your sister was recording the trail.”
“That’s what it looks like.”
Wyatt studied the screen again, his mind turning over the possibilities.
The woods had a way of hiding secrets.
But sometimes the truth showed up in places people didn’t know to look.
Like a trail camera.