Chapter 14
Kori followed Wyatt’s footprints in the snow.
He’d pulled out Mackenzie’s shirt again and let Thunder sniff it.
Then the canine was back on the trail.
As they walked, she tried not to think about the fact they would have to walk this exact route on the way back.
Her legs burned. Her back ached. And she was cold. So cold. She could no longer feel her toes.
She kept pace anyway. She wouldn’t be the reason they slowed down.
At least on the way back, it would be downhill.
And the sun had come up and now peeked through the canopy above them. Maybe some of the snow would start melting as temperatures climbed. The hike would be wetter and muddier, but at least she wouldn’t be trudging through thick snow.
They continued, Wyatt moving through the trees without hesitation, and Thunder ranging in wide arcs, with his nose down, checking back with Wyatt at intervals.
Kori focused on keeping her pace and watching every step. She’d never admit how exhausted she was—but more than anything she wanted to rest. That was a luxury they couldn’t afford.
She had to keep moving—for Mackenzie’s sake.
Wyatt glanced back at her. “How are you doing?”
She gripped the straps of her backpack more tightly. “Fine.”
He reached into his pack and handed her a protein bar. “Eat this. You need to keep up your energy. And even though it’s cold out here, you still need to drink water.”
“Got it.” She took the protein bar and removed one of her gloves long enough to tear the paper off. Then she took a bite.
It tasted surprisingly good. Peanut butter and dark chocolate.
Wyatt looked at her a beat longer before turning back to the trail. “You said your sister works from home. Tell me why she chose to live in Blue Ridge Hollow.”
Kori was grateful for something to focus on besides her burning legs as she walked through snow up to her calves.
This part of the trail was particularly daunting.
A rock wall stretched high to her left, and on the other side was a cliff that plunged at least twelve feet.
The ledge itself was narrow, barely wide enough to be comfortable.
She had to be careful.
“We grew up in Northern Virginia—Arlington,” she explained to Wyatt as she remembered his question.
“After law school, I began dating someone who lived here. Flint, if you haven’t guessed that already.
As Flint mentioned, we met at Virginia Tech.
Anyway, when I came here to visit him once, Mackenzie came with me. ”
She took another step—and the ground gave way.
Snow collapsed beneath her boot, and her leg dropped hard to mid-thigh.
Kori’s balance pitched forward. Her arms shot out as she stumbled toward the ridge, her boot finding nothing but air beneath the crusted snow.
For a split second, there was no ground—just a hollow space hidden beneath the surface.
Her stomach dropped.
Her breath came fast.
Had this happened to Mackenzie?
Had her sister taken one wrong step and fallen—and kept falling—with no one there to pull her back?
Kori’s body weight pulled her downward.
Her other foot slipped as the snow gave way further. For a terrifying moment she thought she might disappear completely into whatever hollow space lay beneath the crust.
Before she slid too far, Wyatt spun and grabbed her arm.
“Easy . . .” He tightened his grip and pulled her toward him. “Don’t fight it. Lean back.”
Kori forced herself to listen. Slowly, she shifted her weight the way he directed until the snow stopped collapsing beneath her.
Her leg was still buried. She’d lost her protein bar.
But she hadn’t slid to her death.
Cold seeped through the fabric of her pants as she struggled to pull her leg free.
“It’s just a snow pocket,” Wyatt said. “The trail’s full of them today.”
“I noticed.”
He crouched and steadied her elbow while she worked her leg loose. When it finally came free, she rose . . . and immediately stumbled forward.
Straight into Wyatt.
For a moment she was pressed against his chest. His arm was braced around her to keep her upright—and to stop her from falling again.
Her breath came out in a rush of white air. Nearly falling . . . being this close to Wyatt—close enough to smell his evergreen cologne . . . it was all messing with her head. Making her feel things she shouldn’t. Leaving her off-balanced—something she rarely said about herself.
“Still think you’re fine?” Wyatt murmured, his breath whispering against her cheek.
She straightened, brushing snow from her pants as if nothing unusual had happened. “Absolutely.”
He gave her a look that suggested he didn’t believe her for a second. But he didn’t argue.
Once she regained her balance, she cleared her throat. “So . . . where were we?”
He continued to study her, not bothering to begin walking again. “You were talking about Mackenzie.”
“That’s right.” She resisted the urge to fan her face, to act like an adolescent around her first crush.
She prided herself in being in control—and in control was the last thing she felt right now.
“Anyway, Mackenzie fell in love with Blue Ridge Hollow that first visit. The mountains, the town, the pace of life. She’d always been that way—she loved small places.
Places where people knew each other. It was the opposite of how I felt about it. ”
“You didn’t like Blue Ridge Hollow?”
She couldn’t be sure, but was that disappointment in his voice? Certainly not. She was imagining things.
“I like Blue Ridge Hollow just fine. But I couldn’t imagine moving there and having the career I’d always dreamed about. Mackenzie could. When she got a job she could do remotely, she started talking about moving here. I thought it was a phase. It wasn’t.”
“I see.” He paused. “So is your career in DC everything you thought it would be?”
His question surprised her. Was it? She hadn’t asked herself that in a long time.
“I’ve been successful and made a name for myself,” she finally said.
“But is it everything you thought it would be?”
There Wyatt went, seeing through to the heart of the matter again.
She blew out a breath. “It’s fast-paced. I’m busy. I hardly have time for a life outside work, to be honest. Even leaving to come here, I kept fielding calls from the office. It’s like I can’t be successful unless I’m married to my career.”
“Is that what you want?”
She considered her answer. “To be honest, I don’t know.”
That schedule had been fine for a while. But one day she did want a family. Kids. Memories that took place outside the office.
They continued walking, the only sounds that of their boots breaking through snow crust, the wind moving through the upper branches, and Thunder working through the trees.
Then Thunder stopped.
His head went up, and his body angled toward the trees on their left.
Thunder held his position without moving, without making a sound, every line of him fixed on something Kori couldn’t see.
Kori looked at Wyatt.
His posture had changed instantly.
Thunder had found something. She was certain of it.
She braced herself, knowing this could be great news—or it could be a horrible discovery that changed everything.
She wasn’t sure she was prepared for the latter.