Page 41 of Scent of Fear

“Yes, that and losing my parents.” He cleared his throat. “My family has always attended church and prayed. So I was taught to believe from an early age. But it’s hard to keep that faith alive after suffering so much loss.”

“That’s true.” She tried to smile. “It wasn’t easy for me after losing my mother. It’s the knowing she’s in a better place that offers comfort.”

“Yes, that does help.” The corner of his mouth kicked up in a semblance of a smile. “And we’ve often talked about how good it is that our parents were together. We miss them, of course, but they had each other at the end.” His smile faded. “I only hope their death was quick and painless.”

She wasn’t familiar with the details of the plane crash that had taken his parents’ lives. Or Rebecca’s car crash either. “I’m sure they held on to each other until the end.”

He nodded. “Imagining them together like that helps.” He paused, then abruptly added, “I was supposed to be with Rebecca that night.”

She caught her breath. “You were?”

“Yeah. But I got hung up with a group at the dude ranch.” His gaze darkened. “I was doing a favor for my parents, taking a rich group of city slickers out on a ride. Supposedly they all had riding experience, but they came across as rookies to me. One of the women fell off her horse and broke her ankle. I had to place a splint, and our ride back to the ranch was slow.” He shook his head. “There wasn’t much I could do, stuff happens. But I remember Rebecca was upset with me about breaking our date. The next morning, her car was found at the bottom of a ravine. She died even though the airbags had deployed. The local sheriff’s deputy concluded that she’d swerved to avoid an elk or some other animal that likely had wandered out into the road. The truth is that if I had been there as promised, she’d still be alive today.”

Her heart ached for him. “I’m so sorry, Shane.” She didn’t necessarily agree with his conclusion, maybe things would have been different. Or maybe they would both have died that night.

He shrugged and looked away. “I’ve been told God has a plan for us, but sometimes it’s hard to understand why people have to die so young. Like why should that have to be a part of some master plan?”

“I don’t know. Keep in mind God doesn’t promise that we’ll never hurt or suffer while here on earth.” She tightened her grip around his waist. “God does promise us that if we believe in Him and accept Jesus as our savior, we will have everlasting life. That’s what really matters.”

He gathered her close in a tight hug, then released her. “Thanks, that helps. For now, it’s time for us to come up with a plan of our own. One related to finding your grandfather.”

She nodded. “I think we need to go back to Cody so I can get my laptop computer. Maybe if we can search on that headline from all those years ago, we’ll gain some insight as to who might have taken Grandpa.”

He grimaced. “I like that idea, but you need to be prepared for what we might find.”

“Prepared how?” She frowned. “What are you talking about?”

After a moment’s hesitation, he drew her to the living room sofa. Bryce jumped up to follow them, stretching out on the floor beside Shane.His shadow, she thought with a smile. The dog would clearly do anything for Shane. “Sit down for a minute, okay?” She did, and Shane dropped down next to her. “You mentioned the last two words on the headline you glimpsed were ‘At Large,’ right?”

“Yes. I remember seeing those words very clearly.” She wished again that she’d have taken a closer look the moment she’d found the box. Now it was gone, and she was afraid her grandfather would never get it back.

“I believe the headline might be referring to escaped criminals being at large,” Shane said, breaking into her thoughts. “Or maybe it’s that the suspects are at large.”

Suspects? She was glad she was sitting down. “No, I’m sure the headline wasn’t referring to my grandfather.”

“Then why did he keep it hidden away for so long?”

She shook her head, her mind whirling. There was no way her grandfather could be involved in something criminal. The man she loved was a sweet, kind, and wonderful man. He’d doted on her, and they’d gotten close since her mother’s passing. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s something else. Something painful that he didn’t want to tell me about because it makes him sad.”

“I’m not saying your grandfather did anything wrong,” Shane hastened to reassure her. “Maybe he witnessed something he shouldn’t have. Or maybe there’s another explanation, bad memories as you suggested. I’m not sure what we’ll find, but I do think you need to be prepared in case...” He hesitated, then added, “In case you don’t like what we uncover.”

Hard to argue his point. Especially since it seemed as if her grandfather hadn’t bothered to show her any of the photos or articles in the box. Why would he keep something like that a secret? Especially the photographs? And why would that secret cause someone to come after him now, all these years later?

Realization dawned, and she wanted to kick herself for being so stupid. “The DNA report.”

“What about it?”

She stared at Shane, feeling sick to her stomach. Her grandfather’s disappearance was likely her fault. “I believe these guys tracked my grandfather here because I submitted his DNA into the system. Grandpa may have been staying off-grid on purpose—until I put him out there in the spotlight for these jerks to find.”

“We don’t know that’s how your grandfather was found,” Shane protested.

“How else?” She threw her arm out to encompass the cabin. “Grandpa has been living here for the past forty years. As far as I know, nobody has ever come looking for him, until now!”

“Forty years?” Shane looked surprised. “Way out here in the middle of nowhere? How did he support himself?”

“He lived off the land, hunting and fishing primarily. He worked in construction in the early years when my mother was growing up. I mostly remember him as doing guide work for a local outfitting company.” She frowned, trying to remember the name. “I think it was called O’Grady’s Hunting Outfitters or something like that. They were super busy in the spring and fall obviously. I remember as a kid I didn’t get to see Grandpa as much during those times of the year. But in summertime, I spent weeks here at the cabin while my mom worked.” Those were some of the best memories of her life.

“What about your grandmother?” Shane asked.

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