Page 44 of Flashback

“I heard…something.” He didn’t want Felicia to get in trouble for sharing information. “Something is going on out there in the forest.”

The sheriff folded his arms across his chest and faced Dakota. “I appreciate you keeping an eye on Jen’s boys, but that’s where your involvement ends. If it will make you feel better, I’ll talk to the boy tomorrow. It’s late and he’s been through enough. Now, if you don’t mind, I’ve got a drunk and disorderly to book. But stay out of my murder case.”

The sheriff left with a nod to the lady in scrubs behind the counter.

So much for working with the local law enforcement to get some answers. What was it going to take for someone to take Dakota seriously?

Because once a cop, always a cop…at least, as far as he was concerned. He’d quit voluntarily because that was better than being fired. But he wasn’t walking away.

Not this time.

NINE

Dawn was a welcome sight.Allie didn’t think she could take any more hours lying awake in the dark. She quickly dressed and quietly made her way to the kitchen. Time to go find Scout.

It being their first free day in over two weeks, the other girls in the house slept in. While Allie waited for the coffee to brew, she looked out the small window over the sink. She could only see a faint outline of the mountains thanks to the smoke and haze still hanging in the atmosphere. Even this far from the fire. And poor Scout. He was out there.

But Dakota had promised to help her look for him today. Dakota, who was quickly taking over a lot of space in her head. That little moment on the front porch when he dropped her off last night replayed over and over again.

He’d put the car in Park, and she’d watched the muscles in his forearm flex. They’d walked to the door and stood there, an electric current in the silence around them.

He’d chuckled quietly, and she’d watched the humor in his eyes as he leaned toward her. Was he going to kiss her?

He’d lifted a hand and brushed her hair.“You have a bit of a leaf here. Must be from finding Jen.” Emily and Jojo had busted out laughing at something inside.

Hello, reality crash.

He had her forgetting things she shouldn’t forget. And if he really knew everything? It would only mean heartbreak in the end. She’d better get her head on straight before she spent the whole day with him. He was handsome and heroic, but she couldn’t afford to lose her heart to him.

She went out to the front porch and sat on the bench swing with her coffee and her Bible. The sun rose in the sky, a weird neon-red sphere as it peaked over the mountains in the east. After Allie had commented on the same eerie color at sunset last night, Emily had said it was only because of the smoke in the air. But the old rhyme Grandma Kay used to say came to mind.

Red at night, sailor’s delight. Red in the morning, sailor take warning.

At least in the daylight Allie could think straight. Between the fire and Ray’s drunken outburst, she couldn’t settle her nerves. Add to the mix the confusion of being around Dakota Masterson, and it was good as slamming down a six-pack of energy drinks.

He was danger to her heart for sure. Her heart rate raced every time she remembered the almost-kiss.

She was foolish enough to imagine what it would’ve been like if the sudden laughter hadn’t broken the spell. And now she couldn’t separate fantasy from reality.

Allie groaned and dropped her head back against the porch swing. Three yellow finches crowded at a bird feeder hanging from the eaves.

At least Ethan and Nolan were safe…for the moment. Jen’s sister had come for the boys soon after the sheriff left, since Jen needed to stay in the hospital. But like Dakota, Allie couldn’t shake a sense of foreboding over what might happen next. Thoseboys had witnessed a murder. And no one seemed to care except herself and Dakota.

But what could they do about it?

She needed Scout. Almost twenty-four hours since she’d seen him, and still no sign of her dog. She sent Dakota a text. If he wasn’t up yet, he would see it when?—

Her phone rang.

She stared at his name for a second, biting her lip.Answer it. She was the one who’d contacted him first. “Hey, uh…morning.”

“Of course I’m up.” His slightly raspy morning voice sent warm swirls through her middle.

Oh boy. Probably, spending more time with him would only get her into trouble. And yet, he was the only one who was crazy enough to go with her. He’d proven that. But when they’d had a moment alone…

He hadn’t kissed her.

She could keep this about business if he didn’t need the personal part. “I know it’s your day off, but I was wondering if the roads were open and we could look for Scout. And since we lost him by that cabin, maybe we can start there and find evidence to corroborate Ethan’s story.”

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