Page 119 of Mystery in the Mountains

The feel of Sunny’s hand in his down the well-worn path felt good. After everything that had happened, he felt a little silly at his panic.

He gave her hand a squeeze and a sigh of relief as his A-frame cabin came into sight.

Chapter

Forty-Two

SUNNY

The ambience of the mountain comforted Sunny as they made their way to Asher’s cabin. Chirping crickets, the occasional hoot of the owl settled her mind, their crunching footsteps, and the feel of Asher’s hand in hers settled deep in her heart.

It was almost enough to get the image of Asher in the trailer out of her mind—almost but not quite. That was nightmare fuel, and she didn’t think she would be rid of it for a long time.

“Are you okay?” Asher asked as they reached the stairs.

He stopped to turn to her as the moonlight caught his deep-brown curls and the glint in his eye.

She nodded. “I mean, I’m fine. Tonight was a lot . . . The sight of you in that trailer keeps popping into my mind.”

The corner of his mouth turned up as he cupped her face. “I’m okay. Thanks to you. Let’s go inside.”

They climbed the stairs as he opened his door for her. She hadn’t been here since they’d been back. But even after all the time that had passed, she found herself oddly comforted by his space.

“How did you end up over there, anyway?” Sunny asked as she toed out of her shoes.

Asher plopped down on his couch with a loud sigh as he took his boots off. “Well . . . that’s not something I’m very proud of.”

When she turned to him, the look on his face was not one she cared for. It was dark and dejected, and she would do just about anything to wipe it away.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Well . . . when you didn’t show up at the diner, I went to look for you, but I couldn’t find you. So, I went to your house and waited for you to show up there . . . and you didn’t.”

“Oh, Asher. I’m so sorry. I was trying to get you. I never should have left without talking to you. I thought I could get there and get back before you noticed but then my car broke down?—”

“Shhh.” Asher pulled her to him. She melted into his embrace. “Both of us could have done tonight a little differently. Yes, maybe communicate to me because with our past I might still be a little quick to jump to conclusions, but I also need to give you the benefit of the doubt more. If I hadn’t let my wolf take over and run off into the mountain, I would have been right there when Nox dropped you off.”

“I’m still sorry,” she said, reaching up and kissing him on the cheek.

“Plus, as terrible as tonight was, it is good that we know what is happening. They could have had that church built, and we never would have been the wiser. Abe and I are going to up our patrols, and we’re going to have to figure it out.”

“And with the paperwork I found—and now an eyewitness to the crash—at least the coal company is off our back.”

Sunny sauntered to the small kitchenette for a glass of water. “It still smells exactly the same in here.”

Asher moved in behind her, slid his arms around her waist, and nuzzled her neck.

They’d spent lots of time here before Sunny left. Toward the end of things, her house was not a very good place to be.

As she leaned back into Asher, the gears in her brain were cranking away.

“Ya know, all this time, I think I was holding on to resentment for my dad. It was like I lost both of my parents that night. Only one of them was still here but never really here again.”

She reached into her pocket, and her fingers toyed with the note.

“When I found the key to open the lockbox with all the information about the coal company . . . there was something else in there, too?”

“Oh, yeah?” he asked as he cocked his head.

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