Her reply was lost in his kiss—slow, certain, tasting of promise. The fire crackled as the shadows deepened around them, and when Burke’s arms tightened, Caitlin let herself melt into him completely.
Rosie sighed in her sleep by the fire, as if she knew it too.
Burke held Caitlin close, her heartbeat steady against his chest. For years, he’d believed love had ended with Anna—that the part of him capable of feeling this had gone with her. But tonight, in the quiet glow of the fire, he knew better.
Love hadn’t died with Anna. It had simply gone still for a while, waiting—patient as the mountains—for her.
Chapter 60
Gone
DEPUTY SARA PARKER
Highway 73, Jackson County — Late November, Just Past Midnight
A thin crust of frost clung to the pines along Highway 73, the last of November giving way to winter—the kind of night when the dark felt alive.
The mountains stood still beneath a hard, silver sky—quiet, waiting. Deputy Sara Parker sat in her cruiser beneath the hemlocks—perfect spot, perfect angle. Usually she caught plenty here—speeders, drunks, even Darcy Nolan once, back before anyone knew the truth.
The cruiser smelled faintly of leather and coffee, the dash lights casting a low amber glow across her hands. Nights like this made her restless, wanting to prove herself. In the silence, her mind drifted—always back to Scout.
She pictured him at the tree lighting last week—Tessa Quinn beside him, suitcase at her feet, the two of them sparring the way people do when they don’t realize they’re being watched. Sara had told herself she didn’t care.She did.
She shook it off, forcing her thoughts elsewhere: Rosie weaving through laughing kids, Burke steady at Caitlin’s side, the town lit gold against the mountain dark. Christmas in Sylva had always been her favorite. Maybe this year she’d finally find her place in it.
She reached for her coffee, took a slow sip, and watched headlights crest the distant curve—two quick flashes, one long. Unit 6. Scout.
She keyed her mic. “Unit 6, you done for the night?”
His voice came warm through the static. “Copy that, Three. Headed home before Burke finds me another paper trail.”
She smiled. “Try not to speed. I’d hate to write you up.”
“Wouldn’t give you the satisfaction,” he teased. “Night, Parker.”
“Night, Scout.”
His taillights slipped around the next bend, swallowed by the trees. The quiet that followed pressed close—too deep, too sudden.
The radio crackled once, then fell silent.
She frowned, checked the radar gun. Empty road.
Then—lights.
Two white orbs burned deep in the woods behind her—too high for headlights, too still for anything natural.
Her pulse jumped.Dang hunter,she muttered, half to herself.
The forest hushed—no owls, no insects, nothing she could name.
She grabbed the mic. “Dispatch, this is Unit Three. I’ve got?—”
Static hissed. Then dead air.
Dashboard lights flickered once and died. Engine still idled. Radio dead.
She exhaled sharply.Dang hunter with a spotlight,she said again, quieter this time, but her hand hovered near her holster.
