Hadley Dawkins
October 2025
Friday – 10:03am
Hadley sat motionless behind the steering wheel, the engine off. The only sound besides the cooling motor was the crunch of her antacids. The berry-flavored tablets finally dissolved into a gritty paste on her tongue, but it was better than allowing a fire to simmer in her chest for the remainder of the day.
She stared through the windshield at the old Victorian that passed for the Whistlerun Police Station. The house sat squarely across from town square, like a tired heart in the center of a fading body. Weathered, worn, but still beating. Still pumping blood through the cracked sidewalks and rusted gutters of a place that pretended time hadn’t moved on.
The once-pristine white paint had long since surrendered to the elements, curling away from the wood in faded strips. Faded green shutters flanked the windows, and the matching front door had dulled to a shade of wet moss.The wrap-around porchstretched out on either side, a little uneven, with the railing bowing in several places. Since there was a stack of fresh boards on the front lawn, it appeared that a renovation was about to take place.
From her understanding, Reed had only been appointed police chief by the mayor three years ago. It had probably taken him that long to get the funding needed to keep the place inhabitable.
The house had initially belonged to the town’s first police chief, who had insisted that law and home were one and the same. Somewhere along the way, that idea had stuck. Now, decades later, the chief still lived upstairs while the ground floor served as the town’s police station.
Hadley glanced down at the keys dangling in the ignition. They were tempting her. One twist, and she could escape her life once more.
But she wouldn't run this time.
Not again.
Movement on the porch drew her focus away from the shiny temptation. The station's front door had swung open, and a tall figure stepped out carrying two white mugs.
Police Chief Reed Langley.
He was both familiar and foreign at once. Taller than she remembered, with that same military-straight posture that had always made him stand out among the slouching farm boys of Whistlerun. His dark hair was casually styled in a way that suggested careful effort disguised as indifference.
The police uniform fit his athletic frame perfectly, accentuating broad shoulders that had once carried her across the finish line during their senior year field day after she'd twisted her ankle.
Reed leaned against the porch railing with practiced ease, steam rising from the mugs in his hands. The half-smile thatcurved his lips still reached his eyes, crinkling the corners in a way that suggested authentic amusement rather than professional courtesy.
He had known she was there all along.
Hadley had prepared herself for animosity, for cold professionalism. Maybe even pity. But not a casual warmth, as if twelve years hadn't passed since she'd last seen him standing on the side of the road.
To Hadley’s surprise, a beautiful woman stepped out onto the porch to join him. After a brief but outwardly loving discussion, he leaned down to accept her kiss before she descended the steps.The woman lifted a hand, her left one with a shiny engagement ring, in what appeared to be a genuine greeting, leaving Hadley no choice but to reciprocate. She didn’t recognize the woman, but then again, Hadley hadn’t recognized Rena, either.
The time had come to stop stalling. The little porch display reminded her that this was just business. Her return to Whistlerun had nothing to do with past relationships and everything to do with locating a missing girl.
Hadley retrieved her keys and then grabbed her backpack, which contained her laptop and several pertinent case files she believed were linked to Missy Claymont. Once she exited her vehicle, she took the deep breath that had escaped her all morning.
She’d survived this town before, and she could do it again.
Reed hadn't moved from his position against the wooden column, but his intense gaze tracked her approach. He was studying her, just as she had done with him. Focusing on each porch step, she counted them silently as she had done as a child.
One, two, three...
“Good morning,” Hadley greeted as she took the last step. It had taken her a while to prepare emotionally and mentally, but she was ready now. “It’s been a long time, Reed.”
“That it has,” Reed replied in agreement, his voice carrying that familiar rasp. He lifted one of the mugs slightly. “Figured you might need this after such a long drive.”
“It wasn’t that bad,” Hadley murmured, tucking her keys into the side pocket of her backpack. She then took hold of the mug, the porcelain warm against her palm. “At least, not until I ran into Rena at Maisy’s.”
“Look on the bright side,” Reed said as he led her to two rocking chairs that had seen better days. “You could have run into Charlotte Nesbit instead.”
A laugh escaped before Hadley could stop it, genuine and unguarded.
“God, I'd forgotten all about her.” Hadley set her backpack next to the rocking chair before sitting down. “Didn't she scream something about me stealing her moment?”
