“Alright, folks, listen up!” Chief Cornell called, her voice easily carrying over the small crowd. Julian and I both fell silent along with everyone else, the moment of levity disappearing as the reality of the situation really sank in. “We’re looking for Landon DeVor. You’ll be split up into groups and assigned a search area. Each group will be led by either an officer or a firefighter, who will all be in contact via radio. We’re expecting the snow to pick up pretty fast in the next few hours. Our goal is to find him before it gets bad, but if for some reason that doesn’t happen, we will try again as soon as it’s safe. None of you are to go wandering around in the mountains on your own.”
Her gaze drifted in my direction for a split second, almost too quickly to catch, and it took real willpower to not step back into the group and try to hide. Some little part of me was still waiting for her to come question me about Andre even now. How I’d stayed off her radar this long was a mystery, one I hoped would continue forever.
She was nothing if not efficient, working with Will and Donovan to split everyone up into groups. Julian ended up in Will’s group, apparently to Will’s surprise, because he immediately went a little red when Julian greeted him. I ended up with Donovan and I only realized Camille and Raina had arrived when they joined us. I spotted Quinn with Officer Lake and the two women who ran the little bistro on Main Street before we all split up to begin searching our assigned block.
The first snowflakes began to fall as the group separated, swirling down from ominous gray clouds. With what I knew from years of living here, we only had a few hours at best before Chief Cornell called off the search, which meant we had to hurry.
It was going to be a long day.
***
Three hours of searching the old Silver Lake reservoir yielded no clues about Landon DeVor’s whereabouts. As expected, the snow started coming down hard, faster, reducing visibility to almost zero in just those few short hours.
Donovan, Raina, Camille, and I trudged back into town in silence, dejected and downtrodden. The other volunteers were the same, all of us waiting quietly for Chief Cornell to return. Despite the efforts of almost a hundred of us, no one had found so much as a hint of a clue. The radios stayed silent the entire time, crackling to life only to tell everyone to come back.
The chief waited until everyone was accounted for, standing straight with her shoulders squared despite the disappointment in her eyes.
“Thank you all again for coming out,” she said, her voice carrying easily across the small crowd. “I know we’re all disappointed, but I can’t risk more people getting lost out in this weather. As soon as it’s safe, we’ll go out again. Spread the word to your friends and neighbors, but under no circumstances is anyone to go out on their own. Now go home, get warm, and thank you for your help.”
“I really thought someone would find him,” Camille admitted softly. Her cheeks and nose were red from the cold, despite the pink scarf wrapped around her neck. “Do you think he’ll be okay, Donovan?”
“His dad says he’s a smart kid. Wherever he is, if he’s able to, hopefully he’ll have found some sort of shelter,” he assured her.
“What if someone took him?” Raina asked. “Has anyone even considered that?”
Donovan shook his head. “I know about as much as you do at the moment. If that’s a possibility, I’m sure the chief is working on it. If we don’t have any luck with tomorrow’s search, I’m assuming we’ll have to seriously consider that.”
“And he’s not..?” she glanced over at me with a tiny wince.
“Not that I know of. If anything happens, I’ll let you know. I promise.”
“My weather app said the snow should stop be evening, so maybe we can go out again tomorrow?” Camille suggested. “We’ll open up in the morning, then come search. Ashley and Rachel can handle the counter for one morning. Free coffee and breakfast for everyone out searching tomorrow.” She glanced at her girlfriend for confirmation, and Raina nodded.
“That sounds like a good plan,” Donovan agreed. “As soon as I get any updates from the chief, either Alex or I will text you.”
We exchanged hugs before they left, heading back to their apartment over Buns ‘n’ Roses. Donovan and I lingered until we saw them safely inside, then I slipped my hand into his.
“Let’s go home.”
Chapter 16
Donovan
Byunspokenagreement,neitherof us said anything on the short walk home. And Alex’s house truly washome.In all the chaos, I hadn’t had time to really process that he’d asked me to move in. We had a lot to figure out, but it would have to wait. All I could focus on was Landon. I’d really hoped we’d find him before it got bad.
Alex didn’t push for any words once we were inside. Instead, he turned to me and gently unwound my scarf, draping it across a coat hook in the small coat closet by the front door. He did the same with my jacket, unzipping it and helping slide it down my arms before putting it away. When he went for my sweater, I gently caught his hands, brushing a soft kiss to his knuckles. Alex’s soft little smile kindled a little ember of hope inside me, assuring me that we would be okay.
I took my time with him, showing the same care he’d shown me as I helped him out of his scarf and jacket. Our boots followed, kicked off inelegantly and landing in a tangled heap in the closet. Alex’s laugh was music to my ears and when he stepped close and kissed me, I knew there was nothing I wouldn’t do to keep him forever.
“Do we need to talk?” I breathed into the space between us when he broke away.
“It can wait.”
His hands in mine, Alex drew me through the dark house to the bedroom we’d shared for months, the bedroom that was nowours. The falling snow muted the weak light of the sun, casting the room in soft shadows.
When the door closed with a gentle click, Alex released me, only to slide his hands under the hem of my sweater, pushing it up, up, and off. It fell in a heap on the floor, immediately forgotten. Barely half a day had passed since I’d felt his touch, but it seemed so much longer.
I reached for him, but he lightly caught my wrists and shook his head.
