CHAPTER 22
Wyatt waiteduntil Daisy had her coat on and her bag over her shoulder before he stood and asked, “Where are you going?”
“To a friend’s place in Waynesboro.” She glanced between them. “I know it probably seems like I’m overreacting. I just want to be safe. I’m not going to feel that way staying here alone.”
“Go,” Wyatt said. “Don’t stop on the way, and call us when you arrive. Please.”
Daisy nodded once and looked at Kori. “I hope you find Mackenzie. I mean that. And I’m sorry I stood you up earlier. I couldn’t help but think that man might follow me. And if he caught me alone . . . I wasn’t sure what he’d do.”
Kori nodded. “It was probably a smart choice. Thank you for talking to us.”
Wyatt held the door and followed Daisy outside. He walked her to her car, a small red hatchback. Then he stood on the sidewalk while she loaded her bag into the back and started the engine.
She pulled away without looking back.
He watched her taillights until they turned the corner and disappeared.
Then he looked up and down the street for any signs of danger.
Nothing moved. No figures waited in doorways. No cars sat too long at the curb.
“Let’s get you back to Hollow House,” he told Kori. “I’ll follow you there.”
She didn’t argue.
They climbed into their vehicles and pulled away.
Three blocks passed, then four. As they did, worry sloshed inside him—as well as something else he couldn’t identify.
He’d worked plenty of search and rescue cases. But this one hit him differently.
He was almost at Hollow House when he registered what he was feeling.
It wasn’t the professional concern a park ranger should have for a civilian involved in a dangerous situation. He felt something less defined and entirely more inconvenient.
He didn’t examine the feeling further. There was no reason to.
He had professional boundaries to keep in place. Even if he didn’t, Kori would eventually leave Blue Ridge Hollow. He would stay.
Their lives weren’t compatible.
Just like he and Brynn weren’t compatible.
He pulled to a stop and put his window down.
After Kori parked, she walked toward him and leaned inside. “I’ll see you in the morning?”
“I’ll pick you up at 6:30.”
Her gaze lingered on him a moment before she murmured, “Thanks.”
“Get some rest, Kori.”
She nodded and stepped away.
Wyatt searched for a reason to keep talking to her. An excuse to go inside. To continue their conversation.
But there were none.
