Flynn kissed her brow. Once. Then again, lingering.
“Ye’re alright?” he murmured.
“More than alright,” she said, voice drowsy and warm. “You?”
“Aye.” His fingers traced slow, absent-minded circles along her back, grounding, steady. “As long as you’re here.”
She shifted, fitting herself closer, breathing him in. The scent of soap and smoke and something unmistakably him settled her bones. For a few precious minutes, neither of them spoke. There was no rush. No plan. Just the quiet aftermath of something intense and real.
Eventually, she pressed a kiss to his chest and smiled faintly. “I should shower.”
He huffed softly. “Aye. Before Byrdie judges us.”
As if summoned by name, the cat trilled indignantly from the hallway.
Heather laughed breathlessly and slipped from the bed. Flynn watched her go, leaning back against the pillows with a small, private smile tugging at his mouth like he couldn’t quite believe his life had led him here.
When she returned wrapped in one of his sweatshirts—too big, sleeves swallowing her hands—he reached out and tugged her in for one last kiss.
She padded into the kitchen barefoot, the cottage quiet but for the ticking clock and the wind brushing the windows. She checked her phone absently, expecting nothing.
One new email.
Her stomach dipped.
From: Dr. Flora Henderson
Subject: Re: Glenoran — one more question
Something cold slid down her spine.
Flynn emerged from the hall, drying his hair with a towel. He took one look at her face and stilled. “What happened?”
Heather swallowed and clicked it open.
It contained exactly one sentence:
Ms. Campbell, when did you say you last visited Skye?
Her heart jolted hard enough to hurt.
Flynn’s expression changed instantly: softness gone, replaced by something sharp and alert. “Christ. Already?”
Heather lowered the phone, pulse thundering. “She knows,” she whispered. “She knows the next step.”
Flynn stepped beside her, close enough that she could feel his warmth again.
His jaw was set and his voice was calm.
Steady.
“Then we go first.”
Chapter 47
Heather—Present Day
Heather didn’t sleep.
