Honestly, sometimes Scout thought Elizabeth was in cahoots with her mother. As if a romance was the main objective in life for all women. Scout had only started counseling because, as excited as she was to come to Acadia, she also felt a little off-kilter coming back to a place that held a gut-wrenching memory. Maybe she’d felt more than alittleoff-kilter. But it hadn’t stopped her from coming, she reminded Elizabeth. She was here, wasn’t she? She had been determined to come to Acadia. That counted, didn’t it?
Frankie broke through her musings by pushing off the wall, his expression a mix of frustration and disbelief. “Hey—what about me? I’m part of this too! What happened to the buddy system?”
The chief turned to him, impatience all over his face. “The system is still intact. Frankie, you and Maisie are going to find that envelope.”
“Why me? She’s the one who let it walk out of that coffee shop—”
“Frankie,” Chief barked. “Getting assigned to Ranger Johnson was your last chance this summer. If you don’t pull some weight, I will see to it that you are banned for life from every single national park. I don’t care who your father is.”
Frankie pivoted toward Scout. “Can he do that?”
Scout nodded. “Pretty sure he can.”
Scowling, Frankie muttered something under his breath but stepped back, arms crossed tighter than before.
The chief returned his attention to Scout and Naki. “Start wherever you think makes the most sense. Just keep it quiet. We don’t want a gold rush to start in Acadia.”
“Yes, sir.” Scout squared her shoulders and set her ranger hat firmly in place. Her mind spun through the scattered fragments of clues, grasping for connections that slipped further away the harder she tried to hold on to them. She should have written them down. Now, the details blurred like footprints vanishing under the tide, leaving only a nagging sense that she was missing something important.
Maisie, oblivious to the shift in the room’s tone, blew her nose loudly into another tissue. “He was just so cute,” she said in a wistful tone.
Frankie groaned, throwing his head back in frustration. “I’m doomed.”
With keys to an NP jeep and a yellow paper pad, Scout and Naki made their way to the parking lot. She adjusted her hat for the third time in as many minutes, trying to ignore how nervous she felt to be alone with Naki. He seemed utterly calm.
She slid into the driver’s seat, taking a deep breath as she buckled in, and Naki adjusted the passenger seat by pushing the seat as far back as it could go.
“So you came to the talk at the library.”
“You saw me?” She had tried to be as inconspicuous as possible. She hadn’t been in uniform, and she had stayed in a corner in the back of the room. She cleared her throat. “I did attend. It was very interesting.” Fascinating. She’d bought his book and had read far, far into the night.
He shifted in his seat to face her. “I make you nervous.”
Scout froze. “You do!” The words tumbled out before she could stop them, and she winced. “I mean, yes, you do ... a little.”
“Why?”
She hesitated, fidgeting with the steering wheel. “I haven’t quite figured that out yet.”
“Have you never been around a Native American before?”
“I have! Lots and lots,” she said quickly. “Well ... some. Navajo. I was stationed in Arizona. It’s just—none of them were quite like you.”
One eyebrow lifted. “Like me? Are all Native Americans alike?”
No. No! Of course not. Her brain scrambled for an answer that wouldn’t make her sound completely unhinged.Like you ... as in having the kind of presence that makes it hard to think straight. Like you ... as in exuding a quiet intensity that makes me feel like I’m all noise and nerves. Oh,and those dark eyes—seriously, stop it. Get a grip.
“It’s just that ... you seem ... like a very serious man,” she finally managed, forcing a steady tone.
He let the words hang for a moment, and then his mouth curved into a broad smile.
Dimples! Both cheeks.Good night.
“And you,” he said, his voice carrying just a hint of dry amusement, “seem like a Southern belle.”
Scout snapped her head up, caught off guard. “Me? A Southern belle?” For a second, she didn’t know how to respond. Then she gave a short laugh and turned the key in the ignition. “My mother would consider that to be a great compliment.”
“It was,” he said.
