Tyler looked toward Brooke as she stared at the approaching vehicles. Since Edi had arrived, Brooke started pulling back. He’d seen it in her body language, in the way she’d stopped meeting his eyes, in the careful distance she’d put between them.
She was getting wary. Smart woman.
Did she finally realize who he was? Maybe something clicked. Maybe Edi had said something, or maybe Brooke was just good at reading people and had sensed the history between him and Edi.
Maybe she remembered how Tyler and her older brother, Phil, used to hang around together. They played football together, souped up their cars in the auto shop, spent countless hours talking about getting out of Basin County and making something of themselves.
So much for that. Phil was still in Irma after taking over his dad’s print shop. Tyler had seen places and done things, but none of it had been what he wanted out of life. Coming back to Irma had made sense, at least at first. The last few months had been good. Great, even, as long as he ignored the stares and whispers. He had a job he enjoyed, and Robert and Sue treated him well.
Finding the body was rough for all of them, Brooke especially.
Brooke was definitely no longer the little kid he remembered from visits to Phil’s house. She’d grown into someone impressive. Strong, capable, resilient. The kind of person who could find human remains in the woods andstill have the presence of mind to mark the location. The kind of person who admitted to fear but didn’t let it control her.
The kind of person he had no business getting close to.
Tyler watched as she finally looked at him, her expression troubled. Their eyes met for a moment before she looked away, and he felt the loss of that connection like a physical thing.
He’d already lost her trust, and they’d only just met.
The game warden’s truck pulled into the lot first, gravel crunching under its tires. A man stepped out, surveying the scene with the practiced eye of someone who’d dealt with plenty of wilderness incidents. Tyler recognized him but couldn’t put a name with the face.
The sheriff’s SUV parked beside it. When the driver’s door opened and the deputy stepped out, Tyler knew both the name and the face.
Deputy Adam Boverman. Of all the people who could’ve responded, it had to be him.
Boverman’s eyes swept the parking lot, taking in the vehicles, the people, the whole setup. When his gaze landed on Tyler, something shifted in his expression. Recognition mixed with something darker. Satisfaction, maybe. Or vindication.
He walked directly toward Tyler, his stride purposeful, his hand resting casually near his belt. Not on his weapon, but close enough to send a message.
“Tyler Gillis,” Boverman said, stopping a few feet away. His voice carried across the quiet lot. “Should’ve known you’d turn up where there’s a dead body.”
Tyler kept his expression neutral. “Deputy Boverman.”
“Funny thing, you being here.” The deputy’s smile was completely fake. Not surprising. “Real funny, considering your history.”
“I was hiking with friends. We helped the woman who found the remains in the woods. That’s all.”
“That’s all?” Boverman let out a harsh laugh. “See, the problem is, people around here remember what happened last time you were involved with a dead body. Remember how that turned out?”
The words landed like a punch. Tyler heard Brooke’s sharp inhale behind him, heard Robert’s muttered curse.
“Deputy Boverman,” Edi said, walking over quickly. “That’s not—”
“Not what, Reeves? Not relevant?” His attention stayed fixed on Tyler. “He’s got a history with dead bodies. Seems pretty relevant to me.”
Tyler forced himself to stay still, to keep his hands visible, to not give Boverman any excuse to escalate this further. But inside, everything was crumbling.
This was why he shouldn’t have come back to Irma. He should’ve stayed away—built a life somewhere else and lived with the ghosts that haunted him. It was also why he couldn’t get involved with Brooke or anyone else.
Because in this town, he would always be a suspect. He’d always be the one they looked at first when something went wrong. The man whose past made people wonder if he was capable of murder.
Chapter 7
Brooke
The parking lot went completely silent as Adam’s words hung in the air. Tyler stood perfectly still, his expression carefully blank, like he’d expected this and had already braced for the impact.
Brooke went cold.History with dead bodies?What does that mean?
