“And how many people did you say had gone missing?” Xavier asked, sounding concerned.
“I think it was a half-dozen women in the last few months,” he replied. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and tapped it a couple of times to pull up an article. “Yeah, look. This is the piece I saw on it…”
Kieran handed his phone to Xavier, since he was in the center of the group chatting. Everyone close leaned in to get a better look at what was written on the screen in front of them. The article, it seemed, covered a spate of vanishings along Highway 50—one of the roads that ran by the Warrior Peak Sanctuary. The highway ran from California to Maryland and was a primarystate highway in North Carolina; actually, it was known as NC 50 there.
The pictures of the women who must have been among the missing, looking innocent and free, smiled out from the screen.
“I had no idea,” Hannah muttered, and Sarah could hear the fear in her voice. They had all seen so much darkness, so much pain this last year or so, it must have been hard for Hannah to hear about something like this. Sarah gave her hand a quick squeeze under the table, silently comforting her.
“Yeah, I saw it covered in a few places,” Kieran replied with a shrug as Xavier handed his phone back and Kieran tucked it back into his pocket. “A bunch of women have gone missing along that road. I don’t know if they think it’s the same person, or maybe just the weather that’s taking them out, but…” He trailed off, leaving the possibilities hanging in the air.
“Isn’t there a section of it somewhere called the loneliest highway in America?” Hannah remarked. “I mean, if someone was going to pick a place to hunt for vulnerable women, that would be the one to go for.”
“That’s Nevada actually. But, I agree,” Xavier added. “It’s still pretty secluded up in these mountains. Not a lot of places to stop on the winding roads. It could just be the weather, but the fact that it’s mostly women going missing…it sets off my alarm bells. I’m going to do a little research, see if there’s anything else going on that we might not know about.”
“I’m sorry for bringing the mood down,” Kieran replied, shaking his head. “I just thought you guys should know.”
“No, it’s good for us to know,” Xavier assured him. “We’ll be extra careful from here on out. Keep an eye out for any women traveling by themselves, and make sure they’re safe. If they’re planning on coming here to the lodge and they’re alone, maybe offer them lifts so they’re not driving alone.”
Sarah glanced over to River, whose face had paled. Cade had found River on the side of the road not too far from there, and Sarah could tell from her expression that she was pondering the possibility of what might have happened if she hadn’t been so lucky as to meet him. Would she have ended up being a target? The thought of it made Sarah’s stomach twist into a knot. She had become so fond of River since she had arrived here, and the very idea of her getting hurt was more than she could take.
“Everyone, keep your wits about you if you’re out there by yourselves,” Xavier added, looking around the table. “It’s probably nothing, but I don’t want any of you getting hurt.”
The conversation moved on, as Hannah shifted to something more upbeat—talking about her flower beds and the horses. Soon enough the dour faces turned into smiles, and laughter carried through the room. Leave it to Hannah and her bright personality to turn things around.
Soon, dinner was through and Sarah hung around to help Xavier clean up. As they were collecting and stacking dishes, her skin started to prickle. She could feel him watching her.
“How are you doing?” he asked her. “I saw you talking with Toby earlier.”
She sighed, and glanced over at him. “Did Lawson tell you talk to me?”
“He told me to keep an eye on you while he was out.”
“Where is he, anyway? I haven’t seen him since this morning,” she asked, frowning.
“Running errands in town,” he replied vaguely. Did he know what Lawson was really doing, or did he just not want to tell her? Either way, she knew that was all he was going to say.
“Okay, well, I’m fine,” she replied firmly. “I don’t need Lawson telling everyone else my business—”
“He wasn’t telling me your business, Sarah,” he said, shaking his head like he was disappointed in her that she thought thatway about Lawson. “He was just worried about you. Wanted to make sure you were doing okay, that’s all.”
Now, she felt properly chastised. “I’m okay,” she sighed. “I… It’s just been a difficult few months, that’s all.”
“I know,” he agreed. “It has been for all of us. But you know you can always speak with one of us if it’s getting to be too much for you, right? You don’t have to keep it to yourself. No one will fault you. Everyone needs a helping hand now and then.”
“I know,” she responded, and she managed a smile. “Thanks, Xavier. I’m alright. I needed to clear something up with Toby, but everything’s good now.”
“You’re a great therapist, never doubt that,” he told her. “He’s lucky to have you. We all are.”
She smiled again, this time more sincerely. “Come on, stop trying to butter me up and let’s get these tables cleaned,” she said playfully, and they began moving the dishes to the kitchen, where River and Hannah were on wash-up duty.
When they were all done, Xavier headed down to the office to finish up some work he’d started before dinner, and Hannah and River walked Sarah back toward her little cabin. It was nothing special, but she enjoyed it much more than the room she stayed in at the lodge. She was glad to have a place just for her, that she could call home.
“It’s such a beautiful night,” Hannah remarked, tipping back her head to catch the last rays of the sun before they dipped behind the mountain.
“It really is,” Sarah agreed, and she glanced over at River. She could tell just from the look on her face that she was preoccupied with the conversation they’d had earlier, about the missing women.
She nudged her gently, pulling her back into the moment. “You okay, River?”
