“We have a few leads on Felix’s case,” he said. “Where are you? At home?”
“No, I stopped by Rossy’s to have a coffee with Carrie.”
“I see.”
I pushed my hand through my hair. “Do you think going over Sheriff Humbly’s head is wise?”
“Dammit, Care,” he muttered.
“If you’re going to be mad at anyone, direct your anger at me. I pushed her to spill,” I confessed, glancing over to her. She was lost in thought, staring out the window, the capped sleeves of her pink dress shifting lightly underneath the air vent, a few of her curls doing the same.
“Not mad at her or you. I just wish I was the one who told you.” He paused. “I was going to when I got back. The team just had information for me.”
A wave of relief hit me then. “Oh.”
“Just wanted to have all the information before giving it to you, baby. That’s all.”
“I appreciate it.”
He grunted. “You want me to pick you up? I’ll be there in an hour.”
Twisting my neck, my eyes landed on the clock above the checkout counter. “Actually, today is Wednesday.”
His warm chuckle filled my ear. “Yeah, it is.”
“It’s my hiking day.”
“Yeah? That what you want to do?”
The thought of hiking with him, showing him all my favorite places among the trees, sounded like a dream. It was something we both could use. When I didn’t reply, he tacked on, “We have everything we need in my truck if that’s what you want to do today.”
A smile spread across my face. “I’ll send you the location and I’ll meet you there.”
“Baby, I can come get you first. It’s not a problem.”
“No, no,” I assured, walking back to Carrie. “Just meet me at the coordinates I send, okay? I want to show you something.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, I’ll bring some lunch. Sound good?”
“Sounds perfect,” he murmured, his voice gruff.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Ash
One hour later. Angel’s Spot.
The soothing sound of the small waterfall was background noise for the concert of wildlife all around me. I tipped my head back, my eyes on the top of the fall, scanning the large boulders, slick with moss. The sun hit the mist just right, creating a small rainbow against the rocky backdrop. Various shades of green, from sage to a rich dark emerald, blanketed the landscape. I trailed the length of the falls down to the small pond, watching the ripples distort nature’s reflection.
This was Angel’s Spot.
She’d mentioned it to me once or twice before. On Wednesday’s, she would come out here in the mornings and stay until mid-afternoon, meditating, journaling, taking photos, and just immersing herself in all this beauty. At first, I found it cute that she used the word “magic” to describe it, but now, I knew it was nothing but the truth.
I pulled up the map on my phone, watching her dot slowly move toward me. She was about a mile away from the parking lot and then another fifteen-minute walk after that. Part of me wanted to go and meet her. But that would ruin it for her. She wanted to find me here, waiting for her.
So, for her, I didn’t mind waiting.
