Across the Vanishing Sky (Starlight Grove, #1)(14)

I stood there for a moment, watching them chase each other, occasionally hitting the other or the dog with a stream of water. Everything about them reminded me of simple joy. Innocence. Something I hadn’t had in so damned long.

So I stayed, longer than I should’ve, soaking up that happy. And then I forced myself to unlock the door to Cabin Three and step inside. This one was smaller, with no bells and whistles, but it would be just fine. There was a bedroom, a kitchen, and a living area that I’d make my office. It faced Clover Creek and the meadows and forest beyond. It might not have a mountain view, but that meant cheaper rent. Given that I didn’t have an actual job at the moment and would be seriously cutting into my savings to build my house, that was a good thing.

I made quick work of unloading my SUV but didn’t bother unpacking my two duffels full of personal items. Instead, I went straight for the tech gear.

Surveying my furniture options, I headed for the smallish dining table and shoved it against one of the back windows. I’d need to order a gaming chair, or my back would seriously hate me. I started to unpack one of my monitors but paused as the woman caught her son, rolling with him to the ground as the dog barked and leapt over them in glee.

A ball of emotion lodged in my throat as I set the monitor down. My back molars answered that flare of emotion by gnashing together in frustration. Maybe they were too damn good to be true. Maybe it was all a show.

I hauled my laptop out of my messenger bag and settled on the couch that was more than a little lumpy. Thanks for that, Blaze. Flipping it open, I glanced at the laminated paper on the coffee table. It had a Wi-Fi network and password that was to be shared by all three cabins.

I shivered at the thought of shared Wi-Fi, but it would help me find a little of what I needed. As I logged into my VPN, I made plans for setting up my own satellite Wi-Fi. Within seconds, I could see every single device connected to the shared network.

“Bingo,” I muttered, seeing an iPhone I knew wasn’t mine.

Another handful of seconds later, I was into her device. The lack of text messages raised my hackles, and I instantly moved to her social media apps. Some people thought they had anonymity there. They were wrong.

With half a dozen keystrokes, I was into one of the photo-sharing apps people loved—people who weren’t aware of all the ways it let others into their lives.

I wasn’t sure what I expected of her profile, but it certainly wasn’t an artsy array of photos and the handle SearchingForSunrise.

I frowned as I clicked on a picture, reading its caption.

Yeti loved the bone-fragment exercise. She’s getting better and better at searching for older remains.

“What the fuck?” I whispered at my screen as I quickly went from one image to the next, a clearer picture emerging.

Yeti was a search dog, trained in both trailing searches for live human beings and human remains detection—HRD. And you didn’t just decide to train a dog for that sort of thing randomly. You did it for a reason. That had my head lifting, my gaze searching for the woman with the blond hair and secrets in her golden eyes.

“What the hell is your story?”





6





BRAEDYN





So the hot, slightly unhinged man was my neighbor. Definitely neighbor status given that he was currently shirtless, sitting on the side of the next-door cabin’s roof and attaching some sort of gadget to it. I’d seen him coming back from a run this morning. Shirtless again, revealing far too many glistening muscles in the sunlight and that captivating tattoo. But missing his glasses.

I found I missed the tortoiseshell spectacles, which was absolutely bonkers since I didn’t even know the man’s name and he seemed about as fond of me as a rabid raccoon. But I guessed being neighbors was better than accidental roomies.

“Mooooooom,” Owen called from down the hall.

I jerked away from the window as if someone had just caught me shoplifting. Note to self: Don’t ogle the hot, unhinged, grumpy neighbor.

Grabbing my iced coffee, I headed in search of my son. I halted in his doorway, leaning against one side of the frame. “You bellowed?”

Owen rolled his eyes as Yeti lifted her head from her spot on Owen’s bed. “What do I need to bring to camp again?” he asked.

I’d enrolled him in a summer-long local day camp, hoping it would give him some new friends for the start of school in the fall. It would also provide me with childcare for the job I was manifesting.

I did a quick sweep of the room and tried not to mentally calculate the time it would take me to get it organized. I’d managed to get Owen’s bed and some of his clothes settled last night, but he’d opted for throwing items all over the room instead of putting them away.

“Well…I can tell you that you aren’t going to need every item of clothing that has ever touched your body.”

Owen sighed and dropped a thick coat he definitely didn’t need. “Bruh.”

“Bro,” I shot back.

A soft giggle left his lips. It was the kind that made my chest ache because it reminded me just how young he still was—a little boy but getting older. Another pang hit as I thought about everything Nova was missing. Owen would be barely recognizable to her now.

Suddenly, he looked a little unsure. “I don’t know what the other kids wear around here. I don’t wanna take the wrong thing.”