C.J. Miller - Capturing the Huntsman

He parked in front of her cabin and faced her. His dark eyes glimmered in the dim lighting. “Thanks for coming with me tonight. I didn’t mean to keep you out so late.” He glanced at the clock on the dash as he rolled down the sleeves of his shirt. He reached for his jacket on the backseat. The actions struck her as distinctly masculine. She couldn’t recall either her father or her brother wearing a suit to more than a funeral. Nathan wore his suit as if it was made for him. How could something as simple as a man in a suit send a rush of steamy sensation down her body? Usually, suits and ties weren’t her thing. She liked men how she liked to live her life: outdoors, simple and one with nature.

Sitting in the truck with him, she was unsure what to do. Bolt for the front door, waving good-night over her shoulder? Hug him and then flee? “I have some chores to do around the campground. I need to feed Thor and take him for a walk. He’s been cooped up all evening.” Why was she rambling?

“Let me come with you,” Nathan said.

Autumn unbuckled her seat belt and they climbed out of the car. The fresh air felt good against her neck. The lounge had been too stuffy and hot. “You don’t have to do that. I can handle it.” At the same time, walking alone at dark on the campground post-incident didn’t feel safe.

Nathan followed her up the steps to her front door. “I want to.”

She was hyperaware of him behind her, the heat of his body a contrast to the cold night air. Thor was waiting and bounded to her when she opened the door. He went to his dog bowl, waiting expectantly for her to fill it. “I’m not looking forward to taking another walk. Thor might find something, or someone, else.”

“I promise I will keep you and Thor safe.”

Why did his words feel so good? No man could promise to keep her safe. The best he could offer is that he’d try.

Autumn patted Thor’s head. “Sorry dinner is late tonight.” She retrieved the dog food from the pantry and Thor barely waited for the bowl to be full before he dug in.

“He was hungry,” Nathan said.

“He’s always hungry,” she said. “I buy more pounds of dog food in a week than I do human food.”

Nathan settled at her kitchen table. “While we wait for him to finish, do you have any maps lying around? I want a bird’s-eye view of the area.”

“I have the ones I give to campers,” Autumn said, walking to her desk drawer and grabbing one. She handed it to Nathan and he opened it, spreading it out on the kitchen table.

He traced his finger along the trails around the Trail’s Edge. What was he thinking about? The murders? “Tell me about places in this area where locals go that aren’t well-known.”

Autumn sat kitty-corner to him and peered over the map. She had it memorized, having given out so many in her lifetime and having walked the paths many times. From the time she was a child, she and Blaine had explored the forest surrounding the trail and had found a number of places well off the beaten path with great views or great hiking. “We have plenty of places like that. Unmarked trails and places for private picnics or parties.”

“What about places more difficult to get to? Places where it takes more than a brisk walk to access?”

Autumn let her eyes wander over the map, picturing the places in the area that matched his description. “I can think of a few places. I can mark the general area on the map if you would like, maybe write down a few landmarks that might help you find them.”

She took a pencil and put a star over those locations. Nathan leaned in closer. Her heartbeat escalated and she focused her attention on the map. If she turned her head, her lips would be close to his. Kissing distance.

“Some of these places aren’t near any trails,” Nathan said.

Autumn nodded. “I’m an experienced hiker and I know my way around. Most hikers don’t see these places.”

“I guess it’s a good thing I have you to guide me.”

Being in a position where she was alone with Nathan for hours, possibly days, made her equal parts anxious and excited. She was already thinking about how it would feel to kiss him and have his strong arms around her. That was dangerous. She wasn’t ready to jump into an affair, regardless of how brief.

Ford’s words at the lounge came to mind. Why had Nathan left his wife? It shouldn’t factor in, but Autumn wondered if Nathan was a man who could be trusted. He wanted to find his sister’s killer and seemed willing to do anything to accomplish that goal. Anything, including lying to her? Pretending to be interested in her? Thor’s wet nose nudged her hand, giving her a chance to escape the conversation. “He’s ready for his walk.” Thor didn’t have the same apprehension she did about walking through the campground.

Autumn grabbed the leash off the back of the door and attached it to Thor’s collar. Normally, she would let him run loose, especially when not many guests were staying in the cabins, but she was feeling protective of him.

Autumn took out a flashlight from her closet. When she was eight years old, she’d been lost in the woods after dark and had been terrified she wouldn’t be found. She’d done exactly as Blaine and her father had taught her, stood still and blew her emergency whistle. When they’d found her, she was shivering from terror and cold. She’d been careful since then about venturing out on the trail after dark without the proper equipment.

She’d take a short walk around the Trail’s Edge property and make it up to Thor tomorrow morning with an extra long jog along the trail.

Ten minutes later, Thor was meandering in front of them, dodging from side to side along the path, stopping to sniff the trees and bushes. As they walked, their feet crunched the leaves that had fallen to the ground.

“It’s so quiet,” she said, thinking about the chaos that had reigned the night before.

“Peaceful,” Nathan said.

Autumn hoped that the Huntsman had moved on, farther down the trail, maybe lost himself in the woods or decided to give up looking for victims with the winter weather coming. “I wonder if the FBI has found the identity of the last victim,” Autumn said.

“We might have to wait for the press release on that information. Ford isn’t eager to loop me into the case,” Nathan said.

“I sensed something between you two that first night and again tonight,” Autumn said.

“Ford and I worked together years ago. He follows the rules to the letter and I prefer to consider the spirit of the law and do what’s necessary to get the job done,” Nathan said. “And since I was married to his sister for a brief time, he holds that against me, too.”

Autumn stepped up her pace as Thor dragged her faster. He seemed bent on going to the location where the body had been found. The trees around the area had been roped off with yellow caution tape, but that wouldn’t stop Thor. She pulled back on the leash, trying to dissuade Thor from moving in that direction. He didn’t heed her, and since she rarely kept him on the leash, it wasn’t unexpected.

Autumn turned the flashlight to the path ahead of them. “Thor wants to see the location of the body.”

“Let him. We’ll keep him off the scene, but I wouldn’t mind having a look. Unless you want to return to the cabin and I’ll take Thor myself.” He watched her carefully. He was worried about her, and that warmed her. It had been too long since someone had cared about her.

Autumn didn’t want to be alone. Not out here. Not at her cabin. Something inside her, intuition or caution, warned her to stay near Nathan. “You won’t see much in the dark,” Autumn said. The flashlight provided only a limited view.

“It might help you sleep to see you have nothing to worry about. The FBI cleaned the area and any evidence was photographed, bagged and collected.”