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I barked a laugh and kissed her forehead. “Are we walking, biking, or driving to town?”

She shifted to stare up at the still brightly lit sky before smiling up at me.

“Walking. We’re totally walking, and I’m bringing my camera.”

* * *

The couch groanedbeneath Miles’s weight as he sat on the opposite end, careful not to disturb Aspen. The movie we turned on after getting home from dinner played on the screen, though neither Miles nor I paid it any attention.

Stroking a single finger along her cheek, I studied her face.

“Something felt off tonight at Dave’s,” Miles whispered. “Did you notice?”

I nodded. At first, I thought it was because the last time we were there, we ran into Jessica, but that wasn’t it.

“I didn’t see anyone in there I didn’t recognize, all locals.”

“Doesn’t mean that there wasn’t a threat, though, if we both felt it.”

We stayed silent for a few seconds, not wanting to voice our mutual fear that the person hurting women and other tourists was part of our tight-knit community.

“Did you find out what Hudson and Oliver uncovered in the national park?” I asked, swallowing down my apprehension. “It didn’t sound positive.”

“I talked with them briefly and got an overview but no details. The basics are that we now know for certain there are more missing female hikers based on what the rangers were able to pull together, and the number of mauled male hikers has spiked too. Exactly what we’ve seen on this side of the trail.”

I blew out a slow breath. “You think Caroline is okay?”

Miles sighed and rubbed a hand over his head. “Fuck, I don’t know. I’m trying to stay positive, but…” He shook his head. “She would’ve reached out. Even if Caroline was out of cell range, we all have sat phones that would’ve worked.” I opened my mouth, but he cut me off before I could even get a word out. “They’re turned off, both her cell and the sat phone, so we can’t trace either.”

“Damn,” I muttered. “Did the sheriff really suggest that we made up the break-in at Aspen’s place?” He nodded, hands tightening into fists on the couch. “That’s fucked up.”

“He also said trouble followed us.” I snorted, and Miles shook his head. “He’s not wrong, Aiden.”

“What the fuck does that even mean? It’s not our fault that Jessica turned out to be some obsessive stalker who wanted to chain us to beds and ride our dicks like her own personal pogo sticks.”

He blinked at me, mouth opening and closing.

“What?”

“That’s… dark.” Miles smirked. “The shit you watch, man, it’s getting to your head. Stick with your damn birds. They’re less…”

“Murdery?”

“Likely to add to your violent imagination.”

I arched a brow his way. “Pretty sure you like my imaginative ideas occasionally, though last night around the campfire was certainly the best you’ve ever had. Fuck, that was hot. And then getting to sleep beside her all night… It feels right, all of this. You, me, her, out there doing what we all love.”

Miles’s smirk fell. “I heard her on the phone with her mom earlier.”

The leather groaned as I shifted, careful not to wake Aspen. “And?”

“And she’s old-school, thinks it’s a woman’s key role in life to get married and have a family.” I nodded along with his words. It aligned with what Aspen shared with me. “I’m just saying that if this between the three of us works out, it will be difficult to get her mom on board with accepting our relationship. I don’t think she’d ever approve of her daughter being with two men.”

I winced. “Do you think that would make Aspen change her mind about us?”

Miles shrugged. “I fucking hope not.”

“You know how bad I want that, though,” I rasped. “A family. Kids.”