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“Why? What’s up?”

“Emily’s parents are staying in my guest room to help plan the wedding.”

“Oh.”

“Her mother has strong opinions that clash with what Emily wants. Her dad and I have been hiding down here most of the time.”

“Where is he now?”

“His wife drug him off to the country club where Ty and Jamie were married.” A stricken look crossed Wade’s face.

Gavin squeezed his shoulder. “I’m sorry. I imagine you’d prefer to get married anywhere else.”

“True, but my memories of Jamie’s wedding are good.”

“I’m sure you don’t want to remember everything that came afterward.”

“Right you are.”

“Where does Emily want to get married?”

“She wants to get married at our church.”

“I would’ve expected her to want an outdoor wedding.”

“I can see why. She’s definitely the outdoorsy type, but getting married in our church is important to her. I wish she’d tell her mother how she feels and stop letting her dictate everything. Somehow, she has it in her mind that to honor her father and mother means to follow their wishes for our wedding.”

“I’m sure you’ll get that straightened out.”

“Sure hope so.” Wade released a breath. “I don’t want to be selfish either, but our wedding day should be about us, not her parents.”

“I get that.” Gavin took his turn sinking several balls before missing a shot.

“What have you been up to?” Wade asked.

“Not much. Same old same.”

Gavin turned at the sound of footsteps on the stairs. Emily and her friend, Samantha, appeared.

“We’re getting ready to go for our hike and thought you two might want to join us.”

He raised an eyebrow at his friend. A hike might be nice. It was an excuse to get out in nature.

“Sure. Why not?” Wade said.

Samantha twirled a long strand of hair around her finger. She was beautiful, but he wasn’t quite sure what to make of her. When he’d met her the last time, he’d thought she was a shallow flirt, and he couldn’t stand women like that. Yet, she was a law-enforcement park ranger, and enjoyed spending time outdoors even on her days off. It probably wouldn’t hurt to get to know her better. While Wade took his turn shooting, Gavin wandered over to the bulletin board above Wade’s desk. It was cluttered with newspaper clippings and sticky notes. “What have you got here?”

“Some interesting cold cases I’ve been working on.”

“Woman missing from Sweet Valley,” Gavin read. “Missing for twenty years?”

“No sign of her. Lots of speculation, but no concrete answers.”

“Multi-millionaire missing near Ricketts Glen.” Gavin quirked an eyebrow. “Didn’t think there were too many multi-millionaires living out here in the boonies.”

“There may be a few hiding in our midst.”

“Some like to blend in.” Gavin chuckled.