Page 1 of Hidden Harbor (Evergreen Rescue #1)

W ind blew across the trail, whipping the grass and obscuring my vision of the winding dirt track beneath my feet.

My left foot slipped on a patch of grass, shooting out from under me.

A flash of panic tightened my chest as I wobbled dangerously close to the edge.

The Salish Sea boiled beneath us, entirely too close.

Wind frothed the waves into whitecaps, tossing a lone boat over the swells in the distance.

My friend Lucy grabbed me from behind, holding on to me by the hood of my sweatshirt.

“You okay, Anya? I promise, I only dream of murdering you when you pick me up for these morning hikes. I’d never go through with it, no matter how often I fantasize about giving you a push when you pack herbal tea instead of coffee. ” She shuddered. “Decaf.”

I laughed, the sound low and timid, as if the karmic imbalance from laughing at Mother Nature would make me slip again.

My friend’s dark sense of humor was something I’d learned to brush off in my year on the island.

In truth, she’d be the first to dangle from her ankles and pull me back over the cliff edge if I stumbled.

The dark blue water churned below, a silent testament to Mother Nature’s wrath. I shuddered. The islands were beautiful, but that didn’t make them safe.

Rae drew to a stop at the front of our group and turned to make a face at Lucy. “Luce, your jokes are only funny when you haven’t had to help carry a floater up from the cove.”

“Sorry, Rae. Let’s all just keep our eyes on the trail.”

“How much farther?” Violet asked, catching up.

The fourth member of our hiking group looked winded, her brown hair escaping its braid in wisps that whipped around her rosy cheeks. She adjusted her glasses, peering ahead.

“A half mile,” Rae said.

She was the most outdoorsy of our bunch, a member of the local search and rescue squad, and low maintenance enough to live on her sailboat in the harbor. She was the only one who’d truly dressed appropriately for the crisp spring morning on San Juan Island off the coast of Washington state.

Wind sliced through my clothing, my legs numb and tingling. My yoga pants and hoodie were no match for the cutting winds on the bluff.

“And then twenty minutes back to civilization and real coffee,” Lucy sounded almost worshipful. I tried not to take her disdain for my herbal teas personally.

Violet pushed her glasses up her nose, staring out to sea. In the distance, a container ship chugged across the waves.

Our hiking trail wrapped along the coastal bluffs toward the lighthouse at the south end of the island. It was steep in some places, but in early spring, not so wet that it was dangerous.

The motion of the water down below was disorienting, almost dizzying.

I focused on the waves. Maybe if I was stationary for a minute, the seasick sensation would ease.

Whitecaps lapped against the shore in the cove.

The tide had gone out far enough to leave a sliver of beach.

Something navy blue floated against the rocks.

I paused, squinting. It was difficult to make out. My stomach tossed against my ribcage as the debris settled into a recognizable shape.

I extended a shaking finger. “I think there’s someone floating in the cove.”

“Where?” Rae’s sharp question only made me tremble harder.

As much as I wanted to blame my imagination, it wasn’t my first dead body. “There.”

“I think I see it,” Lucy said grimly, like I’d offered her more chamomile tea.

“Me too. But maybe it’s just a tarp blown off a boat?”

The lump looked too human to write off as floating trash.

“Vi, call your brother,” Rae said. “I’ll call the sheriff. He’ll probably want the rest of the SAR team to meet us near the trailhead. We’ll need to send a crew down.”

Violet’s conversation with her brother was short.

Impressively so. Most older brothers would have questions if their baby sister called claiming to have seen a dead body.

It was either a testament to their sibling bond or a sign of Drew Fenwick’s abruptness that he didn’t ask any questions other than the obvious: where?

Rae’s conversation with the sheriff was slightly longer, and I let it flow over me, envisioning myself as a shell tossed against the beach by the surf. I shuddered, the image hitting too close to home, the person in the frigid waters below haunting me. No one expected a survivor.

We hiked back to the trailhead in silence. There was none of the easy chatter I’d come to treasure on our weekly treks. By the time we reached the parking lot, four familiar vehicles, including the sheriff’s SUV, were assembled.

The sheriff, identifiable from his uniform, kept speaking to the men around him as we joined the group.

He nodded to Rae, acknowledging us with one economical gesture.

The sheriff was on the short side, with a full silver mustache and a stern expression.

He always made me think of Santa’s long-lost cousin, focused more on naughty-list enforcement than gifting.

Drew Fenwick stood at his right shoulder, easily towering over the older man.

Dark and stormy. Violet’s brother could be his own cocktail.

Tall, strong, and just a little bit spicy.

Simple ingredients, but they packed a punch.

That was Drew. Inky hair, broody brown eyes, and the serious nature that came with being the oldest brother in a sea of Fenwicks.

“You game to show them where? I know you probably don’t have your gear with you,” the sheriff addressed Rae, who nodded.

“Of course, I’ll walk them back. I don’t have my stuff, but I can drive back into town if you need more hands.”

“No need,” Drew said.

Zach Fenwick, Violet’s other older brother, grinned, all dimples. Where Drew was the quiet one, Zach chatted up strangers and friends with the ease of long practice and a touch of natural good-natured arrogance.

“Yeah, Dawkins.” He puffed up his chest. “Leave it to us menfolk. You ladies head back to town and keep the home fires burning.”

Rae punched him in the arm, shaking her head when he scowled. “Fenwick, I have just as much search and rescue experience as you do. Can it.”

He rubbed at his shoulder, his pout not detracting from his handsome features. “Okay then, Dawkins. How about you open up Harbor Brews for me? Keep me from losing too much business on this fine Saturday morning?”

Her eyes narrowed, and he stepped back, out of range. “Fine. But you’re going to owe me one later,” she relented.

He sketched a quick salute. “I look forward to it.”

“And I don’t mean payment in caffeine,” Rae said.

Lucy stuck her hand up and chirped, “I’d take payment in caffeine. Especially today.”

I cast her a dark look. You bring herbal tea one time.

Rae smacked our friend on the shoulder, and Zach chuckled, shaking his head. “Luce, if I let you run my coffee shop with that sweet disposition of yours, I’d have no customers left.”

“I don’t see the problem. That just means more coffee for me.”

Drew slung an arm around his sister’s shoulders, giving her a brief side hug. “You okay?” I heard him ask, looking slightly less mulish after his sister nodded.

His piercing gaze swung to me. “What about you, Anya. You okay?”

I shook off the instinctual response to just say yes. Something about Drew made me feel that lying to him was a cardinal sin. Something he’d never forgive, no matter how small.

Maybe that was why I avoided him.

I inhaled, pausing when my lungs were full, and holding, just for a moment, before releasing my breath in one big rush.

As much as I wanted to unsee what I’d seen, tragedy settled over the trail like an unwelcome shadow.

Grief was likely to follow for one unsuspecting family.

I tried to imagine what it was like to leave a hole behind, to be missed.

It wasn’t the kind of love I was familiar with.

To my family, I was a tool. Not someone to be mourned.

I forced a smile, covering the flash of fear that thinking about my parents inspired.

“I’m fine Drew, thanks for asking.”

His eyes narrowed, and my pulse took off, beating a frantic tattoo beneath my wrist. I eased my breathing, focusing on the methods I’d learned from teaching to bring my body back to equilibrium.

“I’ll come check on you later.”

I shivered. The last thing I needed was more of Drew’s attention. His oldest brother bullshit detector was too strong for comfort, and he guarded his sister as if she were precious. I’d buried too many secrets to give them up easily, and that meant keeping my distance.

He frowned. “I’ve got another jacket in the car. Just a sec.”

Violet rolled her eyes, giving me a commiserating grin. “That’s Drew for you. Gruff commands and overprotectiveness for days. Good thing his heart’s in the right place.”

He returned with a dark green jacket slung over one arm.

He stepped closer, blocking the wind as he held his extra coat by the collar.

I slid my right hand inside, the fleece lining easing the chill that had seeped in deep, until I felt it like an ache in my bones.

Drew swayed to the side, helping me slide my left arm into his jacket as I turned to face him.

Big and bulky, he was both a grounding and reassuring force.

All without saying a word. Mountain pose come to life.

His heavy brows beetled in concern, all of his focus on tugging the collar up to cover the back of my neck.

Like keeping me warm was the most important job in the world, consuming all his attention.

That single-minded focus, especially when it was centered on caring for me, was impossibly hot.

There was a new softness in his brown eyes.

Maybe concern. His beard had a few hints of gray up close, reminding me that he was a few years older than Violet.

I hunched into the soft weight of his jacket, wanting to draw it closer like a security blanket. A piece of his mountain-man strength I could carry with me. The fleece smelled like him: salty, with the hint of Madrone.

Drew’s frown returned. Suddenly, I was self-conscious. He stood near enough that I could detect the hint of minty toothpaste on his breath. There was no hiding the subtle sniff I’d given his jacket.

He took his time snuggling me into the coat, ignoring the flush of embarrassment taking over my cheeks.

With painstaking care, he pulled the hem straight, aligning the zipper and securing me snuggly inside.

Like a child. Somehow, that only made me more aware of him as a man.

Maybe the way my breath sped up gave me away.

He caught my gaze with a penetrating stare.

His brown eyes seemed to see straight through my soul, ferreting out my secrets.

The flare of unwanted attraction I couldn’t quite hide.

I couldn’t break away. My breath quaked in my chest, seizing up at his thoughtful expression.

Sure he knew he’d affected me and guessed the rest of my secrets with a single, sweeping glance.

“Honey, you’ve got to dress better for the bluffs. Get some hot tea in you and rest. I’ll come check on you later.”

Relief made me sink into his hands, slumping toward his chest. He wrapped me in his arms, holding me tight.

My cheek snuggled into his broad chest like the spot was made for me.

I should have been embarrassed by my moment of weakness, but his heat blasted me like a furnace.

For the first time in an hour, I felt warm.

“You’ll be fine,” he grumbled softly, his tone throaty. “Let Vi drive you home.”

My cheeks turned pink. He probably thought I was pathetically frail, thrown by the morning’s discovery. But that was still better than him learning the truth: I was relieved he hadn’t taken one look into my eyes and sussed out my past.

I took a shuddery breath, building my courage. Peeling back, I avoided his gaze, focusing instead on his mouth. “Thanks, Drew.”

“Let’s get this show on the road,” Lucy called. “It’s colder than Satan’s heart out here. We don’t all have handsome men keeping us warm.”

Drew backed away, and I shifted, swinging toward Lucy, who stood impatiently by my SUV.

“Don’t get your panties in a twist,” Vi chided gently.

“No, Lucy’s right. I’ve got to go help cover for Zach. Isa is probably drowning in orders all by herself if the ferry’s running late,” Rae said.

Drew turned toward the other members of the search and rescue team. I watched a beat too long as his stride ate up the distance between him and his crew. He’d shifted into work mode, hopefully forgetting all about me.