Page 63 of The Followers

“A place I used to go when I was a teenager,” he said. “I’d camp there with my brother. It’s totally secluded—the kind of place you can’t find unless you already know it’s there.”

“Sounds like a good spot to murder someone and bury the body.”

He bit the lobe of her ear, making her shiver. “That’s not exactly what I had in mind.”

She pulled away to look at him, feigning suspicion. “Oh, I get it. This is the place you take girls when you want to impress them. Do I really want to go somewhere you take all your women?”

In answer, he kissed her mouth, long and slow, then said, “I’ve never taken a woman there.”

“I hate to cancel on my friend...”

“Liv!” he groaned. “Why is this such a difficult decision?”

A memory from last night flashed through her mind: waking up in the darkness to see him watching her, his eyes bright and focused, as if he were memorizing her. As if he didn’t want to miss a moment.

“I’ll call her.”

“You’re seriously canceling on me to hang out with your Cute Beard Guy?”

Liv could hear the teasing in Molly’s voice. She had gone into her bedroom to call Molly, and was now throwing underwear and pajamas into an overnight bag while Jeremiah waited in her living room.

“I’m sorry,” Liv said. And she was, because it was delaying the inevitable. She made a promise to herself that she’d go see Molly the next day, as soon as she returned to town.

Molly sighed into the phone, then said in a louder voice—to Scott presumably, “Sweetie, Liv can’t come tonight. She has a hot date.”

Scott said something in return that Liv couldn’t catch, then Molly said to him, “What? Why isn’t Maya coming?”

She sounded disappointed. Liv caught Scott’s dismissive voice in the background, saying: “Who knows why Maya does anything.”

Molly returned to the phone. “Let’s reschedule for some time during the week, so you can meet Scott. He doesn’t believe you exist.”

Liv laughed, but something occurred to her. She’d been wanting to ask Molly about Scott’s friend Maya since she’d heard about her at Chloe’s birthday party. Maya and Sarah, the two sisters who ran the business with Scott. She didn’t know how to ask the question delicately, so she said it straight out. “Does it bother you that Scott works closely with a woman? I mean—I think it’s great you trust him.”

“Oh,” Molly said, and Liv could imagine her waving Liv’s concerns away. “Sarah’s happily married—and you should see her husband. She has no reason to come after Scott.”

Liv took a breath. “I didn’t mean Sarah. I meant Maya.”

Molly paused. “Maya’s not a woman. Maya’s—” she broke off, then laughed. “Sorry, that must be confusing. Maya’s a nickname for Jeremiah. Sarah’s brother—they run the business with Scott.”

Liv blinked as the letters slowly reorganized themselves in her mind. Not Maya. Miah. Jeremiah.

“Oh, god,” she whispered.

“What’s wrong?”

There couldn’t be many Jeremiahs in their early thirties here in Durango. “What does he look like?”

“Miah? Well, he’s not as tall as Scott, maybe six feet? Slim. He’s got brown hair that he refuses to brush, and kind of a scruffy beard thing going on right now—” Molly cut herself off, her voice softening with concern. “Oh, Liv. Is he your cute beard guy?”

She gripped the phone tighter and lowered her voice. “I think he might be.”

“Hang on,” Molly said, then called out, “Scott, is Miah dating anyone?”

“Not that he’s told me.”

Liv heard his answer loud and clear and wished she hadn’t. His words sank like a rock in her gut.

“Why did he cancel on us tonight?” Molly asked Scott. Liv didn’t catch his answer this time, but then Molly said into the phone, “Miah told him he’s going camping.”