Page 35 of Vanished in the Mist (A Mystic Lake Mystery #2)

Kaden stood in his suit outside the hospital behind the others at the makeshift memorial, a tiny plaque shoved into the dirt in front of a sapling that would eventually grow into a mighty oak tree.

It was a simple gesture, but heartfelt. If nothing else, it helped everyone here feel as if they’d honored her memory.

He’d have traded it in a second to have been able to save her.

As the small crowd of doctors and nurses began to disperse, he glanced off to his left at some of those who remained.

Her family was here, of course. Tanya, surprisingly, was here too, in a wheelchair, just beginning her long road to recovery.

Her mother was clucking around her like a worried hen.

Beside her, Cassidy Tate, sporting a tan from her recent cruise, fussed over Tanya just as much as her mother.

Behind the wheelchair, Tanya’s father couldn’t stop smiling.

A wave caught Kaden’s attention. Chief Dawson stood at the outer fringe, away from the others, waving goodbye. Kaden returned the gesture and Dawson headed toward the parking lot.

He was going through as much guilt as Kaden, maybe more.

The deaths of so many young people in his town at the hands of the Phantom weighed heavily on the police chief whose job was to protect them.

No amount of commiseration from Kaden had done anything to make Dawson even begin to forgive himself.

Kaden sighed heavily. Those feelings would only get worse in the coming days and weeks as more of the Phantom’s sins were revealed.

Tanya was only just beginning to open up to a therapist and reveal the confessions that Phil Gunther—the Phantom’s real name—had made to her.

Many of the drownings and disappearances throughout the years that had been blamed on Mystic Lake’s hazards or some ethereal ghost had actually come at the hands of one bitter, deranged man who’d been bullied one too many times and had decided to take his revenge.

“I’m sorry about your boat,” a feminine voice called out from behind him.

He gave one last look at the plaque for Jessica DeWalt and turned around, smiling at the beautiful woman staring up at him from her wheelchair.

Shanna.

He nodded his thanks to Gavin Tate, who’d surprised him by wheeling her out here. Gavin squeezed Shanna’s shoulder, then headed toward his wife who was still fussing over Tanya.

“Boats can be replaced,” Kaden told her. “You can’t.”

“Neither can you. And you almost got yourself killed for me.”

“Worth it.”

She frowned. “Not worth it. I don’t want you dying for me.” She leaned toward him as if to try to stand, then winced and eased back. “Stupid ribs. They’re so dang sore.”

He crouched in front of her. “I’m so sorry. Apparently I need better CPR training. I seem to hurt anyone I try to help.”

She shook her head. “Don’t you dare apologize. You’ve done nothing but apologize since I woke up in this hospital. You have nothing to be sorry about. You saved me.”

He winced. “That honor goes to Chief Dawson. He’s the one who shot the Phantom.”

“Who would have already drowned me if you hadn’t come along. Dawson merely dealt the final blow. Or, at least, I hope it was final. Have they found the body yet?”

“Not yet. My team’s arriving tomorrow morning with another sonar device, and another boat, to search that part of the lake.

They won’t leave until they find him. The town has suffered enough because of the rumors and myths about the lake.

The Phantom has to be found so everyone can truly relax and feel safe again.

“Phil Gunther.” She shook her head. “He was a local after all. Or, at least, he started out that way. Cassidy showed me his picture in a yearbook from the school library. He grew up here, graduated from the same school as Peyton and the others. Then he spent the rest of his life stalking and killing. He lived off the mountains, sneaking around essentially unseen to listen in on people’s conversations in town, staying one step ahead of the law.

I still can’t believe it.” She glanced at the group of family and friends surrounding Tanya.

“Or believe that we actually found Tanya alive.”

Her eyes turned misty. “Eleven months of captivity. Torture. She hasn’t begun to scratch the surface and tell everyone everything she suffered. If only I’d agreed to help in the beginning, when Cassidy first called—”

“Don’t.” He feathered a hand down the side of her beautiful face.

“You don’t know whether you could have helped back then, whether things would have fallen into place like they did for you and me.

You might have investigated and given up, thinking she’d drowned.

You coming here when you did, at the same time as me, was fate.

She might never have been found otherwise. ”

She wiped at her eyes. “That’s one way to look at it, I suppose.”

“The only way.”

She didn’t appear to be convinced, but offered him a small nod. “I haven’t heard any updates on Peyton. She has to feel awful with so many of her friends…gone. But knowing she didn’t kill Tanya has to help. I suppose.”

“I hear she and Sam have been seen together in town since Dawson let her out of protective custody and Tanya refused to press any charges against her. Maybe Peyton and Sam will help each other through the fallout and become better people for it.”

“I hope so.” She stared at him a long moment, her gaze searching his. “We’ve talked about everyone else but us. What…what are your plans? You’ve stayed well past your original plan. I imagine things are piling up at your company.”

She drew a shaky breath, as if to hold back tears and turned away.

He gently pressed his hand beneath her chin until she looked at him again. “I’m not going anywhere. Not without you.”

She blinked. “I don’t…what do you mean?”

“I love you, Shanna Hudson.”

Her eyes widened. Her throat worked but no words came out.

He hoped that was a good sign.

Straightening, he pulled the small box out of his pocket that he’d been carrying around since the moment she’d awakened in the hospital and had been declared out of danger. Then he dropped to one knee in front of her wheelchair.

“Oh, my God,” she whispered, staring at him. “Kaden? What are you doing?”

“Solving our long-distance-relationship problem.” He flipped open the black velvet box and pulled out the diamond solitaire ring sitting there.

For once, Shanna seemed shocked into silence.

“Shanna Hudson, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

She stared at the ring, then at him. “Kaden, we haven’t even known each other for a whole month!”

“And in that time we’ve been together almost twenty-four seven. I’ve done the math. We’ve known each other longer than if we’d just casually dated a few times a week for well over a year.”

She burst out laughing. “I’m not sure about your math, but that’s a pretty clever argument.”

“Is that a yes?”

Her smile faded. “Where would we live? We both have businesses a full day’s drive from each other.”

“We’re both entrepreneurs. And young enough to start over.

I can sell my company to my team. They’d love to all have part ownership in it.

You could do the same with yours, if you want.

We can start our own business together, or retire early on our profits from the sales.

I’m not exactly hurting, financially. I’ve got quite a nest egg saved up.

We can go anywhere you want to go. I’ll even live in West Virginia if that’s where you prefer to be, at the top of the tallest mountain.

” He searched her gaze. “That is, if I’ve read you right.

I told you I loved you. Now it’s your turn. Unless… I’m completely wrong here?”

“Oh, Kaden. How could I not love you?”

Joy and relief swept through him. “One down. One to go. What about my other question?”

She stared at him in amazement. “You’re willing to brave driving up a scary mountain road for me? And live at the very top?”

“I’m willing to brave anything if you say yes.”

She laughed and held out her hand. “Yes, yes, yes!”

He slid the ring on her finger, then kissed her, far more gently than he wanted, careful not to hurt her cracked ribs. When he pulled back, tears were tracking down her face.

“Happy tears,” she assured him. “I love you, Kaden Rafferty. And I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life showing you.” She gave him a sexy wink.

He was grinning so hard his mouth hurt. He jumped to his feet and turned her wheelchair around, then pushed her toward the hospital, racing across the concrete.

“Whoa, horsey,” she called out. “Why the rush? Slow down?”

“We have to see the doctor. Right now.”

She looked up at him. “Why? What’s wrong?”

“I’m going to bribe him to spring you out of here so we can get started on you showing me how much you love me.” He gave her a sexy leer.

She burst out laughing and pointed to the hospital doors. “Onward, my prince. Our forever is waiting.”