could do but pull her into his arms.
He’d expected her to resist, to protest somehow, but instead she turned her face into his chest and began to cry.
Will kept a careful watch on their surroundings as he held her. He was relatively certain the threat was over for now, but it never hurt to be careful. Still, he was grateful McKenna was taking a break. She needed someone to help her carry this load—he could see how much it was weighing on her. And he wanted to be that person.
He tightened his arms around her and bent to her ear. “It’s really going to be okay. Soon.”
Will thought he heard her sniff.
Eventually, she pulled away. Will’s arms felt empty without her in them. He could face down just about anything the Alaskan wilderness had to offer and not flinch. But the way he was starting to feel about McKenna scared him. If anyone else described these feelings to him, he’d say they were in love. No hesitation. But with him and McKenna...it had to be something else. Just a close-friendship kind of feeling? Crazy emotions from the danger and stress?
Some part of him knew otherwise, knew better, but he wasn’t ready to go there yet. He shoved the thoughts away, knowing distraction could get them both killed. Or worse, get her killed and leave him dealing with the guilt at not having kept her safe.
He already knew all too well how that felt.
“What now?” he asked.
“I’ll need that knife.” McKenna dug through her backpack until she came up with a brown paper bag. “For evidence. I’ll send it to the crime lab in Anchorage for processing. One of the guys working forensics there is one of the best in the nation, Luke says. If there’s something to find, he’ll find it.”
“You haven’t heard back on the evidence from the first crime scene yet, have you?”
She shook her head. “It’s not like you see on TV. That kind of information takes a few weeks to get, usually. I should hear soon, though.”
“Not soon enough to suit me.”
McKenna shrugged. “Me neither, but that’s how it is.”
“Ready to head back?” he asked her after she’d snapped some pictures of the area, treating it as a crime scene.
“I guess so.”
“We’ve got a long ride.” He caught her gaze and held it. “Are you okay to drive or should you ride with me? We could come back for your four-wheeler later.”
“I’ll be okay.” She smiled a little and hesitated over the next words. “But it’s sweet of you to ask.”
McKenna seemed surprised at his concern, had seemed even more surprised by his embrace earlier. Did she really not have a clue to the depth of the feelings he had for her—that he’d always had for her, even before he left their little town for Anchorage all those years ago?
Those feelings were part of the reason he’d left. She’d always been off-limits, and too many times on the rocky beach at Resurrection Bay, he’d almost kissed her and crossed the invisible line they’d drawn between friends and something more. It wasn’t just his friendship with Luke that had stopped him, although that had been a big part of it. It had been the knowledge that if they started to date and it didn’t work out, he would lose McKenna’s friendship. He hadn’t had many good things in his childhood, and he wasn’t going to risk one of the relationships that meant the most to him for a silly teenage crush.
Maybe the lengths he’d been willing to go to in order to make sure that didn’t happen should have given him a clue that he’d cared about her more than he realized, even then. But it hadn’t.
* * *
“I really did have fun today,” McKenna insisted again as they drove down the road in his truck, the trailer pulling the four-wheelers behind them.
Will grimaced. “You mean before someone chased you down and tried to kill you?”
“Tried. I’m okay, Will. Would you quit worrying?”
He didn’t know how to tell her that the nagging, churning feeling in his gut when it came to her
He’d expected her to resist, to protest somehow, but instead she turned her face into his chest and began to cry.
Will kept a careful watch on their surroundings as he held her. He was relatively certain the threat was over for now, but it never hurt to be careful. Still, he was grateful McKenna was taking a break. She needed someone to help her carry this load—he could see how much it was weighing on her. And he wanted to be that person.
He tightened his arms around her and bent to her ear. “It’s really going to be okay. Soon.”
Will thought he heard her sniff.
Eventually, she pulled away. Will’s arms felt empty without her in them. He could face down just about anything the Alaskan wilderness had to offer and not flinch. But the way he was starting to feel about McKenna scared him. If anyone else described these feelings to him, he’d say they were in love. No hesitation. But with him and McKenna...it had to be something else. Just a close-friendship kind of feeling? Crazy emotions from the danger and stress?
Some part of him knew otherwise, knew better, but he wasn’t ready to go there yet. He shoved the thoughts away, knowing distraction could get them both killed. Or worse, get her killed and leave him dealing with the guilt at not having kept her safe.
He already knew all too well how that felt.
“What now?” he asked.
“I’ll need that knife.” McKenna dug through her backpack until she came up with a brown paper bag. “For evidence. I’ll send it to the crime lab in Anchorage for processing. One of the guys working forensics there is one of the best in the nation, Luke says. If there’s something to find, he’ll find it.”
“You haven’t heard back on the evidence from the first crime scene yet, have you?”
She shook her head. “It’s not like you see on TV. That kind of information takes a few weeks to get, usually. I should hear soon, though.”
“Not soon enough to suit me.”
McKenna shrugged. “Me neither, but that’s how it is.”
“Ready to head back?” he asked her after she’d snapped some pictures of the area, treating it as a crime scene.
“I guess so.”
“We’ve got a long ride.” He caught her gaze and held it. “Are you okay to drive or should you ride with me? We could come back for your four-wheeler later.”
“I’ll be okay.” She smiled a little and hesitated over the next words. “But it’s sweet of you to ask.”
McKenna seemed surprised at his concern, had seemed even more surprised by his embrace earlier. Did she really not have a clue to the depth of the feelings he had for her—that he’d always had for her, even before he left their little town for Anchorage all those years ago?
Those feelings were part of the reason he’d left. She’d always been off-limits, and too many times on the rocky beach at Resurrection Bay, he’d almost kissed her and crossed the invisible line they’d drawn between friends and something more. It wasn’t just his friendship with Luke that had stopped him, although that had been a big part of it. It had been the knowledge that if they started to date and it didn’t work out, he would lose McKenna’s friendship. He hadn’t had many good things in his childhood, and he wasn’t going to risk one of the relationships that meant the most to him for a silly teenage crush.
Maybe the lengths he’d been willing to go to in order to make sure that didn’t happen should have given him a clue that he’d cared about her more than he realized, even then. But it hadn’t.
* * *
“I really did have fun today,” McKenna insisted again as they drove down the road in his truck, the trailer pulling the four-wheelers behind them.
Will grimaced. “You mean before someone chased you down and tried to kill you?”
“Tried. I’m okay, Will. Would you quit worrying?”
He didn’t know how to tell her that the nagging, churning feeling in his gut when it came to her
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