Page 100 of Silent Shadows

I open my mouth. Then close it again. Annoyingly, she’s right.

I guide her toward the inside of the trail as the path narrows near a steep drop-off.

One hand briefly against her lower back. I don’t even realize I’m doing it until she glances at me.

She rolls her eyes. “You keep doing that.”

“What?”

“Making sure I don’t die.”

“That feels like a low bar.”

“I’m serious.”

Heat crawls slowly up the back of my neck.

I clear my throat and focus forward again. “The cliff edge is unstable.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“It’s a legitimate safety concern.”

“Miles.”

“What?”

“You moved me without even looking.”

I nearly trip over a rock. Smooth.

Meanwhile Daisy smiles to herself beside me like she knows exactly what she’s doing to me. Which feels unfair at this point.

We hike in comfortable silence again for a while after that. The kind of silence I’m not used to having with people outside the crew.

Eventually Daisy looks over again. “Can I ask you something?”

“Depends.”

“Do you ever worry you’re wrong?”

She’s not asking casually.

I stare ahead at the trail for a long second before answering.

“About humans not being alone? Never. About this particular case with Bigfoot? All the time.”

Her brows lift. “I thought you were gonna say never, period.”

I laugh under my breath. “God, no.”

“Then why keep doing it?”

There it is. The real question underneath everything. Why build your whole life around a maybe? I exhale slowly.

“Because I’ve seen enough strange and unexplainable things that I can’t walk away from it.”

She looks thoughtful.