Page 76 of Veil of Silence

A gust of wind shook loose several orange leaves from the maple above them. Nora moved aside as they drifted onto the sidewalk between them.

Austin turned back to her and studied the shadows beneath her eyes. “How did the rest of the night go?”

“Quiet, thankfully.” She tucked both hands around her cup. “Christian went back to bed and stayed there. Mom slept through everything, so she has no idea.”

“That’s probably for the best.”

“She would have panicked.”

“Understandably.”

Nora glanced at the street. “I checked the doors to the house about twelve times after you left.”

Concern tightened his chest. He hated that she was having to live like this. “Did you sleep at all?”

She shrugged. “Enough.”

“That’s not very specific.”

“You’re very demanding before coffee.”

He lifted a shoulder. “Occupational hazard.”

“You say that a lot.”

“Only because it’s true.”

Her mouth curved again. Austin liked making her smile.

He pushed the thought aside. He’d spent years coming in second to his father’s cases: missed holidays, unanswered calls, promises that began with once I find him.

Falling for a Loveless daughter would mean that case never let Austin go either.

He couldn’t let that happen.

Nora’s gaze wandered to a group of volunteers crossing the square. “Shelby texted me this morning. She plans to join the search.”

His eyebrows shot up. “After having surgery?”

“I tried to talk her out of it. She’s coming anyway—whether her incision agrees is another matter.”

Austin understood. If his child were missing, a recent surgery wouldn’t have kept him home either.

Nora glanced toward the lake. “You picked a beautiful weekend to be here, considering everything else that’s happened.”

“The tourists gave that away.”

“The leaves too, I hope.”

He followed her gaze toward the fog lingering over the water. The lake and the surrounding mountains looked almost peaceful from here, as if children didn’t disappear and men weren’t found dead along hiking trails.

“Fog Lake is beautiful,” Austin said. “I didn’t expect that.”

Nora turned toward him. “You thought we all lived in some creepy town surrounded by fog and murder?”

“Basically.”

“That’s offensive.”