Chapter 5 Colt climbed out of his Audi, the cool mountain air hitting him in the face. Fuck, it was good to be home. And it was even better to be back here at the old adventure park where he'd spent so much of his childhood. The second he'd found out it was up for sale, he bought it. What the hell else was he supposed to do with the trust fund his grandparents had given him? He crossed the parking lot to the old log cabin. Or more accurately, the pile of logs that now only faintly resembled the cabin it used to be. The place was supposed to have a reception area, an office, and a kitchenette...but right now, it was falling apart. He looked past the cabin to the trees. There was no fencing around the property; there never had been. Two hundred acres of rough landscape that had once been a thriving adventure park. Rock climbing and bouldering. Hiking and mountain bike trails. An old zip line course. Even cabin rentals around a camping site. How long would it take to get the place back to the way it had been? A truck pulled into the parking lot and Noah climbed out. "Well, if it isn't Colt Reed." Colt crossed the distance between them and pulled his old friend into a hug. "It's been too long, brother." "You're not wrong." Noah stepped back. "How have you been?" "Better now that I'm home." Noah nodded slowly. He knew exactly how hard this year had been for Colt without Indie. "Good. Hopefully it keeps getting better." He looked at the cabin. "We've got our work cut out for us." "Nothing we can't handle." Noah chuckled, his gaze going to the truck beside Colt's Audi. "Randy's already here?" "His truck is. Haven't seen him. I just got here." A rustling noise sounded in the trees a second before an older man stepped out, his hair whitening and his gut hanging over his trousers. "Colt, Noah, you made it." Colt stepped forward and shook his hand. "It's good to see you, Randy." "You too." Noah did the same. "What do you think?" Randy blew out a long breath. "Trails are completely overgrown. Cabins look like knockdowns. The zip line course needs a complete rebuild." "Can you do it?" Colt asked. One side of Randy's mouth lifted. "Son, my team can do anything. Just depends how much time and money you got." "We're in no rush," Noah said. "And we'll put in some labor, too." "That will help." Randy frowned at him. "I don't mean to be nosy, but this land would have been expensive. Add in the renovations..." He was asking how they were paying for it, without asking how they were paying for it. "We got it cheap," Colt said. "And we can afford it." He'd barely touched the money in his trust fund. He'd never had reason to touch it...until now. Randy nodded, looking like he had more questions. Instead, he turned to study the old office. "Come on. I'll walk you through it all. We'll start at this pile of firewood." Over the next few hours, they assessed the old adventure park, and Randy was right-the paths were so overgrown, the three of them could barely move from one area to the next. There was graffiti all over the granite cliffs that were used for rock climbing and bouldering. The equipment sheds were falling apart. It was going to take a lot of work. But it would be worth it. Because he wanted this. He wanted to see a new round of kids speeding down the zip lines and riding their mountain bikes down the trails. The sun was just starting to set as they approached the cabins. Four in total, built around a communal firepit. As Noah and Randy talked, Colt stepped onto one of the old porches. The wood creaked beneath his feet. He tried the door, and it opened. Then he frowned. It looked cleaner than it should. There was a living area to the left, with a small kitchen to the right and doors at the back of the cabin, which led to a bathroom and bedroom. He stepped into the kitchen and ran his finger along the countertop. No dust. Someone had been in here recently. A creak sounded behind the closed bedroom door. Colt quickly crossed the space and pulled it open to see a bed with an old mattress...but that wasn't what had him pausing. It was the open window. He crossed to the window and scanned the tree area outside. Nothing. At least, nothing that he could see. The thud of footsteps behind him had Colt turning to see Noah and Randy stepping into the room. "Someone's been staying here," Colt said quietly. "I think they snuck out when they heard me come in." Randy didn't seem fazed. "Probably Milo." Colt frowned. "Who's Milo?" "He's a drunk. He has a home, but he gets kicked out almost every night. We find him squatting in rundown or out-of-the-way places around town." "I assume you call the sheriff," Noah said. "Nope. He eventually leaves. Good guy, just doesn't know how to limit his liquor." Randy snapped his notebook closed. "I think I've got everything. I read in an email there's an old hunting shed on the west side. Are we doing anything with that?" Noah shook his head. "It's a mile into the forest above the bouldering cliff. Access isn't great, so we're leaving it for now." "Easy. I'll put the quote and timeline together and get back to you." "When would you be able to start?" Colt asked. "We're just finishing a big job now, so if you give me the go-ahead, pretty much right away." Noah smiled. "This feels too easy, Randy." The older man chuckled. "Wait until we start. So many problems will pop up you'll be begging me for easy." They headed back outside. When they reached the cars, it was evening and officially dark. Colt shook Randy's hand. "Looking forward to working with you." Randy laughed again. "You say that now. Just wait." When Randy left, Colt turned to Noah. "We really doing this?" "I'm more excited than I was before. I love getting my hands dirty." He did too. But then, he'd never been scared off by a bit of hard work. And right now, he needed a distraction from Indie. "Guess we're reopening the Wilderness Adventure Park." "You sure you don't mind putting the money in for the startup?" Colt grinned. "What the hell else am I going to do with that trust fund?" "Gamble? Buy a private jet? An island?" "Not really my thing." He squeezed Noah's shoulder. "I'll see you in the morning." He headed back to his car. He was about to start the engine when his phone rang. His muscles locked when he saw the name on the screen. Indie. "I don't think they're in here," Clara called, voice sounding far away. But she couldn't be that far. The freestanding shed on the back of her property was only six by six. Although, there were a hell of a lot of boxes in here. Boxes of stuff she'd shared with Colt. Photobooks. Bed sheets. Little trinkets that he'd given her. "I didn't think they were either, but we checked every inch of the house," Indie said, rummaging through one of the stacked boxes. "I thought I put the rings in a box, sealed it up in my closet, but they weren't there. Maybe I accidently put them in here." But she really hoped she hadn't. They were far too expensive for that. "We've been looking for an hour, and I'm scared that rat's going to come back." There was a small pause. "Maybe this is the universe telling you that you should keep them. He gave them to you." Indie's heart gave a little thump. Okay, it wasn't little. It was a huge, gigantic thud that rattled her ribs. Of course, she had to give the wedding and engagement ring back...they were Colt's. "They were his grandmother's. They should stay in his family." She huffed when she got to the bottom of the box. They weren't here. They weren't inside. They weren't anywhere. Clara rounded the boxes, finally coming into view. "I don't think we're going to find them this evening." Indie eyed the boxes they hadn't been through yet. There were a lot. Too many for one evening. "You're right. I'll look again tomorrow." Clara's brow furrowed. "Indie, I say this with love, but if he wouldn't sign the divorce papers, what makes you think he'll take the rings back?" "It doesn't feel right to keep them." They stepped out of the shed, and she locked the door. "There are so many things we need to discuss. The rings. This house and our home in California." She needed to adult up and just do it. Clara nodded slowly. "Yes, but it doesn't need to be immediately. You can leave it for a while. Give yourselves time to adjust to both of you living in the same town." When they entered the back door, Indie's gaze immediately went to the folder from the IVF clinic. Before her sudden need to search for the rings, she and Clara had spent the afternoon eating Thai while looking through the information. Clara lifted the folder. "You know you're not going through with this, don't you?" It was true. None of it was sitting well with her. She lifted her half-drunk glass of wine. "I thought I might go through with it, before I saw Colt. I just so badly want to become pregnant. And I know there are other ways to become a mother. I just need to really make sure I've exhausted this way first." "You will be a mother." Unexpected tears built in her eyes. "You never think it will be you, you know. You see people struggle with infertility but that's them...until it isn't." Clara squeezed her hand. "Then," Indie continued, "you commit to IVF and you think, this is it. Because it's supposed to be what gets you your baby...and then it doesn't." "It got your hopes up." "Every round, we did something different, and I told myself, 'This is the one.'" She swiped a tear from her cheek. "I'd start calculating due dates and planning where the bassinet would go. And every time I'd either test or just eventually get that call that we weren't pregnant, it hurt. It hurt so much." "Come here." Clara pulled her into a hug, and Indie let more tears fall. Tears of sorrow for every failed round. For the baby she craved with everything she had but never got. It was only the ringing of a phone that had them separating. Clara lifted her cell. "It's Holden. He's here to pick me up, but I can tell him-" "No. I'm fine. He's here to take you home; go be with him." She swiped the last of the wetness from her cheeks. Clara looked at her, worried. "Are you sure?" "Of course. I'm sorry I got upset." "You never need to apologize with me. Okay? Besides, crying's good for you." "I love you." "Back at you, cuz." They hugged one more time before Clara left. She knew Holden would be at the door, but she didn't go out there. He didn't need to see her puffy red eyes. After tipping the rest of the wine down the drain, she turned off the lights, then went to her bedroom to change into an oversized T-shirt that she wore to bed...one of Colt's old T-shirts. She'd stolen it back in senior year. It was that old. So old that the material had gone stretchy and sections were almost see-through. She lifted her phone and scrolled down to Colt's number. Her finger hovered over his name. She wasn't sure why. Maybe because sometimes she just craved his voice. The ability to speak to him about everything and anything. And she could call him now. He wasn't deployed somewhere dangerous with his Marine unit. He was here, in Amber Ridge. But could she take the risk? Sure, he was out of the military, but his mother was still right where she'd always been. And what if Indie needed him, like she had that last time, and he chose Sylvia over her again? She shook her head, about to close her bedroom door and spend the evening watching reruns of The Rookie, when something sounded from the kitchen. Her heart jumped. What was that? The scrunch of plastic? Slowly, she stepped out of her bedroom and listened. Nothing. She shook her head. Of course it was nothing. Because there was nothing wrong. All the doors were locked. She turned to step back into the bedroom, when she heard the same crinkling sound again, but this time louder. Her heart sped up and she clicked the name that was still up on her phone. The name that had always signified safety. The name of the person she absolutely should not be calling. "Indie?" "Colt...someone's in my house."