Page 35 of Once Hidden
She glanced away, her gaze landing on the sketches pinned to the wall.Moving closer, she realized with a start that they were the drawings he’d made of her at the Brick House Beanery.Each sketch captured something essential about her, seen through Ethan’s eyes.
Her attention shifted to the easel set up in the center of the room, turned away from her.A canvas was propped on it, visible only from the back.
“What are you painting?”she asked.
Ethan’s expression grew uncertain.“It’s not ready for you to look at yet.It’s still in progress.”
“Is it me?”April asked, taking a step toward the easel.
He hesitated.“Yes.But it’s nowhere near finished.”
“Can I see it anyway?”She moved closer “Please?”
Ethan looked torn, but finally agreed.“Just...remember it’s not done.”
April walked around the easel slowly, her breath catching as the painting came into view.It was her face, rendered in oils with a tenderness that made her throat tighten.Ethan had captured not just her physical features—the dark hair, the hazel eyes—but something deeper.A quiet strength in the set of her jaw, a hint of vulnerability in her gaze.The background was still rough, mere suggestions of color and shape, but her face emerged from the canvas as if illuminated from within.
“Ethan,” she whispered, emotion making her voice unsteady.“It’s beautiful.”
“Like I said, it’s not finished.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen myself like this.”She turned to look at him, finding him watching her with an intensity that made her skin warm.“Why didn’t you text me?Really?”
He looked down, then back up at her, his gaze direct despite the flush spreading across his cheeks.“You scare me, April.”
The words were so unexpected she almost laughed.“I scare you?Why?”
“Because...”He gestured helplessly at the painting, the sketches on the wall.“I’ve never felt this way about anyone before.When I’m with you, everything else fades away.When I’m not with you, I’m thinking about when I’ll see you again.It’s terrifying.”
Without giving herself time to think, she stepped forward and pressed her lips to his in a quick, impulsive kiss.His lips were warm and soft, and for a moment, she felt him respond before she pulled away, heat flooding her cheeks.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have done that,” she said, embarrassed by her boldness.
Ethan smiled, the expression transforming his face.“Now I’m more scared than ever.”
April laughed, relief washing through her.“I’m pretty scared too.”
They stood looking at each other, the moment stretching between them like a bridge neither was quite ready to cross.Finally, April glanced at her watch.
“I have to go,” she said reluctantly.“I really do have studying to do before my class tonight.”
Ethan walked her to the door.“Will I see you at the coffee shop tomorrow?”
“Definitely.”She paused in the doorway, looking up at him.“And maybe...maybe you could come to dinner sometime soon.Meet my family.”
Something flickered in his eyes—surprise, and something else she couldn’t name.“I’d like that.”
Outside, April walked back to her car, her lips still tingling from the kiss.The evening air felt different somehow, full of possibility.She thought about bringing Ethan home, introducing him to her mother and Jilly.The idea made her nervous, but in a good way.She felt sure that it was time.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The tires of Riley’s vehicle hugged the curves of the narrow country road as she followed Chief Peckham’s patrol car. In the passenger seat, Ann Marie sat with her tablet open, scrolling through Cable Morris’s delivery records.Behind them in the back seat, Captain Hodge maintained a contemplative silence, his gaze fixed on the passing landscape of rural Springcrest County.
The road narrowed as they left the main highway behind, trees pressing closer on either side.Riley found herself cataloging details—how isolated these stretches were, how easy it would be to intercept someone, how few witnesses might be around.
Peckham’s brake lights flashed red ahead, and Riley slowed as the chief’s vehicle pulled onto a gravel shoulder beside a nondescript stretch of road.Nothing marked it as significant—no roadside memorial, no visible damage to the surrounding vegetation.Yet as they stepped out of their vehicles, Riley noticed a remnant of police tape caught on a branch, fluttering in the light breeze.
“This is it?”she asked, though she already knew the answer.
