Page 53 of Crossfire Creek Manhunt
David tilted his head, his expression softer now. “Do you want to go on the trails with me?”
Alena’s heart tugged at the hope in his voice. “Of course we do,” she said, glancing at Cal, who nodded in agreement.
They started walking, the crunch of gravel under their feet as David pushed his chair along beside them. The morning air carried the smell of pine and earth, grounding and familiar.
David broke the quiet first. “I saw you,” he said, his gaze fixed on the path ahead. “Kissing in the SUV. So it’s true. You two really are together.”
Alena winced, her first instinct to backpedal, to slip into the safe pretense she and Cal had kept alive for so long. But she couldn’t. Not this time. The truth had already settled in her chest.
She drew in a breath and said softly, “It’s not pretend. I’m in love with Cal.”
Cal’s grin spread wide, his eyes shining as he leaned in to kiss her right there on the trail. “Good,” he said, his voice low but certain. “Because I’m in love with you, too.”
David stopped rolling and turned to look at them, that crease of worry still etched between his brows. “You don’t have to pretend for me,” he said quietly. “I’ll understand if you aren’t really together.”
Alena opened her mouth, but before she could answer, Cal leaned in and kissed her again, slow and sure. When he finally drew back, he asked, “Did that look fake to you?”
For the first time that morning, David’s smile reached his eyes. “No. It doesn’t.”
They started moving again, the trail winding beneath the trees, sunlight breaking through in patches. Cal glanced at Alena, his gaze steady.
“Alena’s planning on adopting a baby,” he told David, “and I’m hoping she’ll let me be part of that.”
Happiness flooded through her so hard it stole her breath. “Yes,” she said, her voice thick with emotion. “And I hope you’ll let me be part of Mason’s life, too.”
Cal’s grin tugged at her heart. “Yes. But fair warning—once Mason meets you, you’ll probably become a hero in his graphic novel.”
Alena laughed, the sound breaking loose with the joy that filled her chest. For the first time in a long time, the future didn’t look like a minefield. It looked like hope.
Cal gave her hand a squeeze before looking over at David. “By the way, Mason’s already working on a character for you,” he said. He pulled his phone from his pocket and scrolled for a second before turning the screen toward David. “Superhero in a wheelchair. The boss of all the other heroes.”
David’s eyes widened, and then his grin spread. “Awesome. Tell Mason I approve. Big time.”
Alena’s heart swelled at the sight of David’s smile, brighter than she’d seen it in ages.
The trail curved beneath the canopy of pines, the crunch of gravel under their shoes mixing with the quiet squeak of David’s wheelchair. Alena let her hand brush against Cal’s, and he caught it, lacing their fingers together like he’d been waiting years to do it again. Maybe he had.
David glanced at them and smiled, softer now, the kind of smile that said he believed what he saw. “Guess that means I don’t have to worry about you two anymore,” he murmured.
Alena’s throat tightened, but this time it wasn’t with grief. It was with something bright, something she hadn’t let herself feel in too long. She looked at Cal, at his steady blue eyes and the man who’d stood by her through hell and back.
“I think we’re finally where we’re supposed to be,” she said.
Cal squeezed her hand, leaned in, and kissed her, slow and full of promise. David chuckled and rolled ahead, giving them a little space but keeping them in sight.
For the first time since the warehouse, since the fire and the endless scars Dexter had left on all their lives, Alena felt lightagain. The past wasn’t gone, but it wasn’t holding her hostage anymore.
The future stretched out in front of her. David safe, her adoption plans real, Mason in her life, and Cal by her side.
She smiled, certain now. They’d survived. And more than that—they were finally living again.
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