“We’ve known of each other,” she corrected him. “It’s not the same thing.”

“What else is there to know, after everything we’ve been through together?”

At the moment, her expression didn’t indicate any kind of positive emotion toward him. But hadn’t they been kissing less than ten minutes ago? Had she told him she was falling for him, too?

Wyatt wanted to leave. The desire revealed something about his nature he didn’t particularly like. The old him walked away when things got difficult, and he didn’t want to be that guy. He wanted to be the kind of guy who could stick around through everything and work it out.

Besides, last time he’d left Elsie’s house to process alone, she’d ended up being dragged through the woods. While the threat against her appeared to be gone, he still wasn’t willing to take the risk.

She’d been choosing her words carefully. She said, “There’s so much more to someone than you can learn in just a few days. I want to be really known like that, not just have someone know a little bit about me and be attracted to me.”

Of course she did. He heard what she wasn’t saying. Her entire life she’d wanted someone to really know her, and who she was, and he’d messed up.

“I’m sorry. I can’t take the proposal back.”

She stopped pacing. “I think you need to go.”

His heart dropped. “Don’t, please. Let’s talk about it. I don’t want to run away from you, Elsie.”

Her eyes betrayed no emotion, but she was shaking her head. “Just go.”

It was the last thing Wyatt wanted to do. But he was trying to be a gentleman. She’d told him twice now, so he didn’t feel like he had a choice.

Breathing a quick prayer for her safety, and for God to do something with the mess he’d made of things, he opened her door, then shut it behind him.

Why couldn’t he have asked her on a date? Or told her she was beautiful? Or given her chocolate or a puppy? Anything to show his growing affection that wasn’t a proposal would have been better. He saw that now.

Wyatt exhaled deeply, squeezed his eyes shut.

And wondered if she’d ever give him—give them—a second chance.

It was strange, the way she almost felt like they’d come full circle. Elsie was in her bed again, sleepy but sleepless, unable to rest. Just like she had been before everything had happened. The man who broke into her house, the new search...Wyatt...

What had she done?

Earlier, she had been so sure that her decision had been the right one. It was better to chase Wyatt away if he didn’t really know her than to risk him becoming disappointed when he realized she wasn’t what he thought, right?

Apparently not right, because Elsie was miserable. Willow was annoyed with her and had already moved from her comfy spot on the end of the bed, where she’d been curled up on the blanket that usually stayed folded at the end, down to the floor, where Elsie’s restlessness wouldn’t wake her.

Night had finally fallen in the woods, the dim sky outside her bedroom a beautiful shade of twilight blue. She hadn’t shut her curtains tonight, and she could see the dark silhouettes of the spruce trees that surrounded her cabin.

Everything was peaceful, as it should be. Willow showed no evidence that any sense of danger was anywhere nearby.

This wasn’t at all related to her safety or to the events of the last few weeks. This was only related to Wyatt Chandler. The man whose heart she’d stomped on earlier.

And what about her own heart? Her life alone had been fine. Actually, it had been lovely. She loved being out in the woods, the freedom she had as a single woman to decide when she came and went, the way she was able to pursue her job. Yet she missed Wyatt.

The man himself, for who he really was.

Was it possible she could have been wrong? Did he know her better than she’d thought? Maybe there could be a way to fix this.

Morning would be the ideal time to figure that out. Surely she could go to his house, apologize, explain...

Then what? She still didn’t think the proposal was a good idea. But the way to change how little they knew each other was...to get to know each other. They could do that.

He’d said he loved her, and she did believe him. And then she’d sent him away, angry.

Probably no matter how much she tried to sleep tonight, she was going to keep chasing this thought, like a butterfly she could see but never catch, always off in the distance just out of reach. Her brain just wouldn’t stop, trying to work this out, which to her truly seemed unfixable.

She gave up on sleep somewhere in the middle of the night, before the light had started to come back, just at the darkest point, and grabbed her light jacket.

Willow looked up at her, eyebrows rising.

“I have to talk to him,” she told the dog. “I think I’m falling in love with him, too. I think it scared me. I think...” She heard her voice waver, felt the lump in her own throat grow. “I think maybe I don’t know how to do this.”

Willow stood, walked toward her.

“You’re coming, too, huh? Wouldn’t dream of leaving you.”

This was it, Elsie thought as she pulled on her boots and locked the door of the cabin behind her. She stood outside for a second, letting her eyes acclimate to the dimness. The moon was bright enough there was no need for a flashlight, but the shadows outside did take some getting used to. At least now there was no need to startle at the shadows. Troopers were investigating the cause of the plane crash, but if all their suspicions had been correct, she should be safe now.

She felt safe, too, all the way to her boat and across the bay. The ocean was calm tonight, accepting, it seemed, of her desire for safe passage to town, not fighting her in the least.

Was that what it would be like when she talked to Wyatt? Would everything go more smoothly when she stopped fighting against her feelings and her anxiety about not being in control, about not being sure whether or not she’d be any good at being in a relationship?

They’d both been right last night, Elsie thought. She’d said he didn’t know her well and he didn’t. But maybe Wyatt had been right, too, that he knew her anyway.

She wouldn’t know for sure until she could talk to him, see his eyes. She was ready to take a leap of faith, to take a risk. But she wanted to talk to Wyatt first. Even now her heart was hesitant. Afraid.

Elsie hated being afraid.

She docked the boat at Destruction Point’s marina. Remembering where Wyatt’s house was, she walked toward it, Willow trotting along beside her.

When she reached his house, it was dark. Not surprising, as it was late. But...Wyatt’s front door was wide open.

Her heartbeat started to pound in her chest, fear seemed to weight her legs, but she propelled herself forward anyway, wishing she had some kind of weapon with her, just in case someone was waiting for her, someone who wasn’t Wyatt.

Eyeing the door, practically willing Wyatt to walk out of it unharmed, Elsie pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed 911.

“Wyatt Chandler’s house has been broken into. His front door was left open and I’m afraid someone took him.”

“Location, please?”

“I don’t know his address.” Frantic, she looked around for the 911 numbers that even a small community like Destruction Point had. She finally found them, on the side of the mailbox, and read them aloud to the dispatcher. She quickly filled the dispatcher in about Wyatt’s last known whereabouts.

“We’ll be there within five minutes.”

“I’m search and rescue,” Elsie said. “My dog and I are on the way to find him now.”