And get away from the hecticness of his life.
In the past few days alone, things had taken a turn for the worst. Not only had Bryce chased down every lead to no avail, but Eric had doubled down on his promise and started finding ways to keep Ian from doing his job properly—everything from restraining orders to formal complaints.
Anything and everything to shut Ian up.
Thankfully, with an entire police department behind him and his family rallying behind his decision to pursue this, Ian felt a lot better about his odds. However, it didn’t change the fact the trail had gone cold again, and it would take a miracle to revive the case.
Maybe it’s for the best. You wanted a sign to let you know if you were doing the right thing. This is probably it.
Only he couldn’t help but feel he wasn’t done yet.
Ian wasn’t ready to walk away, not after everything they’d been through to get here. As his lawyer, Liam had dedicated himself to the case with a surprising amount of enthusiasm and drive, considering it was still his grandfather. It wasn’t lost on Ian that he’d unintentionally dragged Lily’s son into this mess, nor did it escape his notice that he was further straining the relationship between Lily and her father.
When this was all over, he doubted his sister would be able to have any kind of relationship with Eric, much less a civil one. The bonds between them were shattered beyond repair, and he found himself lamenting the role he’d played in all of it.
On the one hand, it wasn’t his fault Eric Taylor was an awful and egotistical man, hell-bent on pushing his own agenda on people. On the other hand, Ian couldn’t help but worry about what would happen when the dust settled.
Was Lily even going to look at him the same way again?
Even solving a slew of small cases at work hadn’t made Ian feel better.
If anything, it made him feel worse about everything.
His guilt, anger, and anxiety were only compounded by the fact that Lucy’s doctors were taking their time. With the holidays around the corner, it felt like all of the cards were stacked against him, and the universe was testing his patience.
Was he being punished for wanting to do it all?
Was God trying to teach him a lesson?
Dean exhaled and shoved something else into his backpack. “I still think it’s a bad idea to go camping in this weather and with everything else happening. Why can’t we just go out for some father-son bonding time?”
“Because it’s good to be out in the wilderness.” Ian finished putting things in his backpack and zipped it up. “Besides, it givesyour mom and the girls a chance to spend some time together, you know, do their own thing.”
And with the entire Wilson clan on high alert, he knew Lucy and the girls were in good hands. Between Darren and Ben stopping by throughout the day at random intervals and the entire police station making it a point to check in, he knew no one else would go near his family.
But it didn’t make him feel better.
Even kissing Lucy goodbye and ushering Dean into the car didn’t bring him the excitement he thought it should.
On the drive over to the Crystal Mountain campground, it started snowing. Ian switched on the windshield wipers and leaned forward, struggling to see past the blizzard. Once they reached the parking lot, Ian caught the horrified look on Dean’s face and ignored it.
Together, they found a secluded part of the forest in the mouth of a cave to set up the tent.
It took them a few tries to get it right, and by the time they did, their backpacks were soaking. Together, they huddled in the tent, one large blanket draped over them and the containers of warm food stacked next to them. Ian studied the thick foliage on either side of them and the white flakes swirling before they landed on the ground.
Then he turned to Dean, who was shivering and rubbing his hands up and down his arms. “See? Some much-needed father and son bonding time. We can still salvage this.”
Dean snorted and pulled the flaps of his hat down low over his head. “You’re not trying to spend time with me, Dad. You’re trying to run away from your problems.”
“I am not.”
Dean turned to face his father and gave him a knowing look, wisps of light brown hair peeking out from underneath his hat.“I’m not mad, Dad. Don’t worry about it. I know what it’s like to want to get away from everything.”
“You want to tell me the real reason you moved back home? Other than wanting to save on dorm money and get a summer job. Your mom mentioned that you dropped this course…”
Dean cleared his throat and glanced away. “Yeah, there was this girl I liked, but it didn’t work out.”
“So, you dropped the course to get away from her?”
