Earl—the bony one—seemed to agree. He came out of the river, shaking and dripping water from his swim trunks.

“Who’s the one left with Gavin?” I asked.

“Gerald McMillan,” Cara said. “He thought he could beat Gavin last year, too.”

Gavin’s eyes met mine and he smiled through chattering teeth. He swung his arms back and forth across his chest, then shook out his hands. Gerald stood still, arms crossed over his barrel chest, like a big hairy tree trunk.

Logan started chanting, “Ga-vin, Ga-vin, Ga-vin,” and some of the crowd picked it up. An answering chant for Gerald began down the riverbank.

Gavin jumped, swung his arms, and shook out his hands again, all with that adorable smile of his. Gerald looked miserable, shivers beginning to overtake his big body.

“You’ve got this, Gavin,” Logan yelled.

“Crazy son of a bitch,” Levi said, just loud enough that I heard it.

It occurred to me, standing on the riverbank on a chilly fall morning, that maybe I didn’t know Gavin as well as I’d thought I did. And maybe that had something to do with the fact that for most of the time I’d known him, he’d been hobbled by a broken leg. Because this Gavin, who seemed to be having the time of his life while he was probably giving himself hypothermia, was kind of insane.

Hypothermia… Another body is found, but on closer inspection, it’s discovered that he’s still alive, just in a state of deep hypothermia. He’s rushed to the hospital and put on life support. If he survives, he might hold the key to finding the identity of the killer—

“Look at him,” Ginny said, rousing me from my brief daydream. “It looks like he’s having fun out there.”

“What? Oh, yeah it does. Did you know a body decomposes four times faster in water than on land?”

She laughed. “Ew.”

Gavin flashed Gerald a big grin, then dove back under the water. He came up still smiling and wiped his hair back off his face.

With a full-body shudder, Gerald seemed to decide he’d had enough. He shook his head and hurried to the river’s edge.

A cheer rose up from the crowd and Gavin raised his arms in the air. He high stepped out of the water and I opened his towel for him as he raced up the riverbank.

“Holy shit, I’m fucking cold,” he said, his voice breathless—with cold, or excitement, it was hard to tell.

I wrapped the towel around his shivering body and he grabbed it, holding it at the top of his chest. River water streamed off him, making little rivulets in the rocky dirt at our feet.

The announcer stepped back on his rock and raised the megaphone. “And the winner is, once again, Gavin Bailey.”

He walked over and ceremoniously crowned Gavin. The crowd cheered again while Gavin beamed, his cheeks flushed pink, his smile bright as the morning sun.

I laughed, caught up in the moment, feeling light and free. He turned and met my eyes, that smile warming me from the inside.

“That was fucking awesome,” he said. “But I need to get some clothes on.”

“Let’s meet up at the coffee shop,” Grace said. “I’ve got a salted caramel mocha with your name on it.”

“Yes.” He held out his hand and fist bumped her.

We followed the crowd back up the trail, people congratulating Gavin as we went. He gave me a smile before veering off toward his truck. I’d driven here with Ginny, and he’d come separately. Which made sense, especially because we were just friends.

But I was aware of that little piece of me that wished I were leaving with him.

Or maybe it was a big piece.

“So, coffee shop?” Ginny asked as we got into her car.

“Yeah, let’s do it.”

Of course I wanted to go to the coffee shop. Gavin was going to be there.

28

Skylar

People crowded into the Steaming Mug. Ginny and I grabbed a table and put our coats over the backs of our chairs. A few of the other pumpkin plungers—now fully dressed, but still rubbing their arms to warm up—stood in line or waited near the counter sipping hot drinks. Asher and Grace came in, followed by Levi and Logan. Grace kissed Asher before going behind the counter to help the two baristas.

The door flew open and in walked Gavin, dressed now, proudly wearing his ridiculous pumpkin crown. He seemed to be eating up the applause as he strode into the cafe, although as soon as his eyes landed on mine, he beelined for our table.

“Your highness,” Ginny said. “We’re honored by your presence.”

He pulled out a chair and sat, then adjusted the crown. “Greetings, lovely princesses.”

“Are you the pumpkin king or the river king?” I asked.

“I’m still cold, is what I am,” he said with a smile, then shivered dramatically.

“Your lips are a little blue.” I wanted to lean over and kiss them, but I resisted the urge. “I can see why Gram calls you Otter.”

“My brothers get to be badass animals like Bear and Wolf. Then I come along and she names me Otter.” He shook his head.

“I think it’s cute. It fits you.”

He smiled at me. “Thanks.”

Grace brought Gavin’s drink to the table. He wrapped his hands around the warm mug and sighed.

“Nice work today, Gav.” She patted him on the back.

“Thanks, Grace. How’s baby Bailey?”

She touched her stomach. “So far so good.”

“Awesome.”

“So Ginny, how do you like our town so far?” he asked.

“This place is amazing. Grace, that reminds me, I found something.” She got out her phone and tapped the screen a few times while Grace sat down. “An engagement announcement for John Haven.”

“Oh my god,” Grace said. “Let me guess, it’s not to Eliza Bailey.”

“Nope.” Ginny handed Grace her phone. “He was engaged to Sarah Montgomery, granddaughter of Ernest Montgomery, one of the town’s founders.”

Grace gazed at Ginny’s phone. “Maybe this means John Haven didn’t write those notes to Eliza.”

“Or maybe he did,” Ginny said. “There’s no record of a marriage between John and Sarah. And John disappeared not long after he won that prize money in the race.”

“So maybe John was engaged to Sarah, but secretly in love with Eliza,” Grace said, handing back Ginny’s phone.

“It’s very possible. The way this announcement is worded, it sounds like an arranged marriage,” Ginny said. “There are three mentions of the couple inheriting Ernest Montgomery’s estate. That got me curious, and here’s the interesting thing. Sarah never married or had children. After she died, some of the Montgomery estate was divided up between her extended family. But not all of it.”

“What happened to the rest?” I asked.

“That’s the big question,” Ginny said. “I don’t know. I found some mentions of a trust, but I think Ernest Montgomery really did do something with part of his wealth before he died.”

“Are you saying you think the Montgomery treasure is real?” Gavin asked.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Ginny said with a satisfied smile.