Turning away, Ever headed off the path I’d been traveling, taking another just a few inches wide. Not seeing another option, I followed, glaring at the back of her head and her flowing blonde hair. She wore tall boots, snug jeans, and a light jacket. She moved like a deer, graceful and quick. A few yards in, the trail widened to a few feet across. We must have switched off a dozen paths, each time taking an obscure, almost nonexistent trailhead as we wound deeper into the forest. If she wasn’t leading me to James, I hoped we were at least headed into town.

“Ever,” I said. My voice was even, but still demanding. “Where is he? Are we on the way to his house?”

She continued to ignore my questions as we walked along in silence, me two steps behind her. She led me to a small cottage in the middle of the dense forest. I questioned the logic in building a home on this spot where the trees were so close to the frame of the house. In some places, the branches appeared to bleed into the walls. The trunk of a large birch shot up through the porch floor and into the tin roof. The cottage seemed to have been integrated into the forest, as if the trees merely tolerated its presence.

I followed Ever up the front steps, stopping to admire smooth circles cut into the porch floor that accommodated the birch and other trees. Intricate trim work curved around each opening, giving them a finished look.

“Cole was a skilled carpenter,” Ever said.

Cole.

He’d been Ever’s husband and James’s best friend. James told me Cole’s death was unexpected; he’d died not long after he and Ever were married. I momentarily felt sorry for her. But, as was her way, Ever effectively ended my compassion by opening her mouth.

“I know you know about Cole,” she said. “James tells me everything.”

Ever’s casual use of James’s name and her familiarity with him caused my anger to stir. “Where is he?” I demanded.

She turned away to open the front door to the cottage. I followed her. Once inside, her demeanor quickly changed from slightly annoyed to highly agitated. She moved to the heavy drapes that framed a large picture window, and briskly yanked them closed.

“Sit down, and shut up,” Ever said.

Who does this girl think she is?

I cut my eyes at her, but complied. There was no denying it, I’d need her help to find James. I sat on an overstuffed chair, one of a pair that flanked a stone fireplace.

Ever went to the small kitchen on the other end of the cozy cottage. She pulled a teapot from the stove, filled it, then returned it. The odor from the gas burner drifted to me when she switched it on.