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happens when someone is in the great outdoors. Camping, hiking. The thing is, it’s often misdiagnosed, and I read some really fascinating and bizarre cases online. There was one case about a young woman who was bitten, didn’t know it and suddenly she started to suffer from amnesia. In a really bad way. She would meet a person and a few minutes later forget who they were.”
    “Really?”
    Brianne nodded, proud of what her research had uncovered, feeling that she could be on to something. She needed to stay focused on the issue at hand, and that issue was finding Carter and getting him the help he needed. Staying focused on Carter would keep her mind from wandering where Alex was concerned.

    “Turns out,” Brianne went on, “this woman was bitten by a tick and developed Lyme disease. If treated fairly quickly, antibiotics can correct the condition. But if it isn’t treated, people can suffer severely.”
    “You certainly did a lot of research.”
    “It’s entirely possible that Carter was bitten by a tick and developed Lyme disease. He wouldn’t have been treated for it—who would even assume he had it?—and hence he started suffering from the various side effects, amnesia being a big one.” Brianne stopped suddenly, realizing that she couldn’t read Alex’s expression. “You don’t think it’s possible?”
    “Possible, sure. Likely? I don’t know.”
    “But that’s the whole point, isn’t it? That we don’t know. No one wanted to believe me when I said it was possible that Carter was still alive. It was far-fetched, I get it. And yet, here we are. So doesn’t it make sense that if he is alive, the explanation has to be one that’s incredible? Something far out of the realm of normal? If he got off the mountain unharmed, he would have come home. End of story. But if he got off the mountain and didn’t come home, what could explain that other than something extremely bizarre?”
    Alex pressed his lips together, nodded. “I never thought of it that way.”
    Brianne sensed he wasn’t entirely convinced of her theory. “But you agree, don’t you? I’ve got to be right about there being an extremely bizarre explanation as to why he wouldn’t have returned home.”
    “Yeah. If Carter’s alive, there’s got to be a doozy of an explanation.”
    Brianne exhaled loudly, butterflies dancing in her stomach. “I’m so nervous, Alex. In my heart, I always knew this day would come, but now that it’s here, it’s like a dream.”

    “You’ve really come around,” Alex said.
    “What do you mean?”
    “Two days ago, when I left your place, I thought I wasn’t going to hear from you. I was almost certain you wouldn’t want to go with me to Florida. But here you are, all excited.”
    “It’s like you said. If Carter is alive, he needs us. I’m excited, but I’m also scared, too. Especially if Carter has Lyme disease, or amnesia, or heck—what if he’s missing a limb? It’s scary not knowing what we’re in for when we find him.”
    “One day at a time,” Alex said softly. “That’s all we can do.”
    “You’re right,” Brianne agreed. “We can only cross a bridge when we get to it.”
     
    When they landed at the Daytona airport, Alex led the way to the car rental area as if he’d done it a million times. He didn’t stop at the desk, just went straight to a black Lincoln Navigator.
    “Don’t you have to…to sign for it?” Brianne asked.
    “I set it all up ahead of time,” Alex explained. “They have the car waiting because of the express service I use, which allows me to avoid the hassles of waiting.”
    “Nice,” Brianne said.
    Alex retrieved the keys from the visor of the Navigator, then remotely opened the trunk. He loaded the suitcases while Brianne went around to the passenger’s seat.
    Again, Brianne noted that Alex exited the airport parking lot and seemed to know exactly where he was going, not even consulting the map of Daytona that had been left on the