Across the Vanishing Sky

The narrative shifts to Braedyn’s perspective. The morning after the threatening call, she sees taunting comments on her social media from Vincen. While Braedyn conducts a search-and-rescue training exercise with Yeti, Dex arrives and offers to make them all breakfast. Owen is thrilled.

Dex returns with groceries and equipment for a new alarm system, which he installs with Owen’s enthusiastic but short-lived help. While they eat pancakes, Braedyn glimpses a text exchange on Dex’s phone, in which Orion expresses his distrust of her. Despite this, Dex informs her that his family has invited her to dinner, but he warns her that the situation is tense.

Dex finishes installing the security system and teaches Braedyn how to use it. Sitting on the back steps, they have an intimate conversation. Dex opens up about his traumatic childhood, revealing that his mother disappeared when he was 10, while his father’s activities as a serial killer were discovered when Dex was in sixth grade. Explaining that the experience deeply changed all his brothers, he shares that Orion shot and killed their father, who had just caught Dex and Maverick discovering the hidden evidence of his murderous secrets. The trauma of killing their father caused Orion to stop speaking and to retreat from the world.

Later, while driving into town, Braedyn briefly thinks she sees Vincent, but she quickly dismisses this impression as a stress-induced misperception.

As Dex struggles with the lack of progress in Nova’s case, he suddenly receives a surreptitious email from Travis Moore; the missive contains a digitized copy of Sheriff Miller’s complete paper file on Nova’s disappearance. The file reveals Sheriff Miller’s negligence, as he dismissed the evidence of a struggle as an animal attack and denied a request for a K-9 unit.

Kol arrives and examines the file. Angered by Miller’s incompetence, he informs Dex that he has officially added Nova’s case to his own workload as a Forest Service investigator. Kol is also disturbed to have discovered roughly two dozen missing-persons cases across three counties in the last four years, with about half occurring in and around parks and on public land. He suspects that a serial predator is at work.

Braedyn works her shift at Wylder’s bar. The two deputies, Roger and Travis, continue their new habit of having lunch there daily to check on her. She also speaks with Jack, a member of Compass, her support group for families of missing people, and she is heartened when Holly and Aster also arrive to offer their support. In preparation for the upcoming dinner at Twisted Oak, Wylder warns Braedyn about the Archer family’s intensity and their tradition of having competitive hot sauce challenges. As Braedyn leaves, she is startled by the sight of a man who looks exactly like Vincent. She frantically searches the nearby shops but finds no one, so she once again convinces herself that her mind is playing tricks on her.

The narrative returns to Dex, who is at the family ranch, cleaning the kitchen in preparation for the dinner with Braedyn. Waylon is already there, and Maverick arrives first, followed by Wylder. Together, they tease Dex about his uncharacteristic cleaning, speculating that his efforts are motivated by his feelings for Braedyn. When Kol arrives, he confronts Dex about the unprofessionalism of getting romantically involved with someone whose case they are working on. Their argument is interrupted by the arrival of Braedyn and Owen.

As Braedyn and Owen arrive for dinner at the chaotic Archer family home, Owen immediately embarrasses Braedyn by mentioning the “boobie cookies” that she once made for Dex: vaguely torso-shaped cookies that were intended to be a saucy reference to their first awkward meeting. To change the subject, Braedyn presents the cookies that she just made; in honor of her and Waylon’s shared interest in cryptids, they are formed in the shape of Bigfoot. This gesture immediately endears her to Waylon. She then meets Orion and signs as she speaks aloud to greet him; he shows surprise but does not respond. During the meal, the atmosphere is tense, with Kol pointedly questioning Braedyn. When an argument breaks out between Kol and Maverick, Braedyn successfully defuses the tension by suggesting that they have a hot sauce competition.

Dex looks on as Braedyn reveals that she is a hot sauce enthusiast and has brought several high-intensity sauces as a gift. She challenges the family to a tasting competition and proceeds to defeat every one of the Archer men, earning their grudging respect and Skylar’s glee. After dinner, the adults gather around an exquisite hand-drawn map made by Orion. Braedyn shows them the location where Nova disappeared. The brothers explain their respective roles in their secret network for finding missing people. Kol presents the pattern of similar cases he has discovered; when Braedyn concludes that someone must be taking people, Kol says only that he cannot be sure. Despite his reservations, Orion silently agrees to help.

Later that night, Braedyn is stargazing on her back deck when Dex joins her. They share a vulnerable conversation about their respective grief and trauma, feeling a deepening connection. Braedyn initiates a slow dance and leads, and Dex surprises her by spinning her out and back. After Dex asks aloud whether she wants him to kiss her, Braedyn pushes up on her tiptoes and closes the distance herself. However, the romantic moment is broken when Owen interrupts, announcing that both he and Yeti have vomited. Dex immediately shifts from romantic partner to helper, offering to clean the mess while Braedyn takes care of her son.

The next morning, Braedyn feels unsettled after the kiss of the previous night. She notices that Dex kept his distance from her while helping to clean up the mess and get Owen to bed. Now, as she steps outside to leave for the day, she discovers a note on her porch. It is held down by an antique gold locket—the one she gave Nova years ago. The locket and its chain are smeared with dried blood. The note, written in block letters, reads, “HOW MUCH DO YOU MISS ME?” (222). The shock triggers a severe panic attack in Braedyn, and she collapses inside her doorway. Hearing her distress, Owen uses her phone to call Dex, who rushes over and helps her to calm down.