She shook her head, glancing at Cody. “I’m good.” Though spending the day working beside her hadn’t made Jenna any easier to read, he thought he saw through her in this particular moment. She yearned to be in the family photograph but didn’t think she deserved to be. It made him all that more curious about her home life and background. People fascinated Cody on a basic level, but this was something more.
“Jenna, you should be in the picture,” Mom insisted. “You earned it, young lady.”
“What about you?” Jenna asked.
“I earned the rightnotto be in the picture.” Mom gently nudged at Jenna’s shoulder. “Go on, sweetie. There’s no dinner until I get my annual photo, and the boys will get growly until they’re fed.”
Cody reached out an arm for Jenna, allowing her to slip into the back row. She was shorter than him, but taller than Haylee by six inches. He left his hand on her shoulder while Mom made them count to three multiple times, fully expecting Jenna to shrug it away. She’d been amazing today. Not only was she not afraid to lend a hand and do whatever was asked of her, she fit in as if she’d always been a part of the Evans clan. His family fell in love with her instantly, and Cody didn’t know what to make of that.
They weren’t even friends. Merely acquaintances brought together by a common death.
“Are we done now?” Marc growled.
“Yes, we’re done.”
Jenna spun, facing Cody. “We still have time to do a couple things on the list tonight, right?” Her guard was definitely down from this morning, but her determination reminded him she saw him as a means to an end.Nothing more.
“If we go now, we can catch the sunset at Lookout Point.” Cody hadn’t seen the list since Jenna stuffed it in her sweatshirt pocket that morning. Until he had a chance to look it over, he wasn’t certain what he was in for. Or if it was possible to complete all thirteen items before he left town.
“That sounds like somewhere high schoolers go to make out,” Jenna said, her eyebrows raised in suspicion. “Grandpa really wanted to take me there?”
Cody let out an easy laugh, enjoying her expression far too much. “I promise, it’s not what it sounds like. It’s actually the best spot in all of Sunset Ridge to watch the sunset. You get a little bit of everything from that vantage point—trees, mountains, ocean. It’s a view you have to see to really appreciate.”
“They could pick a better name,” she surmised as she led them to her truck. Cody offered to drive them earlier, but she was insistent that Graham liked his own truck and would make a fuss if stuffed into a car. At least the dog was allowing Cody to ride shotgun. “Which way do I go?”
“Head to the lodge.”
“Really?”
“The trail starts behind the lodge. Did they not mention this place to you when you checked in? It’s only a short hike away.”
“Hike?” Jenna slowed for a stop sign, waiting for an oncoming car to pass. When the passenger—Tillie Grant—waved at them, Jenna looked confused. Cody waved back to Tillie. “You wave to everyone here or is she part of your massive family, too?”
“You’re from the Midwest. You don’t wave at everyone?”
“Not where I’m from.” She rolled through the intersection, the lodge coming into view a block later. The massive log structure sat atop a hill, the setting sun reflecting off the logs and making them glow that rich cedar color. “We really have to hike?”
“You should be happy about this,” Cody said as she pulled into a gravel parking spot. “If you could drive to the spot, teenagerswouldbe making out up there.”
Thankfully, the winding trail only required them to travel a couple hundred yards to the lookout point. Graham zigzagged on his leash the whole way, apparently still high on energy from the exciting day and making a new four-legged friend.
With the sun setting so rapidly, they barely made it. But Cody didn’t have time on his side. With a rainy day in the forecast tomorrow, there likely wouldn’tbea sunset to watch then.
“This is it?” Jenna looked around as a yawn escaped, sounding unimpressed. Possibly even disappointed. Graham, on the other hand, found all the new smellsverypleasing. Cody tried not to laugh at the duo both facing the wrong direction, completely missing the mountain and ocean view.
He cupped Jenna’s shoulders and gently turned her toward the water view. “Thisis it.”
It didn’t matter that Cody had traveled all over the world and watched sunrises and sunsets alike in several different countries. Lookout Point at sunset—right here at home—stole his breath away every time. The view offered everything—snowcapped mountains, houses scattered amidst the trees, and pristine water reflecting the oranges, reds, and pinks of the sky. A sunset in Maui might rival this view, but it’d never surpass it in Cody’s opinion.
“We need a picture,” Jenna said flatly, pulling him out of the breathtaking moment. She retrieved her phone from her jeans pocket and lifted it in front of her. After a few angle adjustments, she instructed, “Get closer.”
“Here,” Cody said, taking the phone from her soft fingers. “I can reach farther.” He tried not to let her lack of reaction dampen his spirits as they brushed shoulders and smiled for the camera. Eddie had asked him to escort Jennabecauseof this, he reminded himself. Because she needed someone to help her leave behind the checklist and enjoy the moment.
After snapping a couple of photos, he returned to watch the sunset, leaning on the split-rail fence. Graham groaned, dropping at his feet. After a hard day’s work, Cody was starving. But he wasn’t going to waste the last few minutes of an amazing sunset. It’d be three years before he’d see it again.Maybe longer. If anything, he should be thanking Eddie for this moment he wouldn’t otherwise have found the time to experience and tuck into his memories.
“What’s next?”
Cody swallowed a groan. He certainly had his work cut out for him. “You’re missing the sunset, Jenna.”
