“Oh.” She looked back out over the valley.
He sighed. “I’m going back.”
Her head snapped back to look at him, her eyes wide. “What? When?”
“Month or so.” He looked down and kicked a rock.
“Shit. That sucks.” There wasn’t much more she could say. No use asking if he could get out of it. He wouldn’t, even if there was a way he could.
“Yeah.”
They stood there for several more minutes.
“Anyway,” he said. “I wanted to say sorry. And thanks.” He pivoted and walked back toward the camp.
“Jordan?”
He stopped and turned back.
“Be careful.”
He nodded and walked away. She watched him approach the fire. Jase broke away and headed toward her, a scowl on his face. Yeah, he was annoyed she’d left him sleeping. She turned to hide her smile.
Both dogs raised their heads and looked in the direction of the front door before the bell even rang. Bree dropped her head on the back of the couch.I should ignore it.
This was the first weekend she’d had all to herself since the camping trip two weeks prior. Jase was on a trip until the next afternoon, and Denise was spending the day with her cousin. After all the drama over the last couple of months, a quiet afternoon on the couch was in order. The bell rang a second time. She sighed and kicked off the light blue chenille throw covering her legs.
She scratched Charlie’s head. “They’d better be selling something good.”
Dread settled over her when she checked the peephole. She dropped her head against the door frame. So much for a drama-free day. She unlocked the deadbolt and braced herself before she opened the door.
“Chad.”
“Hi. I know I’m probably the last person you want to see, but I was hoping we could talk for a few minutes.”
What could he possibly have to talk about at this point? Hadn’t they both said enough? She stared at him for a heartbeat. Dressed in his usual khakis and button-down, something was different. He seemed more reserved. Less flashy. She rubbed the spot between her eyebrows, sighed, and swung the door open. “Sure. Just a few minutes.”
She stepped back and allowed him to walk through. He waited for her to close and the lock the door. “Is the kitchen okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, that’s fine. Would you like some tea or water?”
“Uh, tea would be great. Thank you.” He sat at the small table in the kitchen while she poured two glasses of sweet tea. She set one glass in front of him before sitting on the opposite side of the table.
“What did you want to talk about?”
Chad took a large, audible gulp of his tea and cleared his throat. “I came to apologize.” He glanced at her before looking at his glass. “I realize I asked you to marry me for all the wrong reasons. It was really selfish of me.”
Bree raised her eyebrows. Of all the things she had expected him to say, that wasn’t at the top of the list. Where was this coming from? Was it some new angle? What was he hoping to gain?
“I know you don’t have any reason to believe me. I’ve been in denial for a long time. When the cops questioned me about Jaelyn, I thought there was no way it was because of me. But then Patty was killed. I, uh…it made me realize how badly I was screwing up my life.”
“You had an affair with her as well?”
“Yeah. We…uh…yeah, I did.”
“What about the girl who was attacked?
“Her name is Rachel. I wasn’t involved with her while we were together. I’d only met her a week or two before she was attacked.” He ran his hands through his hair. “I don’t understand it.”
