Small talk. Jo didn’t need it and would rather get lost in her own thoughts. A knot lodged in her throat, and tears threatened. She stared out the window at the lush evergreens, and beyond them, heavy gray clouds hovered over the Pacific Ocean.
****
Jo woke with a start. They were here at Spruce Hollow—the name she’d given to her tiny house in the rainforest. How could she have fallen asleep? She glanced at the house, then back at him. “Um ... Don’t I need to drop you off?”Because you’re absolutely not staying here to protect me.
A vehicle pulled in behind them. Hawk. That made sense.
“I’ve got a ride. I wanted to clear your house first. Unless, of course, you’re willing to stay at the lodge tonight, just until we figure things out.”
A small laugh burst out. “Seriously, I’m good. This place isn’t even in my name. You know about it because I brought you here. As for clearing it, you can see everything from the front door.”
“Okay. Then I’ll take a quick look.” Cole hopped out and then followed her up to the door, which she unlocked. “Hawk is checking the perimeter.”
“Really?” She opened the door wide to let Cole inside.
“Really.” He stepped past her and gave her a “get real” look.
“I’m taking this seriously, Cole,” she said. “Don’t act like I’m not.”
He cleared her house so fast it was almost laughable,then stood in the doorway. She looked at him, and that unwanted memory of them standing here kissing good night rolled through her. Awkward. He could probably hear her pounding heart. Heat flooded her cheeks, and Cole stared at her face. The way he looked at her, she knew he was thinking the same thing. Longing erupted in his gaze, then he shuttered it away.
And that hurt. But it shouldn’t have. She should have been the one to hide her emotions.
Hawk clomped up the steps, breaking the moment. Relief flooded her.
She closed her eyes, grateful for the rescue from her own embarrassment, then quickly opened them. “I’m good, boys. You can leave now.”
Cole didn’t appear convinced, his face serious, as if he was about to jump out of a helicopter on a covert operation in a forbidden jungle. He stalked to Hawk’s vehicle. Honestly, she was surprised she’d gotten rid of him that easily.
And there it was again. That thought to get rid of him, when deep inside, she wanted the exact opposite.
If he looked back at her, maybe he could readthaton her face.
Youdon’t have to leave,Cole.
Cole opened the truck door and turned to her. “We need to talk soon, Jo. I’ll be in touch but call me if you need me.”
“I will.” She shut the door.
Alone at last. She’d wanted the space from him and to be alone with her thoughts, away from anyone and everyone, but now that she was here—no Cole, no passengers or city dwellers, no exhaust, and nothing but fresh rainforest air—regret coursed through her. She missed Cole and wished he could be with her here in her small corner of the property behind Mrs. Crawford’s house. Spruce Hollow.
She sighed a weirdly happy sigh, given her day. But everytime she looked at the place, a sense of peace engulfed her. She’d put her heart into decorating, letting the vines grow over the outside walls, except for the windows, so it would meld into the rainforest. Her small—very tiny—place in this world, hidden away in this corner of the Olympic Peninsula.
Inside the home, she sat in the plush chair and looked out the window at her view of the lush moss-covered branches and trunks of the evergreens and ground cover.
God isgood.
She believed that once. She had to keep believing that now. But sometimes it was hard.
Like when your dad left—oh, and by the way, he wasn’t your real dad. And when your mom was murdered and nobody believed you, and your real dad left too, and the man you thought you could love turned up after hearing nothing from him for months and months.
God isgood. I know you are,God. It’s not you,but it’s people who have left me in pieces,who aren’t so good.
She pushed the morbid thoughts away and focused on the beauty of God’s creation through her big window. Answers would come. She just had to wait for them.
Her mother’s framed picture hung on the wall near the window. Mom needed justice. Pop could take care of himself. The thought didn’t soothe the pain in her heart. As for the incident on the ferry, she had told the police all she knew. But who was the victim? A father, a husband, and a son?
There was too much death in this world.
