“Honestly?” Jeff gave her a haggard look. “I have no doubt you could handle it. I just need to feel like I’m doing something or I’m going to lose it. Driving helps.”
Hard to argue with that.
Around five, they reached Wilmington and foundspace in an RV park busy with midwestern snowbirds clinging to the last of the mild winter.
After they parked, Tara hopped out of the passenger-side door of the cab, relieved to finally be off her butt. Jeff stayed inside to call the local detective working on Bridget’s case.
Jeff opened the narrow side door and stepped out. “I have to be there at nine tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
“Do you needme to come along as your alibi?”
He shook his head. “I’m not a suspect, and I have better ways to prove my location.”
Good. The less she had to talk to the police, the better. “Will there be a funeral for Bridget?”
He frowned. “I don’t know. I guess that’s up to Roy, wherever he is. Maybe when I find Evan we’ll have our own little service. Something to give him a way to say goodbye.”
“I’m sure he’d like that.”
Jeff turned silent while she paced the length of the kitchen waiting for her phone to connect to the camp WiFi. “No word from Valerie yet.” She managed to stifle a sigh.
“She’ll find something,” Jeff assured her from where he leaned against the wall, arms crossed, seething with suppressed energy.
“See, it’s not that hard to be positive.”
Her ribbing brought outa too-fleeting smile. “I have my moments.”
It was probably killing him not to be able to do anything about Evan.
On some level, she could relate. Her inability to change the situation with Greg Luciano, her desire to forget, made her even more restless than usual.
She could think ofoneway to distract both of them, but if his reaction to their kiss was anything to go by, he wouldn’t beinterested. He didn’t want any distractions. And she didn’t want to get involved with a man who was guaranteed not to stick around.
Right?
Absolutely, one hundred percent correct.
“Are you hungry?” she asked, thoroughly sick of sitting still. “Or up for a walk on the beach? The sun won’t set for a couple hours.”
“I could walk,” he said with a fleeting glance at his bedroom.
Another goodreason to bail. She wanted him, and with a mattress so close—and time on her hands—unhelpful ideas were inevitable. Better they stay out of the RV as long as possible and hopefully crash, too exhausted to even think about another astounding kiss.
A girl could hope.
After a pit stop to put gas in the poor, crumpled camper, Jeff drove them to Wrightsville Beach. Tara’s heart lifted the instantthey walked past the thin slats of wood that bordered the grassy dunes and stepped onto the open sand. The blessedly warm air—at least compared to NOVA—smelled different. Fresh and briny. The soft breeze caressed her arms and calmed her soul.
This was why Jenna had moved to the beach. Tara loved Northern Virginia, but she could see the appeal of the coastal life. Rather than move, she satisfiedherself with regular visits to South Carolina. In fact, she’d be heading there as soon as Jenna gave birth. If for no other reason than that, Tara needed to get Greg off her back ASAP so she could take care of Robbie, and help Jenna and Mick, without putting anyone in danger.
She strolled beside Jeff in silence, focusing on the shush of the low waves as the sun sank lower into the sky, paintingthe world in a golden blush. Some kind of elegant, white water bird lifted in flight as they approached, soaring briefly before landing in the dunes.
For a moment, she could almost forget that someone wanted her dead. That Emily was gone forever. That she wanted to kiss Jeff with near meltdown-level desperation. That she wanted his hands and mouth on her body. Everywhere.
“I didn’t even knowif I wanted to be a father before I found out about Evan,” he said suddenly. “I hadn’t given it any thought. I was twenty-nine, so not too young or anything, but I hadn’t met a woman who made me think about kids and family, and my deployment schedule wasn’t good for long-term relationships. I figured family could come later.”
Tara forced herself to keep her mouth shut and merely nodded.
