Cool air washed over Jenna’s skin as she entered her apartment, a welcome relief from the July heat. After being relatively sedentary all week, she’d had the bright idea of going for a three-mile jog. But the eighty-five-degree evening had whipped her butt.
She dropped onto her sofa, sweat and all. She’d rehydrate, then shower. But at the moment she was too exhausted to even kick off her tennis shoes. Perhaps she’d overdone it. But the Oreos had been a regular companion this week. Last night had been a full-sleeve night. Not good.
She’d gone for a jog because she’d been desperate to escape her thoughts, which tended to hover around two subjects. Her mother’s love life being one. It had been more than twenty-four hours since Jenna visited Gordon. She’d hoped her mom would’ve called by now with good news. Jenna put it all out there, but it was in his hands now. With each hour that ticked by, her hopes sank inch by inch.
The other intrusive subject was, of course, Tyson. Even the jog couldn’t distract her from missing him. She wished she could just call him to chat—even as a friend.
But that was absurd. She couldn’t think of him that way now. Not when they’d been so much more. Not when her heart ached for want of him.
She rolled her eyes at the melodramatic thought. Cheesy as it might sound, it was true. She took a long drink from her water bottle and was setting it back on the end table when her phone buzzed with an incoming call.
Tyson?
Her heart rate jacked right back up. Or maybe her mom.
A peek at the screen revealed the caller was neither. The spurt of adrenaline fizzled as she answered the phone. “Hey, Sofia. How’s it going?” They’d talked earlier in the week, mostly just a postmortem on Tyson and Jenna’s relationship. Sofia had been a sympathetic ear.
“Pretty good. I was wondering how your first week went. I know you were feeling a little overloaded the other day.”
“There’s a lot to learn, but I’ll get on top of it.” She’d actually been in her office a lot more than she’d anticipated. Hopefully that would change once she stepped fully into her role.
“You’ll be amazing. I just wish you could be amazing a little closer to the island.”
“Me too. It’s a shame the cost of living has increased so much there.”
“It’s made things difficult for a lot of residents. So tell me how your talk with Gordon went yesterday.”
Jenna filled her in on the visit from start to finish while Sofia listened patiently. “I’d hoped to hear something from my mom by now.”
“Maybe he needs a little time to process. You did all you could—and it was very courageous of you to hunt him down and confess what you did.”
“It was the least I could do.”
“It’s in God’s hands now. Try to have a little faith.”
Sofia was always quick to remind her that just because something was out ofJenna’scontrol didn’t mean it was out of God’s control. A male voice sounded in the background.
“Is that Jack?” Jenna asked.
“He’s fixing the dishwasher.”
“Oh, I didn’t know he was a handyman.”
Sofia lowered her voice. “He’s not. He’ll try to fix the dishwasher, get frustrated, then give up and call the plumber. I already have the number ready.”
Jenna chuckled. But inside she longed to have that in her life—someone she knew so well, someone who knew her too, and loved her anyway. It had been pretty stellar for a while.
“How are you doing otherwise?” Sofia asked.
She meant in regard to Ty, of course. “I’m okay.”
“That wasn’t very convincing.”
Jenna sighed. “I try to stay busy. I just returned from a three-mile jog, which goes to show you exactly how desperate I am. I love him so much, Sofia. I don’t know how it happened so quickly or so thoroughly.”
“Oh, Jenna...” Something foreboding vibrated in her tone.
It sent a jolt of dread through Jenna. Her heart beat out a heavy tattoo while she waited for Sofia to continue. When she didn’t, Jenna said, “What’s wrong? Is Tyson okay?”
