Noah saw this as an open door. A way out.
She found the strength to say, “So you’ll do to me exactly what your former partner did to you.”
Noah had the decency to wince. “This isn’t the same.”
“Oh, really.”
“Not at all.”
There wasn’t any point in discussing this further. Why argue with a man who wanted to run away? Noah’s attitude all week made perfect sense now.
Jenna forced herself to turn away. “Goodbye, Noah.”
“Jenna, wait. We’re not done.”
She forced herself to keep moving. “That’s precisely what I am, Noah. Done.”
She found her car mostly by feel. The fractured vision at least kept her from seeing him clearly as she started the engine and reversed from the drive.
The valley road seemed endless. She tried her best to find consolation in how there had been no histrionics. No raised voices. No shattered glass. No rage or screams or any of the elements that had shaped her worst childhood memories.
Just the same, the moment was seismic.
Jenna stopped beyond the valley gates, just as soon as the farmhouse was no longer visible. As she struggled to regain control, she was struck by a very lonely thought.
So this was what it felt like to have a man make her cry.
CHAPTER26
Five minutes later, an hour, Jenna had no concept of time’s passage. Only that she was startled from her sad reverie by a tapping on her window. Jenna cleared her face, or tried to, and saw Amos standing there in a crisp clean uniform. Jenna opened her door and rose. She was very ashamed of her broken state, but the relief over being close to a caring friend was much stronger.
“I’d ask if everything was all right,” Amos said, “but I don’t like wasting my breath.”
“Things are pretty awful,” she confirmed.
He gestured to the empty highway. “Say the word, I’ll be on my way. Pretend I didn’t see you at all.”
“No. Stay. Please. I need . . .” She took a deeply fractured breath. And told him.
As she spoke, Amos took off his hat and set it on the roof of her car. Next came his sunglasses, which he folded and inserted in his shirt pocket. Then he stood with arms folded, frowning into the western light. His position was almost identical to Noah’s, and totally different.
When she was done, Amos said, “All this, it isn’t about the boat.”
The fact that someone saw this situation as she did caused Jenna to leak more tears. “No, it isn’t.”
“My brother is acting like ten kinds of fool.” He kicked at a loose rock. “Unfortunately, being a total idiot isn’t a felony in this county. But it should be.”
“I don’t know what to do.”
He nodded agreement. “My wife would tell you that I don’t know the first thing about relationships. But if you’re wanting my advice . . .”
“Please.”
“Give it a day or so. There’s always hope Noah will realize he’s in the wrong and come crawling back, begging for you to overlook the fact he should be locked up.”
“Even if he did, I don’t know if I can. Or should.” She waved behind her, taking in the valley and the boat and everything. “If that’s how he feels . . .”
She was halted by Amos shaking his head. “The thing is, our boy may be running from what isn’t there anymore. You understand what I’m saying?”
