“So here I am. Trying to rebuild this boat, my life, and it happens again.”
Zia said, “Only this time, you’ve got friends on your side.”
Ryan added, “And the law.”
“You don’t know what that means,” Noah said. “The friendships, the sense of building a new home.” He met Jenna’s gaze. “A new life.”
“And you want to sell?” Zia shook his head. “Sorry. You lost me.”
“Because all this is more important than the boat.”
Zia said, “We can protect you.”
“Okay, yes, I get that. Just like you did today. For which I’m incredibly grateful. But that’s not the point.” He looked at Jenna. “Please tell me you understand.”
Jenna had a great deal she wanted to say. But not just yet. She made do with a simple “Yes.”
He held her gaze. “I won’t take a step,anystep, unless you agree.”
“But it’s not just me, is it?”
“No.” He looked at the group. “This goes for all of you.”
Aldana’s elder daughter cried, “Ineverwant to sell!”
“Honey, shush.”
“Mom, you said—”
“Wait, sweetheart. No, don’t leave. No storming off today.” Aldana reached out. “Come here.”
“Ilovethat boat.”
“We all do, sweetheart.” She stroked her daughter’s hair. “Go on, Noah.”
“I love it too. I love the way our working together has brought it back to life, and me at the same time. At night, when it’s just me and Bear and the boat and the dark, I think about going out. Traveling the open waters. Living aboard something that beautiful . . .”
He stopped. Stared at his hands. Jenna could feel his struggle. She shifted her chair closer. Settled her arm on his shoulders. Waited.
“I have to make a choice,” Noah said. “I’ve seen firsthand and close up the cost of long, drawn-out battles. And that’s really what I have to consider. After what happened today, would I ever feel safe? What happens if there’s an accident, or an outright attack, and I lose one of you? No boat is worth that.” He allowed Jenna to draw him closer still. “I think it’s right to sell. But only if everyone agrees.”
Aldana asked Jenna, “What about you? I haven’t heard you say a single word about all this.”
Jenna maintained her hold on Noah. “I haven’t needed to. He’s spoken for the both of us.”
* * *
They planned well into the night, a noisy discussion dominated by the three police officers. Amos and Zia and Ryan worked it out in stages. Covering all the contingencies. Talking it through in calm bursts that Jenna found hard to follow. Like they were discussing things in a foreign tongue.
Jenna liked the charged atmosphere, how it unified the group. Even Liam and Amos’s two daughters remained caught up in the tension, watching wide-eyed as they discussed how to best deal with a lawyer representing some very bad people. How to walk away. Safe and whole. Their lives and futures intact.
Half an hour later, Noah phoned Lane back and suggested he come up the next afternoon. They then walked down the valley road to the farmhouse. Everybody came.
Amos pulled her slightly to one side, and said, “You don’t have to do this.”
“It’s a very good plan. And I want a role to play. A real part.”
“This is as real as it gets. Putting you on point means we can hopefully keep this perp from getting nervous. He can deliver his message, then leave without anybody getting in his face. No harm, no foul.”
