After coming to a stop behind Lauren’s vehicle, he looked at Jack. “Wouldn’t hurt to clear the place just in case. At least until the ME gets those prints from the body, and we have an official confirmation that Fowler is the guy in the morgue.”
“You read my mind.” Jack reached for his door handle. “Wait here.”
A blast of arctic air peppered with snow swept into the car before Jack closed the door. He strode through the snow, leaving a trail of footprints all the way up to where he joined Lauren on the covered porch. They went inside together.
Reid left the heater running and swiveled to check on Megan and Ella. Ella remained sleeping. Megan, on the other hand, still seemed preoccupied.
“You okay?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I want to get excited about this being over, but with the way my life has gone in the past few years, I’m thinking Russ will call again to tell us they made a mistake and it’s not Fowler.”
“It’s about time things turned around for you.”
“Says who?” He caught an edge in her voice.
“I know how you feel.” He kept his focus on her to gauge her reaction. “I felt the same way when Diane died, and it seemed like I would never come out on the other side. But I did. I could’ve had a much easier time if I’d relied on God more. And He’s also there for you.”
“If He is, why don’t I feel Him?” Her voice was nothing more than a whisper, as if she didn’t mean to speak aloud.
“When Diane died, and I thought He’d turned away from me, my friend reminded me God’s never far away.Weare the ones who let circumstances separate us from Him.”
She stared off into the distance as if pondering his words. Reid wanted to find a better way to help her see his point, but all he could do was put his thoughts out there. The rest was up to her.
“I wish I could take comfort in that,” she said at last, “but the more bad things that happen to us, the further away He seems.”
“I hear you. Even with my friend trying to help me, I had to reach a point of complete helplessness before I felt God again.” He let his gaze connect with hers. “I hope you don’t have to do the same.”
Her eyes clouded over, and she opened her mouth, but Jack jerked open the door and ended their conversation. As a chill gripped him, Reid wondered what she’d planned to say. With Fowler dead, this could be the last chance Reid had to help Megan work through her faith issues. Issues she needed to resolve to help her deal with Ella’s illness.
Please give me another chance with her.
“Everything’s clear,” Jack said, leaning into the car. “We’ll pack our equipment and get out of your way. But I’ll be in town a few days to wrap all of this up and maybe we can grab some dinner.”
“We—I’d like that.” Reid ignored his near slip of including Megan in any future plans.
But Jack didn’t. He gave Reid a pointed look before he turned toward the lodge. Jack would definitely not let this drop. For now, yeah, but not for good. But maybe by the time they talked again, Megan would be gone and Reid’s life would return to normal.
Normal. Lonely. No Megan.
Gritting his teeth to keep his thoughts on track, Reid killed the ignition and went to get Ella out of her seat. Megan was wearing high heels, and he didn’t want her to slip while carrying her daughter.
By the time he opened the back door, Megan had the straps to the booster seat undone.
“I’ll carry her.” Reid expected Megan to protest, but she gave a quick nod instead.
He lifted Ella, and she settled her head, covered with a bright knit cap, on his shoulder. He motioned for Megan to precede him and, protecting Ella from the snow with a hand shielding her face, followed Megan into the lodge.
She turned to him. “If you’ll keep holding her, I’ll try to get her jacket off without waking her.”
He nodded, and Megan came close, her sweet scent teasing his senses. She reached under Ella for the zipper. Reid shifted to help Megan access it.
Memories of Diane and him working as a team removing Jessie’s jacket when she was younger came to mind. He missed sharing the raising of his daughter with a woman. Sharing in the joys and the sorrows. Working together to raise a healthy, happy child.
Megan’s face was fixed on her task, and a sudden longing for a relationship with her left him breathless.
Was it Megan in particular, or did the past few days show him how much he’d been missing without Diane?
Megan slipped off the last sleeve. “Can you take her upstairs?”
