I just don’t want to watch it happen to you, he’d said.
Watch what happen?Rowan had blinked up at him, honestly looking confused.
What Hollywood does to people. That place takes everything you have to give and asks for more.
Rowan had looked at him with equal parts warmth and iron.Then I won’t let it.
Wes had wanted to believe her.
But he hadn’t.
And now she was here—the very thing he’d been afraid of happening to her had clearly happened. Even if she wouldn’t admit it.
The industry hadn’t broken her. But something had.
Sheriff Sutherland’s voice pulled him back. “Do you think she’s in danger?”
Caleb’s jaw worked for a moment before he answered. “I don’t know. She seems more open to discussing what’s been happening here.”
Sheriff Sutherland looked toward the house. “Considering the women you have staying here, the possibility she is in danger is something that should be addressed.”
Wes followed his gaze.
He had a point.
But what were they going to do about it?
The drive back to Refuge Cove felt shorter than the drive into town.
Blue Ridge Hollow was exactly as Rowan had remembered it. The town felt refreshing, like one of the first places she’d been to in a long time that was filled with real people. She was used to Hollywood sets where people plastered on broad smiles and seemed friendly because they were paid to act that way.
Her mind drifted back to her childhood growing up in this area. She had so many happy memories. Life had felt entirely less complicated back then.
“Remember our summers at Lake Anna?” Rowan asked.
“How could I forget?”
“Do you remember that time when Dad’s boat broke down, and we had to paddle back to shore on those inflatable rafts?”
Naomi laughed. “We were struggling out there for two hours.”
“Caleb kept insisting he knew a shortcut.”
Rowan turned toward the window and watched the trees pass. Those summers at Lake Anna felt like another lifetime now. Her parents had rented a house every July, the same weekevery year without fail. All the siblings always got sunburned and argued over who got which bedroom.
She’d been so certain back then that everything worth having was somewhere ahead of her.
She wasn’t sure what that girl would think of her now.
Grace made a small sound from the back seat, and Naomi glanced in the mirror.
Then she went still.
The change was subtle—just a fraction of tension moving through her shoulders—but Rowan caught it.
“Naomi?”
“Don’t turn around.” Naomi’s voice stayed even and measured. But her eyes flicked to the mirror again. “Red truck. Two cars back.”
