“I’m not...” The denial died in her throat. “Okay, maybe.”
“Listen, men are wired to protect.” Echo rubbed her belly. “You should see how anxious Dodge gets when I take my dogs out. Or even when I leave the house in bad weather. But you know what’s worse for them than not being able to protect us?”
“What?”
“Being helpless. Having to watch someone they love get hurt.”
“Maybe he’snotin love with me.” Harley dropped into a chair, wrapping her hands around her coffee mug. The warmth didn’t reach the cold inside her. “You didn’t hear him yesterday.”
“Oh please.” Winter rolled her eyes. “The man’s been in love with you since you were toddlers. The entire town knows it.”
The kettle whistled and Harley got up. Poured water into a mug she’d already filled with decaf grounds.
“Speaking of knowing things,” Echo said as Harley handed her the coffee, “Dodge was telling me how, back in high school, Pete was already into shady stuff. I’d forgotten that.”
Harley’s head snapped up. “What kind of stuff?”
“Dealing drugs. When he turned twenty-one, he started buying booze for kids.” Echo took a sip of the coffee. Made a sound of approval. “It’s not Last Frontier Bakery, but it’ll do.” She set the mug down. “Dodge said he wouldn’t be surprised if Pete was mixed up with the Sorros gang.”
Harley’s coffee turned bitter in her mouth. “Wait. Even back then?”
“Yeah. I mean, it might have been just a rumor—”
“But maybe my dad knew,” Harley said. “Gabe said there was a sting on the Sorros gang right before—”
“Gabe?” Echo asked.
Harley shared a look with Winter. Back to Echo. “So ...woops. I forgot to tell you that”—she blew out a breath—“my brother was in WITSEC. He’s...”
“Alive and well,” Winter finished for her. “And married to Sunni Bowman, with a kid.”
Echo’s mouth opened. “Seriously? Wow. I need to leave the house more often.”
Harley laughed. “Yeah, well, it’s a secret. At least, with Mars still on the run.”
And right there—thatwas the reason she couldn’t leave.
She sighed and Winter might have read her mind. “We’ll find him.”
Which meant she probably needed to face Jericho. Apologize. Figure out a way to work with him.
“It’s not all the time God gives us a second chance to live the life we were destined for,” Echo said softly. “I never thought Dodge would come back. There was so much pain in his life from...” She made a face. “Well, you were there. You saw the fight between him and Colt that turned into an all-brother brawl. It was my fault. I didn’t think he’d be able to forgive me. Or start over but ... God gave him a new heart. One filled with mercy and grace and second chances.”
“Like yesterday in church”—Winter’s voice softened—“when Pastor Neil was talking about God removing our hearts of stone.”
“I remember,” Harley said. The words had pierced straight through her, sitting there with the Bowie family. Aching. Wishing.
“The longer we hold on to old hurts, the harder our heart becomes.” Echo reached across the table. “The remedy isn’t to fix the old ... it’s to accept the new. To see things as God sees—through the eyes of grace and love. That’s what a new heart does.”
Echo took her hand. “Maybe you need a new heart for Jericho. One that doesn’t see him as standing in your way. And maybe, instead of being offended by his desire to protect you, you see it as him saying he loves you.”
Harley’s eyes drifted to the window. To the big empty house, the window on the second floor. “I used to have this little pink lamp. It was in the shape of a daisy. I think it was Mom’s old desk lamp. Anyway, at night, I’d turn it on and Jericho would then turn on his light, and it was like this game. I don’t know, I guess it just made me feel seen. And not alone.”
Echo squeezed her hand.
Harley broke off, something clicking in her mind. “The lamp. It’s in the closet. On top of a box of Dad’s office stuff.”
She disabled the lock, and now yanked open the closet door and scanned the boxes. She’d packed it all up years ago when she put the place up on Airbnb.
