Page 13 of Two Favors Repaid

To the east, the last moments after sunset turned the sky a bright orange, and the clouds seemed to grow purple. Rob settled in his seat, focusing his attention on the road.

He knew better than most people the dangers of getting distracted at the wheel. He didn’t remember what they’d been making fun of Ryland for—something to do with the wet pass he’d missed—but if they hadn’t been making such a ruckus in the back of the van, perhaps his friend would have seen the out of control truck an instant earlier and been able to react before it hit them.

Perhaps.

He didn’t remember much about the accident or the days following, just the flying, the falling, and then the darkness. The rest of the story he’d pieced together with the help of his coach and surviving team members. Of the six who’d been in the van at the time, only three had survived. He’d woken up to a world where three of his best friends were no more.

He barely remembered anything of the following months. They’d let him keep his scholarship, even though he stopped playing. With some help from his professors, he’d even managed to graduate on time. Looking back, it must have been because nobody thought an extra semester on campus would do him any good.

His mother had suggested he come live with her in New York City. Her newest husband knew some people who knew some people who would get him to the Olympics … but Rob knew he didn’t have it in him to play ever again. Then he’d suddenly come across an ad for a job opening in a small town’s sheriff’s department and decided to apply.

He’d had no idea what he was going to do with his life, and it was only thanks to Sheriff Aaron Bowmann’s support that he’d chanced upon a career he loved.

He now couldn’t imagine leaving Sharp’s Cove. He loved every street of that town. He loved it in the winter when it was cold and still and in the summer when it became a favorite tourist destination for city people who wanted to know a slower, gentler way of life. He loved the people of Sharp’s Cove, both the Covies who’d been born there and the people like him who’d discovered it later in life but never wanted to leave.

A sudden glare in the rearview had him looking back at the road they’d come from. There was a car there, in the far distance, that hadn’t been there earlier. Rob tensed again then convinced himself to stand down. He was too stressed. There were plenty of reasons why someone might choose this particular road. It didn’t mean they were being followed. But an hour later the car was still there, still keeping the same distance. So not only were they going in the same direction, they were going at the same speed as well. That was a bit less likely.

Rob felt his concern growing. He looked at the space between the seats where his weapon was stored. He could reach it in a matter of seconds. And he would have no qualms using it. He would protect Emma to the death.

He looked at his watch. It was close to ten p.m. Time to stop for dinner anyway, before everything shut down. A few minutes later, he saw the neon-lit sign for a roadside diner. He waited until the last possible second before signaling the turn and kept a lookout for a few moments, but nobody else took the turn. He sighed. His paranoia was getting the better of him.

As he engaged the brake, he felt Emma’s eyes on him.

“Are you okay, Rob? You look serious,” she said. Her teeth worried her lower lip. Rob doubted she knew how sexy the look was.

“I get this way when I’m hungry,” he said, looking to distract her. “Come on, this looks like an okay place to eat.”

“I hope they have waffles!” she said, smiling at the neon lights.

“Waffles? For dinner?”

“Waffles are good for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They’re practically a food group in and of themselves.”

He caught the glint in her eyes and realized she was the one trying to distract him and make him feel better. He decided to follow along.

“About that … you probably won’t get hired to update the nutritional pyramid. I hope that’s not what you tell those little kids in the classroom.”

She laughed. She clearly loved thinking about the kids. “I eat a lot of fruit at school. The waffles thing will have to be our secret.”

“Come on, then. We’ll see if they can put some blueberries on top.”

#

Emma

It was Rob’s leather jacket that had brought her back from the brink of a nightmare. The jacket smelled of him. Of strength and safety.

He held the door to the diner open for her and looked back at the empty parking lot before ushering her through the door.

Ever the protector.

Emma followed him to a table in the corner. He sat so he could see the door. She wondered if he was particularly on edge at the moment or if that was the way he behaved all the time. This was the first time they’d be eating together. Though this wasn’t exactly a date.

She thought of the dark reason they were here in the first place. The further they got from the prison, the less real the conversation with Ford seemed. And yet those graves would be real enough. She saw Rob glance surreptitiously at his phone. He was probably waiting for news on it as well.

“Please don’t keep it from me,” she said. “I want to know when those girls are found.”

He blushed. “I’m sorry. There’s no news yet. But as soon as Lorraine contacts me, I’ll let you know.”