“Jill and Mandy are human.”
“Really? And they know about all ofyou?”
“They do. They come to visit often, but likethe training compound, they don’t know how to get here. That’s morefor their safety than ours.”
David opened the back door of the car andremoved the small suitcase and backpack within. The belongings he’dtaken with him before leaving to help the others locate Vicky wereinside the backpack. Mia had packed a few of the things she’d beengiven at the training compound into the suitcase. She could havetaken more clothing, but she’d left most of it behind as few thingshad fit her properly, and she’d refused to let anyone buy her newthings.
“I’ll take you shopping tomorrow,” he saidas he closed the door.
She pretended not to hear him as she gazedat a Cape Cod-style house behind Emma and Ethan’s, and beyond thatto a double-story cottage set up near the ocean. The cottage wasincredibly cute with its white paint and blue shutters. Beside itsat a matching building that was a smaller version of thecottage.
“Who lives there?” she asked when David cameto stand by her side.
“Isabelle and Stefan live there with theirdaughter, Hope, and their son, Bodhi, or as we all call him,Bo.”
“What about the cottage?”
“Ian and Paige. Before the birth of theirsecond son, Colton, they added the second story to it. The buildingbeside it is Paige’s art studio.”
“It’s really cute,” she said.
“It is, and Paige is very talented.Come.”
He didn’t touch her but nodded toward theold farmhouse with gray siding and weathered blue shutters. “It’snot as cute, I know,” he said as they walked toward the house, “butwe are a bunch of bachelors. Or wewere, anyway.”
She swallowed heavily when his gaze rakedover her. “I’m probably going to have to thank Issy for coming toclean, then,” she said. “I can only imagine how neat you guys keptthe place.”
“We weren’t complete slobs, but I’m sureIssy has greatly improved the look and smell.”
The layer of salt coating the blue graycobblestones leading to the front door crunched beneath her feet asshe walked. Mia huddled deeper into the thin coat she’d taken fromthe compound as a chilly wind blew off the ocean and howled acrossthe open land around them. She’d left behind the heavier wintercoat she’d been borrowing in case someone else came along who wouldneed it.
The wind caught the top coating of snow andswirled it around them. The small flakes fell against her alreadyfrozen cheeks and melted there. She’d been born in the Northeast,but this was colder than she was used to.
“Definitely getting you warmer clothestomorrow,” David muttered as they climbed the small porch to thefront door.
Grabbing the door handle, he twisted it andpushed it open. Mia almost leapt into the heat emanating out of thefront foyer. She hurried inside to stand before the staircaseleading up to the second floor. The shadows encompassing the top ofthe stairs, obscured the hallway beyond.
Not only did the warmth of the house assailher, but also the fragrant aroma of lavender. Beneath the lavender,the musty smell of old wood tickling her nostrils reminded her ofthe home she’d shared with her parents. She’d sometimes thoughtthat the old wood of her home held the memories of all those whohad lived there before her, and those memories had scented the woodwith age. It had seemed like such a fanciful notion then. It wasone she’d forgotten about until now, and now it didn’t seem sofanciful.
From somewhere in the house, she heard aseries of shouted curses. Mia took a small step back, her gazedarting toward the door David had closed behind him. What was goingon?
The accelerated beat of Mia’s heart pulsedin David’s ears as she gazed at the door like she was contemplatingbolting through it. “They must be in the game room. It can getrowdy in there, but everyone is fine. I can take you upstairs to myroom so you can rest before meeting anyone,” he offered.
Mia gazed at him, then the door, and thenthe stairs before looking to him again. All she wanted was to runas far from there as possible, but she’d been running since she waseighteen. She’d vowed to stop doing that when she’d moved back toConnecticut, and she planned to uphold that vow. She’d asked Davidto bring her so she could learn more about him, his life, hisfriends, and because she was tired of living in fear all thetime.
It was time she regained control of herlife, and hiding now was not the way to do that.
Throwing her shoulders back, she tilted herchin up. “I’m ready,” she declared.
David stared at her as he tried to decidehow to proceed. Despite the resolute expression on her face, herdistress beat against him. “Mia—”
“I will not run anymore. I am going to meetyour friends and family.”
The need in her eyes tore at his heart.
“Please, David.”
“They’re going to love you,” he said,placing the suitcase and bag on the floor near the front door. Hegestured toward the doorway next to the front foyer. She steppedthrough the door before him and into the living room.
