But of course, she couldn't turn off her thoughts.
She hadn't sought God's presence when she'd felt alone. Probably because she didn't want his prompting about how she should investigate her family's business. And deep down, she knew that's what she needed to do. Deep down, she knew they were guilty. She knew in her bones that if she opened her dad's files, if she dug through her uncle's computer, checked her aunt's records, she would find evidence the FBI could use to put them away for a long time.
Doing that . . to her family . . .felt so scary. The thought fell out of her mouth before she could harness it.
"I don't have the courage to do that."
Nash straightened. And pivoted until he fully faced her. "To investigate your family?"
She nodded.
"Lena, I don’t think anyone automatically has the courage to do the hard stuff. It would be arrogant to think someone could just look deep inside themselves and find the courage or strength to do something that difficult. To do something like that, you need God's help."
She refocused on the dolphins so he wouldn't see the moisture pooling in her eyes.
His words burned through her. The truth simultaneously painful and comforting.
For the first time, she felt like maybe if she just held her family accountable, that maybe bringing them to justice would bring her some peace. She'd never considered that. She'd always assumed she'd be miserable if they were in prison, publicly humiliated for their crimes.
It wouldn't be easy. But maybe her clear conscience would afford her heart some peace.
She buried her toes deeper in the sand, still refusing to let him see the tears she was trying to blink from her eyes. Nash's words—about her never being alone—echoed in her mind.
"My life will completely change if I turn them in," she said. "Maybe that will be a good thing. The business will fold."
"Would you want to run the business on your own?"
She laughed at that. "No. Not for all the money in the world. I've never enjoyed it. I like helping people, and occasionally there have been a few customers I've enjoyed helping. But overall? I don't like the real estate business. It's kind of strange to say that. Because honestly, I'm good at it. I'm better at it than my uncle. I just don't enjoy it."
"What do you enjoy? If you made a career change, if you could do anything, what would you do?"
She tucked her hair behind her ears. "Well, there's a family I met through my grandmother's church. She introduced us when they needed to expand their business. I helped them buy a new property for their animal therapy nonprofit."
"Animal therapy?"
"Yes." She felt herself smile. "I've been out there a few times. They do wonderful work. They offer therapy to veterans, victims of trauma, and people dealing with anxiety. They help them manage their anxiety and emotional pain with the help of dogs, horses, mini-horses, donkeys, evengoats. It's a nonprofit that allows them to share Jesus' love with clients while they're working with the animals. It's a beautiful, relaxing place. Working at a place like that would be a dream job."
The turn in the conversation gave her enough confidence to reestablish eye contact. But she wasn't prepared for everything in his gaze.
Admiration. Surprise. And something else. It lingered between them. For a whole five seconds she thought he was going to kiss her. And she wanted him to. Her heart hammered against her ribs.
Until the trill of her phone slammed the brakes on . . . whatever was about to happen. She tried to catch her breath—which was acting all kinds of wonky—as she searched her purse for her phone. She pulled it out and checked the screen. And lost her breath all over again.
The call was from Cassidy.
She stared at the screen, wondering if she was only seeing what she wanted to see or if it was really Cassidy's name.
Nash moved closer, brushing her shoulder. "Answer it."
She answered the call.
"Lena, where are you?"
"Cassidy? Oh, my goodness! Where are you? I'm on Isadora Island. I came looking—"
"What? Why are you here?" Her tone held more complaint than questions. "Never mind. I thought it might be you. I heard Emil talking about a new dog-sitter that Victoria hired and that her name was Lena. And I just had this feeling. Oh, Lena, you shouldn't have come here."
"Are you okay, Cass? Are you safe? Emil isn't who you thought he was. You need to leave with me today. You need—"
