“You were lucky that rattler didn’t bite you, babe. They don’t have to rattle to bite.”
“I got out once to check the car and the trunk to make sure no one had hidden inside. Maybe the snake was sleeping and my rustling around woke it. Though they’re nocturnal, so it could have just been hiding.”
He embraced her again, relishing the way she nestled against him with such trust. He kissed the top of her head and stepped back. “I’ll follow you home.”
“You don’t need to do that. It’s only three miles.”
“A lot can happen in three miles.”
She smiled. “I’m not made of glass.”
“You’re much more precious.” He pulled her back for a thorough kiss that stole his breath and made his heart pound. “It should be illegal to love someone as much as I love you,” he whispered when he released her.
“Should I call the cops to take us both away?” she teased.
“Greene would be only too happy to lock me in one cell and you in another.”
The reminder wiped the smile off her face. “We have to report this.”
“It’s closer to Nova Cambridge than the park. I’ll tell Jane.” He escorted her to the Kia. “Let’s get you home where your pulse rate can come down.”
“I don’t think that will happen with you around.” She blew him a kiss and closed her door.
His smile faded as he walked back to his truck and followedthe taillights of her car toward town. Nothing would have saved her tonight if that rattler had struck when she got in the car. It all would have happened too fast. How could he keep her safe?
She’s mine.
The whisper in his heart was a reminder she belonged to God, not Blake. He’d thought he was getting better at not feeling so responsible for those he loved. The way he’d failed his best friend resurfaced often, and he wasn’t sure he would ever get past it. About the time he thought he could let go of his guilt, it came roaring back.
Just like tonight. He would have thought of a dozen ways to take the blame if something had happened to Paradise during those short miles to town. How did he let go of his need to control things like this? He had no power over life and death, success and failure, good times and bad. No matter how many times he reminded himself of the fact, he found himself in the same old loop. God had a lot of work to do in him.
By the time they were done reporting the snake and music incident to Officer Jackson Brown from Pelican Harbor PD, fatigue made Paradise’s brain feel like it was stuffed with cotton. She was so tired she could barely think, but she had to see the DNA report she’d downloaded.
The kittens clambered over her bare feet where she sat on the sofa, and Blake winced beside her when one of them pounced on his leg and left claw marks. “You’re a menace,” he told the black one.
She caught the weary note in his voice. “You should go home and get some rest.”
“Too much on my mind to sleep. I didn’t get a chance to tell you, but Hez took a bad blow to the head during a break-in at the Justice Chamber and has a concussion. He had a seizure, but the doctor thinks he’ll be fine. He won’t be able to drive for a while though.”
“Oh no!” She liked Hez and Savannah. They already felt like her family.
Blake’s shoulder brushed hers, and his breath stirred her hair. “Besides, this is finally the big reveal to find your brother. I don’t want to sleep through it.”
With his arm around her and his warmth pushing away the chill of the late-February night, she was tempted to close her laptop and forget this for now. Kissing Blake would let her forget the trauma of the evening, but she’d been waiting and praying for these results, so she settled for a lingering kiss. “Manage your expectations. There won’t be a list of relatives with addresses and phone numbers.” If only it were that easy. “I want to see if it’s still on the server. I downloaded it from my phone in case it disappeared again.”
She logged in to her account and went to the Results tab. Even though she’d taken precautions, she hadn’t expected the results to be gone. But the file was empty.
She sat back and exhaled. “Blake, what is going on? Someone has to be deleting the results. There’s no other explanation.” Fatigue made tears rush to her eyes. She rubbed her lids and swallowed down the lump in her throat. “I saved it in an encrypted file in the cloud.”
With his arm around her, he pulled her close to his side. “You’re right. Check to see if the file is there.”
She called up her iCloud folder and sorted it by date. There it was, right at the top. “It’s here.” Her hands trembled as herfingers hovered over the track pad. What if her brother’s name was really in this document? Was she ready for her life to change so drastically?
“You want me to look first? Someone is very determined to keep these results from you.”
She exhaled and pressed her lips together. “I have to know.”
“You don’t always have to do everything yourself, babe. I’m here to help.”
