Page 198 of No Headlines Please

Drama Finds a Way

Maddox

As the four of us studied the famous rock formation, Delaney said with a laugh, "Forget Devil's Kitchen. They should've called it the Ice Box."

I knew what she meant. The day was sunny, but the wind off the water was chilly. If we hadn't been walking for nearly an hour, we would've been freezing our asses off.

As it was, we'd all unzipped our jackets just to keep from overheating.

Tessa looked to Delaney with a smile. "Hey, you're the one who wanted to keep going."

Tessa was right. It was Delaney who'd suggested continuing to walk once we'd left the Main Street shopping area. Cold or not, none of us had minded. The stroll was going surprisingly fast, with us talking back and forth on the nearly deserted stretch of road while only a few cyclists rolled past.

Delaney replied, "Yeah, because I wanted Maddox to see this." Smiling, she moved closer to my side. "See? Totally worth it, right?"

I wrapped an arm around her waist and gave her a squeeze. "Hell, yeah."

I meant it, too.

Just off the road, Devil's Kitchen loomed large, uneven and slightly jagged. Beneath the rocky overhang, a wide opening yawned before us. From where we stood, it looked like a cave.

Delaney gave me a soft bump to the hip. "You mean it, right? I know it was a long walk."

A few feet away, Ryder laughed. "Hey, it wasn't that long. It's not like you made us walk to China."

Delaney scoffed. "Technically, I didn't make you at all. You could've said no, remember?"

In fact, two people had said no – Griff and Maisie – who'd begged off because they were busy closing up the bike shop for the season. Later, the six of us would be meeting up again for dinner, but for now, it was just us four.

Four, six – I was good either way, as long as Delaney was part of the group.

I'd been on plenty of vacations, but none had felt like this, natural and easy with no cameras or drama.

But it wasn't all a vacation.

I was working. Just not now.

During the past week, there had been plenty of days when Delaney had gone off with Tessa or Maisie, sometimes both, leaving me to get a few things done.

And number-one on that list?

Making sure Delaney never had to worry again about the man who'd threatened her.

When it was over, she'd feel relieved. But she'd feel something else, too – something that wouldn't make her smile, which was why I'd been keeping the details to myself.

For now.

Why bother her today with something that would only upset her tomorrow?

Delaney pulled away and reached for my hand. "Let's get a closer look." She glanced at Tessa and Ryder. "You guys can keep going. We'll catch up."

Huh. So they weren't invited.

Interesting.

Ryder snorted. "Sure you will."

Delaney rolled her eyes. "Oh, yeah. Because we're totally going to make out in there."