Page 21 of Tracking Safety

Yet he still didn’t have any other answers.

That was what he needed to change.

He was done putting off this conversation.

As painful as the truth might be, he picked up his phone.

CHAPTER 6

Jenna was sitting on the edge of the bed drinking a cup of coffee from the Keurig in her room when her phone rang.

She looked at the screen. An unfamiliar number with a Blue Ridge Hollow area code appeared.

Luke. This had to be Luke. No one else had this number.

Her heart rate doubled as she answered. “Hello.”

“Hi, Jenna.”

She pressed her eyes closed at the cool sound of his voice. “Good morning, Luke.”

Despite his tone, relief filled her. He’d called. This was a good first step.

It was something.

He paused—possibly second-guessing this phone call. “I’d like to talk . . . if the offer still stands.”

“It does.” She kept her voice steady. “When?”

“An hour. I’ll meet you at Hollow House.”

“I’ll be ready.”

“See you then.”

The call ended, and she sat with the phone in her hand another moment. This was it—what she’d been praying for.

She stood and turned the shower on as hot as she could stand it. Then she lingered under the water and let the heat work through the knots in her shoulders. She’d been carrying tension in her neck and jaw for so long now that the tautness almost felt normal.

After getting out, she dried her hair as best she could and went to her bag.

She didn’t have much. A few changes of clothes, practical and dark, chosen for the same reasons she chose everything these days. She picked whatever was easy to move in, easy to replace, and that wouldn’t make her memorable.

She pulled out the nicest outfit she had—a soft gray top and a pair of dark jeans that fit better than the rest.

After changing, she went to the small bathroom mirror and looked at herself honestly for the first time in longer than she could remember.

Her dark hair was longer than she used to keep it, still damp at the ends, with a touch of wave to it. Her hazel-green eyes looked tired no matter how much she slept. A scatter of freckles were sprinkled across her nose.

At one time, she used to think she was pretty, back when she’d had the luxury of thinking about it at all.

Her mind traveled back to the woman who’d first married Luke She’d had a whole life back then. A whole self.

Back then, she’d believed the future was full of hope.

She’d been wrong.

Sometimes she wondered about the roads she hadn’t taken. The moments where things could have gone differently.