Page 37 of Tracking Safety

Luke crossed his arms. “He had the chance, and he said nothing.”

“He couldn’t, Luke. Besides, even if he could, it wasn’t his story to tell.”

He turned away from her. Visible tension stretched across his shoulders.

She wanted to step closer. To put a comforting hand on his arm.

Instead, she said, “I know this is a lot, Luke. I’ve handed you more this morning than any person should have to absorb in one sitting. I’m sorry for that. I’m sorry for all of it. But you asked how you could know if I was telling the truth. Wes is your answer.”

Luke was quiet another moment. Then he straightened and turned back to her.

She saw him setting his emotion aside, at least temporarily, in order to move toward what needed to happen next.

“I have to get to Refuge Cove. There’s a problem at the site, and I can’t put it off any longer.” His gaze locked on hers. “But I’m not sending you back to Hollow House.”

She started to protest, but he held up a hand.

“I’m going to call Wes,” he said. “He’s in town, so I’m going to ask him to meet you. He and I are going to have a conversation, regardless. It might as well be today.”

Jenna thought about Wes getting that call. About what it would feel like to know the moment had finally arrived after all these years.

This whole situation felt like a mess.

Maybe it would have been better if she’d stayed away.

Had coming here been just one more mistake in an already long list?

CHAPTER 14

Jenna stood and smoothed her jacket while Luke sent a text—to Wes, she assumed—and then pocketed his phone.

He looked up at her. “Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

They walked back down the aisle toward the entrance of the church, their footsteps quiet on the old floorboards. The building felt different now than it had when they’d arrived. Less like a sanctuary and more somewhere they’d stayed too long.

Luke held the door open, and Jenna stepped into the midday light.

She stopped on the top step and let her eyes adjust.

The street was busier than it had been earlier. Lunch hour foot traffic filled the sidewalks. A few cars moved slowly through the downtown block. A couple emerged from the general store across the road.

Everything appeared normal and ordinary.

If only it was.

She fell into step beside Luke on the sidewalk.

They didn’t talk. There was too much to say, and none of it was suited to a public sidewalk. They both seemed to understand that without saying so.

As they walked, she was all too aware of Luke beside her.

She’d never gotten over him. She’d just gotten better at pretending.

Right now, he’d gone quiet, and she wondered what he was thinking. Did he believe the explanation she’d told him? Did he understand?

She wasn’t sure.