Page 40 of Tracking Safety

“Yes.” Wes held his gaze.

Luke opened his mouth. He wanted to say something sharp and satisfying, but he couldn’t find the words. That was probably just as well since they were in public.

Wes shifted and blew out a long breath. “Listen, Luke. It was complicated. I wasn’t allowed to tell you. I want you to understand that. It wasn’t a choice I made lightly or by my own freewill. I’m sorry for that. Truly. I was between the proverbial rock and hard place.”

Luke looked at him another moment. He filed their future conversation away for another time. He was getting good at that today.

“That’s not why I called you here,” he said instead. “I need you to stay with Jenna until I can get back and figure out what we’re doing next. It’s not safe for her to be alone, and she can’t go back to Hollow House. Jenna can explain everything that’s happened—if she wants.”

“Got it.” Wes nodded. “I’ll keep an eye on her.”

“Thank you.” Luke held his gaze a beat longer before saying, “We’ll talk later.”

“Whenever you’re ready.”

Luke turned back to Jenna. She watched him with a careful gaze as if trying to read how their conversation had gone. He didn’t have the time—or the energy—to reassure her.

“I need you to stay with Wes,” he told her. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Something flickered across her face. Gratitude, maybe, or relief that he wasn’t simply walking away from all of it. “Got it.”

Luke climbed into his truck and made the drive to Refuge Cove.

Jenna followed Wes inside Ember & Oak, one of the local restaurants. Remington—Wes had introduced her to his dog—followed them. Wes had explained that the eating establishment was dog friendly.

She was grateful for the dim interior after the brightness of the street.

The lunch crowd was light. A couple sat near the window, two women at a corner table, and a man alone at the bar with a newspaper. No one looked out of place.

Wes chose a table near the back, away from the windows and close to the fireplace, where a low fire was burning despite the mild afternoon.

No sooner had they settled across from each other did a server appear. They ordered without really looking at the menu—a French dip for her and a burger for Wes.

Jenna had always liked Wes. He and Rowan had been dating when Jenna and Luke were first married. Then Rowan had left for Hollywood, he’d gone into the military, and the two of them had broken up. He’d later become a marshal.

She’d run into him about five years ago when she and Luke had taken the kids to DC. Somehow, she’d known when she looked at him, that he knew about her. About her past. About her new identity.

He hadn’t said anything, and she’d known Wes would keep her secret safe. She’d appreciated that.

She hadn’t thought she’d see him again, yet here he was.

As soon as the waitress disappeared, Wes looked at Jenna across the table, his expression unreadable. “I didn’t know you were back. Not until Luke texted.”

“I’ve been here about a month.”

Surprise moved through his gaze. “A month?”

“I’ve been trying to work up courage to talk to Luke, trying to figure out the best approach.”

He nodded slowly and turned his glass in his hands. “How much does he know?”

“Everything—at least, the basics of everything. I told him this morning.”

“How did he take it?”

“About as well as you’d expect.” She looked at the fireplace. “He listened. He asked questions. He didn’t walk out. That’s more than I deserved.”

“You deserve a lot more than you’ve been handed, Jenna. No one can understand what it was like to be in your shoes except you. You weren’t being selfish.”