Page 45 of Weight of Guilt

“He said an hour. That was forty minutes ago.” Wren checked her phone out of habit, though nothing had changed since the last time she’d looked.

A car appeared at the end of their drive, and Mason was immediately on his feet. Bo rose and began barking a half-second behind him.

“That’s not Dad’s truck,” Mason muttered.

Wren stepped closer to Mason and put her arm around his shoulders. He leaned into her side and watched the sedan roll to a stop at the top of the drive.

As she waited, she felt someone’s gaze on her and looked up.

Christian.

He wasn’t looking at the car. He was staring at her, with her arm around Mason.

Something crossed his face, gone before she could pin it down. A wave of guilt washed over her.

Maybe she should be embracing him. Maybe she shouldn’t be so cautious around him. Maybe she should ignore all the questions pummeling her.

But she couldn’t.

“Who is that?” Christian asked, his voice low as he nodded toward their visitor.

Wren turned back to the car. She didn’t recognize it. “I don’t know.”

“Were you expecting anyone?” Marlowe asked.

“Not me,” Wren said.

They all stared, almost as if each of them expected bad news.

The driver’s door opened. A tall, well-dressed man climbed out, his suit jacket draped across his arm. He looked up with mild uncertainty as he studied the small crowd gathered on the porch.

Behind them, the screen door banged open, and Nora stepped outside. “Jacob . . .”

Jacob? Wren mused. Who was Jacob?

Nora hurried toward the man, touched his arm, and murmured something to him.

Then she turned toward the others with a rueful smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Everyone, I’d like you to meet my boyfriend.”

Chapter

Twenty-Three

Wren blinked in surprise. Her boyfriend? Why hadn’t Nora ever mentioned him before?

“I’m Jacob Morgan,” he started. “Sorry to surprise you.”

“These are my sisters, Wren and Marlowe,” Nora said, gesturing toward them. “Jacob and I had lunch plans, but with everything that’s happened, it slipped my mind.”

“Not a problem. It looks like you have a lot going on, so I won’t stay.” Jacob patted Nora’s hand on his arm. “I’ll call you later.”

Nora nodded. “Sounds good.”

He nodded at the crowd of onlookers on the porch. “Good to meet you all.”

“You too,” Wren murmured.

Just as quickly as he’d arrived, he was gone.