Page 101 of Together Is Where We Belong

“Say bye to Nana and Papa and run to the den and tell your mom bye, bud,” I told Luke as I handed the backpack off to Carolina’s mom.

Luke ran over to the island and gave my parents each a hug and told them he’d be back tomorrow before he ran down the hall to the den.

“She doin’ okay?” her dad asked me with a worried expression.

“As okay as she can be. I’m hoping she’ll rest while he’s with y’all. Thank you for suggestin’ he go to your house. I’m goin’ to try to keep her mind occupied so she doesn’t feel the need to have him back home,” I told him.

“You don’t have to thank me, son. Thank you for savin’ my daughter. I’ll never be able to thank you and your family enough for figurin’ out where they were,” her dad said with tears in his eyes.

It was Ainsleigh who figured it out. I called her and asked her to check the recent reservations. Something in the back of my mind nagged at me that Mitchell had gotten into the clubhouse without an issue. She found a couple of reservations that stood out because the cabins only had one guest each, which was odd for this time of year, because they were usually only booked by families during the summer. When the sheriff arrived, he checked one of the cabins, but that person had checked out. Thankfully, we found them in the other cabin.

“No thanks needed,” I told him just as Luke came back into the room.

“I’m ready to go now,” he said as he looked up at his grandparents.

“Call us if you need us,” her mom said before she grabbed Luke’s hand. I told them to have a good night before I followed them to the front door and they walked out.

I closed the door and leaned against it. My head and heart were heavy with worry about Carolina. I was scared she was goin’ to want to leave again even though the threat was no longer an issue.

Pushing off the door, I went back to the den and found her curled up on the couch staring at nothing.

“You okay?” I asked knowing she was anything but, as I walked over and stood behind the couch.

She shook her head as she stared off.

“You want to go sit out by the pool and look at the stars?” I asked in hopes that I’d get her out of the house. Maybe some fresh night air would do her some good.

“We can,” she said as she slowly sat up. She raised her arms to stretch before she walked around the couch and out of the room with the blanket that had covered her tossed over her shoulder. I followed behind her as we walked through the kitchen and out the back door. My parents weren’t anywhere in the kitchen as they’d been moments ago.

The night air was still hot even though the sun had set. We likely wouldn’t need the blanket. But the stars did shine brightly above.

I followed her down the porch steps and over to the pool where she sat on the outdoor daybed that had a canopy above. I kicked off my tennis shoes before I laid down on the plush cushion beside her. Even though the air was hot, she covered herself with the blanket and curled it underneath her chin as she stared up at the sky with a sigh.

“It’s beautiful out here,” I said as I got comfortable.

“Yeah, it is,” she replied with a sigh as she laid her head on my shoulder.

She thought I was talking about the night sky above, but I wasn’t looking at the sky.

I was looking right over at her.

I rolled to my side just a little and looked down at where her head lay on my chest. I moved her hair off of her shoulder before I laid my hand on her waist.

She settled into me more as she continued to look above.

“You're safe here,” I reassured her with a whisper.

Her head nodded into my shoulder, but I needed to hear her words of understanding.

“You know that, right?”

“Yeah,” she said with a sigh as she moved her hand up and laid it just underneath her head.

“Anythin’ on your mind?”

“Just thinking,” she replied without elaborating.

“What about?” I pried.