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“Would you tell us if you weren’t?”
He grinned. “Probably not. That’s only because I want to protect you like an older brother.”
“I have an older brother.”
His grin dropped. “Yeah, well, he wasn’t really around for you when you needed him.”
Terra fought the retort as hurt and anger flashed through her.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.” He shifted closer. “Look, Terra, I’m worried about you. You’re involved in a big investigation. You’re close to the memorial geographically, and your mother’s plaque suffered the most. What if it’s somehow related?”
“Is that all?” She braced herself.
“You know it’s not. Jack Tanner is back in your life. It tore me up the way he hurt you.” He swiped his hand over his face. “I mean, do I need to quit my job and move back here to make sure he doesn’t hurt you again?”
That brought a chuckle, despite his serious tone. “You don’t need to worry about me and Jack. There’s nothing going on between us.”
He studied her long and hard. “I’m not convinced.”
“He’s different. Something happened to him, and it changed him somehow. I’m still trying to figure things out. Don’t worry about me. But as for you, young man, I want to hear from you in a few days. Call me and tell me what’s really going on in your life.”
He sighed. “I might just take you up on that.”
Alex leaned in to kiss her on the cheek, and she gave him a big hug. At least the evening had ended on a good note. Terra felt like she’d reconnected with Alex, who had seemed somehow distant the whole evening until the last few moments.
After he left, she cleaned up the mess and washed out the few dishes in the sink as she considered Alex’s words about the vandalized memorial. Her mind shifted to Jim and Neva, and the devastated forest around the cabin.
A creak startled her. She whirled and caught Owen standing in the kitchen, watching her.
She exhaled with relief. Terra smiled and folded the dish towel. “When did you get back?”
“A long time ago. Gramps told me about the memorial.”
Terra dropped her gaze and shook her head. “It’s just crazy, the things people do these days. They’ll just have to rebuild it and set up some cameras or something. I don’t know anymore.”
Arms crossed, Owen continued to watch her but said nothing more.
“You got home a long time ago?” Terra asked. “I thought you were going out with Leif.”
“He canceled on me.”
“That’s too bad. You could have come to dinner with us, though it wasn’t much of a dinner since Jack showed up to give us the news.”
“So I heard.”
“Uh ... Owen, why didn’t you just come out and visit?”
“That’s your circle, Terra. Your best friends. I wasn’t around for you back then. I’m sorry I wasn’t, since it turned out that Dad wasn’t either.”
Owen seemed in a dark mood tonight. She wasn’t that familiar with this side of him, and it could be that he developed this mood while he was in a foreign land. She didn’t know. But she did know that she didn’t like it and wasn’t sure what to do with it.
“It’s okay, Owen. We’re all grown up now. It’s all good, especially now that you’re here.” She approached and gave him a quick hug. “I’m heading to bed. I have a lot to get done tomorrow.”
She paused in the hall and turned back. “About Leif. How well do you know him anyway?” She instantly regretted the question. This wasn’t the time to ask.
“You could say that he’s my best friend, since he saved my life. On a mission, our Apache got shot up, along with my leg. I lost consciousness. He used the autorotation maneuver to land the helo and got us both out. I owe him everything.”
Owen turned from her then, as if talking about what happened dredged up an unwanted memory.
