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As her tears became sniffles and hiccups, he glanced at the bus that remained idling. The other had already pulled out. Everyone at the event would probably need counseling after watching someone fall from a zip line, likely to their death. Next to the bus, a grim-faced Nora glanced at him, then climbed up into the bus. It shifted gears.

Mackenzie eased back from his arms and then stepped away. She swiped at her wet cheeks and red-rimmed eyes. “I need to go. The bus is going to leave without me.”

She turned to dash away. He snagged her wrist. “Mackenzie, I’m taking you.”

Angling back to him, she blinked up at him. “I should stay with the group. I could ... I could learn something.”

Not in your current state of mind.He stepped closer and leaned in. “Mackenzie, I’ll take you home.”

“Home?”

“I made arrangements for you to stay at Stone Wolf Ranch at one of their new cabins. It’ll be safe there.”

She swiped at her eyes again, shoving her thick brown hair back behind her ears as the wind picked up and blew the strands across her face. “My stuff is back at Hanstech, so let’s stop there first.”

They started for his car, but she veered away from him and toward the viewpoint. He kept pace with her, his hand ready to grab her, steady her, if needed. She stopped at the edge of the canyon and glanced down, a little too close for comfort.

“What are you doing?” He gently took her hand and pulled her back from the edge a few steps.

“I need some space. I need to think.”

He gave her a few moments.

When she finally looked at him, he could see the gears tumbling in her head. She glanced around them. “Let’s get out of here.”

Once they were inside the car and buckled in, he maneuvered around the emergency vehicles and steered over the bumpy unpaved road to the farm road, then connected with the long driveway into Hanstech. The spring storm had blown in cooler air, so he flipped on the heat. At the Hanstech facility, employees spilled out of the buses, some heading back into the building and others directly to their cars. Alex left his cell in the car so he wouldn’t have to hand it off and received a visitor’s badge from the security guard at the front desk so he could accompany Mackenzie into the building. They stopped by her office to get her briefcase containing her laptop, then headed to the lockers near the women’s showers where he waited outside the door while she grabbed her purse and clothes.

They didn’t converse but moved in silence through all the tasks. At the front desk, she retrieved her cell phone. She said nothing as he drove the twenty minutes to Stone Wolf Ranch. He didn’t want to question her or push her for information. She needed space to process the events of this afternoon, but Alex had a feeling she knew something she wasn’t sharing.

What was new?

He switched on the radio, and Paul Simon sang “Kodachrome”—a happy, upbeat song to hopefully lift their moods. But somehow, even Paul Simon wasn’t changing the atmosphere in the car.

Raindrops appeared on the windshield as he turned onto the drive that would take them to Stone Wolf Ranch. Instead of driving toward the main house, he took a small road through the woods to the new cabins in the back.

She shifted in the seat, and he could feel the tension rolling off her. “Where are you taking me?”

She didn’t trust him? “Terra’s grandfather is adding guest cabins in the back for those who have a long drive or come from too far to make the drive in a day. They can stay for a week or more at a time.”

He sounded like a regular infomercial. Alex parked in front of the quaint cedar log cabin, shut off the car, then turned toward her and took in her grim features. He hated seeing her like this.

Lord, hasn’t she been through enough already? Please help me keep her safe.

“The cabin is all set for you to stay here.”

She sat quietly for a moment, just staring straight ahead. “Thank you. For everything. I ... I didn’t think when I asked for your help that ... I thought that, well, you kind of speak my language. You know what I mean usually when I’m talking about cybersecurity issues. And you have the resources and—”

“It’s okay, Mackenzie. I know why you asked, and I’m glad you did. And in fact, I have more resources than you probably thought.” He gestured at the cabin. This opportunity had surprised him as well. “God was looking out for you.”

“You mean the cabin?”

“I do. Are you ready to go inside? Or do you want to wait out the rain?”

In answer, she shoved open the door and ran to the front porch. He jumped out and caught up. They were soaking wet by the time they made it under the covered porch.

Soaking wet and cold.

He dug around in his pocket and held up the key for her. If she unlocked the door, she would feel more in control. More at home. She snatched the key and then tried to unlock the door, but her fingers kept slipping.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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