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He tilted his head as he thought a moment, and when he spoke, his voice was resolute. “Find answers when the police can’t.”
She thought of his car getting vandalized that morning. She wasn’t the only one who didn’t want him there. But who knew he was back? She buckled her seatbelt and leaned her head against the seat, thankful to be finally going home.
“Are you okay?”
His blue eyes met hers, reached deep inside her heart, and gave it a good tweak. “I’m not sure. The problem is, until this is resolved, we’re going to be working together a lot.”
“True.”
“I can’t work with someone who I don’t trust has my back.”
Clearly insulted, his eyes widened. “That seems like a personal problem. I’ve given you no reason not to trust me. I have your back. Nothing will happen to you while I’m around.”
But you’re not always around, are you?She shook the thought away.
He turned his face away to look out the window, his nervous energy palpable as he fidgeted his fingers on the seam of his jeans. “I know we left things unfinished.”
She cocked a brow.Left things unfinished?“That’s not exactly how I would put it.”
“Listen, the night my dad died was extremely volatile. Sheriff Donovan gave us an out, leave then and join the armed services or go to jail. We left.”
“Did he tell you that, or Aiden?”
“At this point, it doesn’t matter.”
“No, it doesn’t. The point is you didn’t tell me. Anything.”
“I know, and for that I’m sorry. Can we just put the past behind us and move forward? Trust me, you were better off cutting your ties and having no further involvement with the McKenzie family.” He started the engine.
Jacquie scoffed, echoes of the old hurt creeping into her tone as she replied, “You know, Chase, that’s the first thing you’ve said to me since you returned that I believe.”
8
Chase was still reelingfrom coming back upstairs to find Jacquie asleep on Sylvia’s bed. The bruises on her face were starting to darken and turn various shades of yellow, and the large gash on her forehead looked stark against the too-white skin. She shouldn’t be working.
He wanted to call Josh and chew him out. What was he thinking? She almost died. She shouldn’t be working the case, but he didn’t. While she’d slept, he’d pushed a curl back from her forehead, the tips of his fingers gently brushing her skin, then she opened those beautiful brown eyes and stared at him. Her gaze narrowing, growing sharp.
He drove the car in silence back to her father’s house, trying not to think about how many times he’d made this trip with her in the passenger’s seat of his car. She was all he’d thought about for years, but he had to leave her behind and push her out of his system, for both their sakes. He never thought he’d see her again, never thought he’d be back in Granite Falls.
Her curls blew out the cracked window as she leaned her head against the door. She was tired, and grumpy. He needed to get her home and into bed before she collapsed. He wondered if her room still looked the same and felt a familiar tightening in his chest.
He pushed the feelings down deep. Their time together was ancient history. They were kids, and there was no going back.Only forward. Besides, she lived in Granite Falls, a place he never wanted to return to. He wouldn’t even be here now if he’d had the choice.
He turned his thoughts to the picture of Aiden and Sylvia that she’d taken from Sylvia’s room. Aiden looked the same as the day he’d left the Army, his hair high and tight, his face clean-shaven. How long had he been in town? If he’d been here all this time, why hadn’t he called Mom?
Chase turned down the long gravel drive, winding through pasture land that led to the Big Stone Ranch where Jacquie lived. He had always been in awe of this ranch, how large it was, how different it was from the old house he grew up in on the wrong side of town.
“Are you staying in the main house?” The impressive white mansion with its soaring columns and long sweeping porch sat at the end of the road. There were several outbuildings and other smaller living quarters for staff. Any one of them was nicer than the house he’d grown up in. She’d been way out of his league. Then. He’d come to terms with their differences a long time ago, but Aiden never had, and he’d harassed him about it relentlessly. Maybe that was why Jacquie didn’t trust him, maybe she’d seen a different side of him all those years ago.
She nodded. “For now. I’ve only been back a couple weeks, so it’s been easier to stay here until I decide what I’m going to do and where I’m going to live.” Her voice was thin, almost distant. “Josh lives in one of the small cottages on the property. He’s not home much so it works out great for him.”
“I heard you were a detective in Raleigh? What made you decide to come home?”
“I needed a change.”
Chase got the distinct impression there was way more to it than that, but it would have to do for now. They passed cows grazing and horses working in a ring.“It’s a beautiful place. I could see why you’d want to stay.”
“It is nice to be back. I’ve missed the smell of the mountains. Not to mention it’s been great to be around my family again.”
