AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Don’t do that. Not yet,” Owen cautioned. “We can’t take the chance of spooking Jude, not until we know what his game is and how he’ll react. And if he is working with Wilson, we need to find out what his angle is before he figures out we’re onto him. Sophie and I’ll work on a plan and get back to you. Watch yourself, though.”
“Will do. I’ll sit tight until I hear from you.” Micky ended the call.
“I can’t believe this. Jude’s dirty? That doesn’t seem possible.” She looked gutted as she collapsed onto the loveseat. “He’s helped me so much, guided my career. It’s just not possible.”
Owen saw it differently—but then, he had no respect for her editor after the way Jude had treated Sophie’s investigation. “It would explain why he wouldn’t publish your article and why he keeps asking where you are.”
“You can’t think…?”
He saw the moment it sank in that Jude had wanted her location so he could turn it over to Wilson. The expression on her face turned devastated. He walked to where she sat, meaning to give her some comfort. Take her hand, rub her shoulders. Something. But she anticipated his action and waved him away.
His gut twisted as he realized that he was probably the last person she wanted next to her after what had just transpired between them. It must feel to her like there was no one in her corner. No one she could trust or rely on.
“I’ll call Ethan and give him an update. He might have some good advice on how to move forward.” Owen needed to talk this out with someone because he was torn between two choices—drive directly to the newspaper office and confront Jude or put Sophie in his truck and get her out of the state. He had to keep in mind that anything he did could come back on others.
“Ask him not to tell Helen,” Sophie said. “She’ll only worry more about her dad and the danger he’s putting himself in.”
“I’ll do that.” He could see the stress mounting in her. “Soph, it’ll be okay.”
“Will it?” She turned away and focused on her laptop.
He stood there unsure of what to do, how he could make this better for her—if such a thing was possible. She didn’t know who to trust anymore, and he hadn’t helped. They’d built a bond of sorts between them, but he’d destroyed that by putting an end to even a conversation about their relationship.
He hadn’t known what else to do. Still didn’t. So he walked outside to call Ethan.
TWENTY-EIGHT
Sophie stepped out on the cabin’s porch to get her bearings the next morning. A night’s sleep hadn’t done anything to brighten her perspective. Everything was still a mess. Her story was in the dumpster, her editor had betrayed her, and Owen…
She sat down on the porch. Owen had…retreated from her, from them. After that, she didn’t feel like she could stand to be in the small cabin with him. He’d gone out early to run and was in the shower. She didn’t want to be there when he came out.
So she was sitting on the porch and realized that she hadn’t done that enough while at the retreat. She hadn’t enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere. Patches of sunshine filtered through the trees and a light breeze was blowing. As she watched, Luna came from the main lodge and made her way toward Sophie.
“Hey, girlfriend,” Luna said and sat next to Sophie on the porch. “You okay?”
“Fine,” Sophie responded too quickly.
“Everyone else has checked out. The last couple left early this morning.”
“When does the next retreat begin?” Sophie asked.
“In two weeks. I wanted time to debrief with the staff before a new group comes in to see what we need to change.”
“Nothing from what I could see,” Sophie said. “It went great. I think some marriages were saved this week and some romances rekindled.” She was happy for her friend’s success and expected that Luna’s retreat would become a popular destination for couples needing to reconnect.
“I hope so.” Luna angled herself toward Sophie. “I’m sorry about the last activity. I saw how upset you were when you left the lodge. I shouldn’t have pushed you to do something you weren’t ready for.”
Sophie couldn’t speak for a moment. She had a lump in her throat just thinking about the fight that had followed that activity. But none of that was Luna’s fault. “It’s okay. It…it forced me to have that open and honest conversation with Owen that you advised.” That was all Sophie got out before the tears came.
She’d refused to cry in front of Owen after their fight, so she’d pushed the tears down deep. They all came bubbling up now. Luna’s kind words had broken the control she’d been exerting over herself since the evening before.
“Oh, sweetie.” Luna managed to pull her into a hug and produce a tissue at the same time. Her friend knew to let her cry it out. When she was mopping up the last of her tears, Luna spoke again. “I’ve only seen you cry once. Do you remember sophomore year?”
Sophie gave a shaky sigh. “I’d gotten a C on a paper and was afraid I’d lose my journalism scholarship. I have cried a few times since, you know.” Not often, though, and always when she was alone.
“You and Owen broke up, then?” Luna asked gently.
“We were never really together, but I did put it all on the line…and he walked away.” She swallowed down one last sob. “He told me that there’s no point talking about our future.”
