“I have no man, Jame. No deal. But I’m so, so happy for you.” And she was. Even if her heart felt a little heavier for it.
“Did you tell him about the lights?” Hannah asked from the cheap seats.
Jaime shifted, sitting up so tall his head nearly brushed the roof. His gaze swept over her, leaving a warning buzz of guilt in its wake. “Lights?”
“And the note. And the flowers.” Hannah cracked a knuckle, a horrible habit Fontanadesperatelywanted her to break. Crack. Crack. Crack. “Sounds like she’s got a man to me. Whether she wants him or not. The two of them, you should see the goo-goo eyes. Way sad.”
Fontana listened to them debate her love life. How she stared into space at odd times. The bite on the nape of her neck. The sudden fixation with Billie Holiday. The new sheets on her bed.
She swung into the cottage’s drive, never having wanted to dump two occupants out on their nosy asses more. “You stay here. Fix dinner. I’ve got to pick up Kit in about?—”
Shock ripped the air from her lungs. The next few moments would stay with her forever, the last chapter of her and her father’s story. She would make sure of it.
She hit the brakes, snapping Jaime against his seatbelt. “Sweet Jesus, Tana!”
Popping into reverse, she roared back down the drive until they reached the main road, then slammed to a stop. “Get out. Go to the Rise. Call the police. John Nelson’s car is there if you need it. Keys on the blue knob in the kitchen. Have Mrs. Kendall, Weston’s mom, pick up Kit and take him to her house.”
Jaime turned to her, his expression lethal, all sugary sweetness wiped clean. “Was that his car? The Caravelle?” When Fontana didn’t answer fast enough, he slapped the dashboard, making her jump.
Hannah jammed her head between them. “What?Who?”
“The facility, no cars,” Fontana whispered, her heart bouncing off her ribcage. Her vision blurred with panic, but she wasn’t backing down. “But he always loved Caravelles.”
Jaime grasped her wrist. “I’m not leaving you here with him. No way, darling.”
She shook off his hold. “Hannah’s your only concern, you hear me? I knew he was going to come—someday, somehow—and I’m not letting him think there’s another chance. This ends today. It endsnow.”
“Tana—”
“I’ll wait until I see you’ve crossed the field. Sheriff Jackson can be here in minutes.” Before anyone arrived, though, she wanted to give her father his options.
Counsel that could only come from her.
When Jaime didn’t move, she shouted, “Go!”
Hannah had finally put it together—who was waiting at the cottage. Tears streamed down her face, her breath coming in ragged bursts, but she did exactly what Fontana told her: climbed out on Jaime’s side and took off across the field, moving as fast as her legs would go. She crossed her arms tightly over her chest and didn’t look back.
At least one of them understood what this meant.
Uncertain, Jaime hesitated as he reached the field, fury and purpose transforming him into a formidable man she almost didn’t recognize.Maybe this is how Dix sees him,Fontana thought with a rushed spurt of tenderness. “I’m calling Campbell right after I call the cops, you can plan on that, missy. And I’ll be at that cottage the moment—themoment—I have Hannah and Kit somewhere safe. This is simply the most, letting you…”
His voice trailed off as he tore through blackberry and black satin bushes and disappeared into the distance.
The setting sun was a flaming blister on the horizon, washing everything in a rosy-gold glow. Fontana took a second to appreciate the transformation as she drew a steadying breath.
“Just take care of my sister, Jame. I can do the rest,” she whispered, then popped the Jeep into drive. She smothered a hysterical laugh, and the absolute certainty that Campbell would be furious when he found out about this.
Only the two of them—she and the man who’d raised her—understood what it was like to be locked inthisbattle.
In the past few days, secluded and steeped in intense introspection about her almost-love, could-be-forever with Campbell, she’d come to understand something hard but true: if they were ever going to find each other for real, she had to face her past.
Maybe even more than he did.
Decision made, she jacked the gas pedal and tore down the drive.
She was done looking over her shoulder.
CAMPBELL
