Coming Home (The Santa Monica Trilogy Book 2) by Jill Blake

Author:Jill Blake [Blake, Jill]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-11-20T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

“Doing okay?” Logan asked.

They had been climbing the dirt trail toward Temescal Ridge for the past forty minutes, the silence broken only by their heavy breathing and the chatter of other hikers along the way.

Grace swept aside strands of hair that stuck to her forehead. “Fine. I’d forgotten how much of a workout this is.”

“Skull Rock is up ahead. Good place to take a break, if you want.”

Taking a break meant conversation, and she wasn’t sure she was ready for that. She’d had to sneak out the back way this morning, cutting across the golf course, in order to avoid a few straggling reporters who were still staking out the front of the house. Thankfully Logan hadn’t pressed her on why she’d asked him to pick her up from the country club. Nor had he commented on the dark circles beneath her eyes. But she had felt his assessing gaze several times during the drive up Sunset Boulevard, and again as they pulled into the parking lot.

She paused long enough to drink some water before slipping the bottle back into her waist pack. “Let’s keep going. Unless you need a break?”

He grinned. “You underestimate my stamina.”

She flushed, glad for distraction of a family with several children trooping past them.

It wasn’t until they began their descent from the summit that Logan spoke again. “Harry’s suicide is all over the news this morning.”

“I know.” Grace shaded her eyes, wishing she hadn’t forgotten her baseball cap at home. There had been sufficient tree cover on the way up, but this last part of the loop was all open trail, surrounded by mountain brush baked brown by the sun. She took a few moments to admire the panorama of blue-gray water and oceanfront stretching all the way from Malibu to Palos Verdes.

Logan ignored the view, focusing instead on her. “They’re saying he killed himself because he had something to hide.”

“He was bipolar, Logan. This wasn’t the first time he tried to commit suicide.”

“Yes, but this time he succeeded. It’s raised a lot of questions about who knew what, when.”

She started walking again. “So?”

“It doesn’t bother you?” He clambered after her. “That your name is being raked through the mud, right along with his?”

Her nostrils flared. “Does it bother you?”

“Hell, yes.”

“Then ignore it. Turn off the TV. Stop reading the papers. The press is fickle. They’ll glom onto the next big story as soon as some d-list celebrity releases a sex video or gets busted for DUI.”

“I don’t see how you can be so blasé about it.”

“You forget I’ve been through this before.”

He sighed. “I’m sorry.”

“Life goes on, Logan.”

“Yes.” He offered her a hand over an uneven rock formation. “I can call my sister Angie, if you want. She’s a lawyer. Maybe she’ll have some ideas on how to make it all go away sooner.”

“I know you mean well, Logan. But trust me on this. The best thing to do is to simply ignore it.”

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