Beauty in Hiding by Robin Patchen

Author:Robin Patchen [Patchen, Robin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: JDO Publishing

Chapter Twenty-One

Jack was having a hard time focusing. The day was beautiful, the sun was shining, the waves were crashing against the rocks across the street, but his mind was on the soft, chilled hand wrapped in his and the woman beside him.

They reached the edge of the road, and Harper looked behind them. “You sure he’ll be okay?”

Jack looked, too. Folks were congregated at the tables around the ice cream parlor soaking up the sun. “How far can he go?”

“What if he gets sick or something?”

Jack squeezed her hand. “He wanted to be alone.”

“I know.” She sighed and turned toward the street. At a break in traffic, they darted to the far side.

He climbed the rocks of the jetty before helping her up. When she was steady, they turned toward the sea and walked. She kept her hand in his.

The rocks on top were mostly flat, but Jack and Harper still had to be careful not to slip.

The wind whipped Harper’s hair, and she pushed it out of her face. He glimpsed the tiny cut on her forehead that she’d gotten a week earlier. It seemed to be healing well. Her bruises had faded completely.

He wanted to ask her about them, but Vanessa’s words reverberated in his ears. She didn’t trust him enough to tell him. Questioning her wouldn’t make that better.

They made it to the end of the jetty, where she stared out at the blue waves, at the rocky coastline to the north dotted with little cabins and giant mansions and hotels and ice cream stands and restaurants. To the south lay Hampton Beach and the boardwalk with its tourist shops and arcades and hotels and rental cabins.

“It’s so beautiful,” she said.

He forced his gaze away from her face to see what she was seeing. “It is.”

For a moment, she seemed as carefree as the seagulls cawing overhead.

She turned his direction and met his gaze. “I say this a lot.”

“What’s that?”

“Thank you.” She gestured to the scene surrounding them. “I needed this today.”

He shrugged. “Sure.”

“You’ve been a good friend to us.” She met his gaze, her blue eyes watery and sincere, her cheeks pink in the chilly wind, her hair blowing behind her like some sort of sea goddess. She seemed lost, alone in the world except for an old man who needed her. She was lonely, frightened, needy, and everything in him wanted to help. To give her everything she needed, everything he had.

“I’m sorry I’m so…” She looked back out to sea. “I should be a better friend. It’s been a hard transition.”

He stared at her silhouette and fought the urge to pull her to his chest, to hold her and tell her she could trust him. Waves of protectiveness and sheer desire washed over him. They lingered like salt after a dip in the ocean, seasoning his every thought. He swallowed, licked his lips. Touched her chin and urged her gaze back to his. Those eyes. He could dive into those eyes and stay forever.

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