Kirra shut off the hose, lifting a bowl of water and carrying it to Rex’s stall.
“It’s because she’s the only one who can keep up with him.”
Rex ignored the water, his gaze fastened on Kayden.
“I’m going to drop by around six tomorrow morning instead of seven.”
Kirra smiled. “Got plans?”
“Going climbing.”
Carol shook her head. “I don’t know how you get up the nerve for that. Seems so dangerous.”
“It’s all part of the fun.”
“Danger is fun?” Kirra furrowed her delicate brow.
“I prefer to look at it as adventure.” Kayden grabbed Rex’s leash from the wall.
“A girl who likes danger,” Carol said, wiping her hands on a towel. “That’s kind of like playing with fire.”
“Eventually you get burned,” Kirra said with an unexpected heaviness.
“Have you gotten burned?” Kayden asked, sounding more like her overly curious sister than herself, but Kirra intrigued her. Something had happened while she was in vet school, something that changed her. Kirra never spoke about it, but she had come back from her final semester different.
Kirra smiled sadly, but otherwise ignored the question. She let Rex out of his stall, and he came bounding to Kayden’s side. “You better get going. Rex is more than ready for his run.”
“Sure.” Kayden snapped his leash on. In the mornings she let him run free, but at night, back in the woods, it was important to stay on the path. “Sorry if I—”
Kirra held up a hand. “No worries. Have a nice run.” She turned and headed for the barn office.
She’d pried where she shouldn’t have. “Clearly I’ve been spending too much time around Piper.”
“Her curious nature is wearing off on you?” Carol smiled.
“Did I mention she was curious?”
Carol laughed. “Only a dozen times.”
“Well, I just stuck my nose where it didn’t belong.”
“Yeah.” Carol glanced back at the small office Kirra had set up in the barn. “That one likes to keep things close to the chest.”
“People say that about me.”
“Really? I haven’t found that to be true.”
Probably because Carol was so easy to talk to—sort of like the aunt she’d never had.
Rex pawed the ground with a grunt.
“I hear you,” Kayden said with a laugh. “See you later, Carol.”
“’Bye now.” Carol waved as Kayden and Rex broke into a run, racing across the paddock and into the woods.
She loved to run. Had been at it ever since her dad’s heart attack. It was her way to get away from it all. Just her and her heart hammering in her chest, her breath coming in short, even bursts. But then her mom had died, and her runs had shifted. She’d start out fine, but within minutes tears would fill her eyes, making the world around her hazy, which in a weird way felt right, because everything around her felt off-kilter . . . in upheaval. In the days and weeks after her precious mom’s death, she’d run until her tears were so thick she could barely see.
Now she ran because it kept her fit, in control of her health, and still provided her some time alone, where she could allow herself to feel, to cry, to scream, or simply smile, as she was doing right now.
She’d said yes to Jake. Tomorrow, for the first time since he’d entered her life, the two of them would be alone just for the fun of it. She’d tried to make her response casual, like it was no big deal, but it was. It was huge. She shouldn’t have said yes, but she couldn’t help herself. She craved time with the man.
Forty minutes later, Rex broke through the tree line, and she followed—her heart racing, her pulse elevated, sweat clinging to her skin, her lungs pumping out air. She felt so alive.
“Good run?” Kirra asked, as a flash of light swished across Kayden’s eyes.
That added an extra little jump to her heart.
“Sorry.” Kirra stood less than ten feet away. “Didn’t mean to startle you. Carol mentioned a loose board out here, and I wanted to check it out before I forgot.”
“No problem.” Kayden paced back and forth, giving her heart time to slow down. “Hey, about earlier. I—”
“Don’t mention it.” Kirra hammered in the nail.
She nodded, wishing she’d kept her mouth shut. “You need any help with that?”
“Nope.” Kirra slid the hammer into her belt loop. “All done.”
She moved in step with Kayden as they followed Rex back to the barn. The husky’s pace was more a lope than the usual gallop.
“Looks like you may actually have worn Rex out.”
Kayden laughed. “I think it’s the other way around.”
“Kayden!” a male voice hollered.
She squinted toward the parking lot. “Reef?”
26
Reef rushed toward the barn. Was that Rori in his arms?
“What’s wrong, Reef?” She raced toward them, Kirra at her side. “What happened?”
“We were hiking. Rori latched on to something and took off.”
“You didn’t have her on her leash?”
“Piper said your vet was here?”
“I’m the vet,” Kirra said. “Let’s get her into an exam room.”
“Unless we’re on our property and she’s used to the smells, Rori always has to be on the leash,” Kayden said as they moved for the vet clinic doors. “Piper should have told you that.”
“She did, but Rori looked miserable.”
“She wasn’t miserable. She was just pouting. You ignore her and she gets over it.”
“I’m so sorry.”
She just prayed Rori was okay. It was too dark to see the extent of her injuries.
“In here.” Kirra unlocked the office building, switching on the lights as she led them back to an exam room.
Rori was bleeding, a lot. Kayden couldn’t tell if it was her leg or paw. She whimpered as Reef laid her on the exam table.
She fought the urge to call Reef irresponsible, because it was plain from his pained expression that he already felt awful.
Kirra bent over, examining Rori.
“What’s wrong with her, Kirra?” Kayden asked impatiently.
She looked up at Reef, her frustration and displeasure evident.
Reef’s eyes narrowed. “Kirra . . . Jacobs?”
“Hello, Reef. I see you haven’t changed. Still your irresponsible, reckless self.”
Kirra had loved and cared for Rori since she was a pup. It was no surprise her hackles had risen at Reef, but what she didn’t understand was how much Reef had changed and was changing still.
“I could say the same about you,” he countered. “Still judgmental, I see.”
She opened her mouth to argue.
“Seriously?” Kayden said, needing to nip their spat in the bud.
“Reef?”
Kayden turned to find Anna—no more than five foot tall, slender, and blond—standing in the doorway, her T-shirt splattered with Rori’s blood. “Is she okay?”
“She will be,” Kirra responded.
Anna rubbed her arms. “Can we go back to the house now?” she asked.
“I’d like to stay until Rori’s fixed up.”
“Typical Reef.” Kirra shook her head. “Always expecting an easy fix.”
Reef’s shoulders tightened. “We haven’t seen each other in, what . . . like seven years. I’m not the same person I used to be.”
“Uh-huh.” Kirra used gauze to soak up the blood oozing from Rori’s paw. “The evidence would suggest otherwise.”
“Reef?” Anna said, more whine in her tone this time.
“Here, take my car.” He handed her the keys. “Make a right out of the driveway, and it’s a straight shot back to the house.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. It’s been a long day. Head on back. Get a hot shower and something to eat.”
“We saved some lasagna
for you,” Kayden said.
“I’ll be back as soon as we’re done here,” he promised.
“Okay.” She pressed a kiss to his cheek and turned to leave without another word.
For the next half hour Kirra worked on Rori with love and expertise, cleansing, suturing, and bandaging her torn paw and then setting her leg. “I think it’d be best if you left Rori with me for a couple days. Just to help keep her comfortable and her leg immobile.”
“Piper will—”
“Hate the idea,” she said from the doorway.
Kayden spun around. “Piper, what are you doing here?”
“I’m here for Rori.” She stepped to the table, tears in her eyes. “Is she going to be okay?”
Kirra rested a reassuring hand on Piper’s shoulder. “She’s going to be just fine.”
Though loath to do so, Reef had to admit Kirra Jacobs was impressive.
She had taken great pleasure in torturing him through grade school, middle school, and even on into high school. She was a goody-goody and so judgmental. Clearly not much had changed—other than losing her knobby knees and braces and growing into a beautiful woman.
Kayden was talking with Piper in the hall, leaving him and Kirra alone in the exam room.
He felt horrendous for not listening to Piper and then seeing Rori get hurt because of his stupid mistake. He was surprised Kayden had not reamed him out, even though he deserved it. Kirra had, of course, leapt at the chance—but he was thankful for her skill. “You did good,” he said, the words surprisingly not that hard to say.
“Thanks.” Kirra turned off the faucet and dried her hands. “Look, Reef, I’m sorry if I was—”
“Harsh?”
She smiled. “Yes, harsh, but I hate seeing an injured animal, and if the injury was preventable, it’s extremely frustrating.”
“I didn’t mean for Rori to get hurt.”
“Of course you didn’t, but if you’d listened to Piper . . .”
“Believe me, I know.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“No. What?” She clearly had something to say. Kirra Jacobs always had something to say.
“It’s just, when you’d get caught at something at school, you were quick to apologize, but . . .”
“But?”
“You lacked sincerity and follow-through.”
“So you’re trying to figure out if I’m really sorry or if I’m just feeding you a line.”
Kirra didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to. That was exactly what she thought.
Jake tossed on his bunk in the trawler’s master cabin. He’d called the old boat home for close to a year now, and it was his haven. The water in the harbor was calm tonight, just a gentle lulling. If only he felt as calm on the inside. His heart hadn’t stopped hammering since Kayden said yes to his offer to accompany her on her climb.
It wasn’t an official date, but it was the two of them alone for the first time just for fun—no work and no case. Just them.
His palms were already clammy, and he still had six hours before Kayden picked him up, but all he could think of was her.
27
After a quick stop at Nanook Haven to check on a recovering Rori and help with morning chores, Kayden pulled up to the harbor for Jake a little after seven. He stood waiting for her with a cooler in hand at the end of the pier, the sun rising in the sky behind him. It was full and orange and promised a beautiful day. She needed a beautiful day—one free of killers and creepy messages. Shane Tate was behind bars, and their investigation had concluded, so why didn’t she feel more at ease?
She stopped her SUV, leaned over, and opened the passenger door for Jake. “What’s that?” She gestured to the cooler.
He lifted it up with a smile. “I packed us some food.”
“That was thoughtful.” All she’d brought was bottled water and a protein bar.
“I figured we’ll need to eat at some point.” He shrugged a shoulder, much as she had last night when he’d offered to accompany her on the climb. “Thought I’d carry it in my pack and we could eat at the summit.”
“Like a picnic?” She’d seen Piper go on several romantic picnics and had secretly yearned to be taken on one. It was silly and a tad cliché, but it was something she’d always wanted to do. However, the few men she’d dated had been far too practical for picnics. Practical she liked, but lack of imagination, not so much.
“If you’d prefer to eat in the truck, we can,” he said at her prolonged silence.
She waited while he climbed in the 4Runner beside her, placing the cooler in the backseat. “No, a picnic sounds nice.”
“Yeah?” he said with a hint of surprise.
“Yeah.”
The temperature was only going to make it up into the low sixties, which made for a perfect climbing day. The sky was clear, and though there was a chance of rain showers in the evening, they’d come through long after the climb was done. They were headed for the far side of the mountain range to an isolated area she enjoyed. While she wasn’t positive that isolation was a good thing, she refused to care. She was going to enjoy the day in Jake’s company and let everything else fade away for a few hours. It was frighteningly freeing.
“So how does it feel to have solved your first case back in the saddle?” she asked as they hiked from the trailhead to the base of the climb.
Back in the saddle? Was he really back? He’d told Landon it was one case and one case only, but he had to admit it felt good being in law enforcement. Felt exhilarating and right doing what he’d been born to do. And it felt even better with Kayden at his side. Could he really start fresh? Become a cop again? Pursue a relationship with the woman his heart beat for?
God redeemed, renewed—he’d seen it, witnessed it in Gage in particular—so maybe the same hope awaited him, but the possibility seemed too good to be true.
The sun was warm on his skin, the air fresh. So far they hadn’t passed anyone and no other vehicles had been parked in the lot. Maybe they’d have the climb to themselves today. The thought thrilled him. Kayden, of course, would be free-climbing, but for this 5.7 route, he’d be on belay. New as he was, safety had to come first. Kayden had been training and climbing for years. He couldn’t just jump in at her level. In fact, he’d probably never reach her level, but he liked sharing in something she loved so ardently. It made him more a part of her world, and he treasured that.
They reached the cliff base in under an hour and found they had it all to themselves.
Kayden fitted her harness around her waist. “I’ll climb up first and belay you from the top.”
He nodded. He had no complaints about getting to sit back and watch her climb. She was amazing—an exquisite combination of strength, agility, and grace. She took his breath away.
She coiled the rope she’d use to top-belay him, secured it to her harness, and smiled at him, sending warmth through his limbs. “See you at the top.”
“Have a good climb.” He winked and sat back to watch.
Finding her first foothold, she pushed up, grabbing a notch in the rock and moving swiftly from foothold to foothold, using her arm strength only when necessary. She reached an overhang, and he temporarily lost sight of her.
He waited, his eyes fixed on the granite face, and when she appeared atop the overhang, the anxiety in his chest loosened momentarily, until a rumble sounded overhead. His chest seized, his eyes widening in horror at the rockslide headed straight for Kayden. He screamed her name, scrambling up the rocks.
She disappeared beneath the rocks as they bounced on the ledge. A few plunged toward him, but he avoided them.
Please keep her on the ledge. The hundred-foot drop would kill her for certain.
He scrambled up the face, twenty feet to the right of Kayden’s climb route, to find a less difficult ascent. He prayed the rocks hadn’t crushed her, prayed he would make it up to help her.
Father, I know even thi
s route is beyond me. Please intervene and give me the ability to climb it. Please let me reach Kayden. Don’t leave her alone on that ledge.
He worked to push off his feet, letting his legs do most of the work, as Kayden had taught him, scrambling up the cliff as quickly as possible—the worst scenarios racing through his mind and heart.
Please let me reach her in time. Please let her be okay.
He couldn’t fail another woman he loved, couldn’t lose Kayden.
His breath came in powerful bursts, his muscles hot with exertion. He finally crested the ledge and saw her—a crumpled heap. Her right leg was pinned beneath a small boulder, her forehead bleeding, her chest . . .
He held his breath, watching for hers to lift.
After a terrifying second, he saw it—her chest rising and falling. She was breathing. Praise God.
She moaned and he raced to her side. “I’m here, honey. I’m here. I’m going to get you out of this. I promise.”
Reef knocked on his old bedroom door. Anna had not left the room all morning.
“Come in,” she called.
He stepped inside to find her packing her suitcase. “What are you doing?”
She slipped a folded pile of shirts inside. “Going home.”
“What? Why? We aren’t supposed to leave until the end of the week. Are you sick?” Maybe that’s why she hadn’t come down to breakfast.
“No.”
“Then why are you packing?” He couldn’t say leaving. She couldn’t be leaving. Things were going so well. Okay, to be honest, things were going adequately, but that was all right. Relationships took work, took commitment. Isn’t that what Pastor Braden had said at Cole and Bailey’s wedding?
Anna released a long breath and turned to face him. “I just don’t see any point in prolonging the inevitable.”
Reef leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms. He recognized the certainty in her manner, in her tone—because he’d been the one to do the leaving more times than he could count. But this was different. Anna was different. He didn’t think good Christian girls just up and walked away. “What’s inevitable?”
“You and I are not going to work out.” She shut her suitcase.