Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense March 2021--Box Set 2 of 2 Dana Mentink (e books free to read TXT) 📖

He pressed his oar into the rocky, shallow water near the bank and helped leverage them onto dry ground. He hopped out before Nora could. “Allow me.” He pulled them farther up the bank and took a knee, so he could look right into Nora’s face.

Bobby had been right last night, even though Henry hadn’t been ready to admit it. He still owed Nora a real apology before they could ever move on. As colleagues. Friends would be too much to hope for given their past. But if he was going to keep her safe and solve the case, they needed to reach the point of trusting each other.

“I don’t want to argue with you, but I don’t think Zach is going to pull a gun on us. It’s probably not going to make any difference, but before we go up there I also need to tell you something.” He took a deep breath. Her wet bangs had started to dry, curling and framing her eyes, wide and searching his face. The past was in the past. This was simply sharing an analysis, but the words still caught in his throat. Why did he feel like he was about to put his heart in mortal danger?

CHAPTER EIGHT

Nora couldn’t wait to get out of the kayak, but she felt like a heavy weight had been placed on her chest, holding her back from moving as she waited for Henry to speak. She opened her mouth to press him but stopped. If this was the old Henry, the one she’d thought she was going to marry, then that look would’ve meant he was struggling to be vulnerable. Something shifted, though, in him ever since he had returned to the area as a law enforcement ranger.

Henry shook his head. “Like I said, it’s probably not going to make any difference.”

“Would it be okay if you let me decide that? What do you need to tell me?”

His eyebrows shot up and relaxed forcefully. “Well, the night I walked in on you holding…”

She wanted to interject by saying, A perfectly innocent substance, but bit her lip instead.

“What you didn’t know was the kind of day I had. I didn’t think it mattered back then, but I had just come back from my parents’. I was wanting my mother’s help in booking a…a trip.”

Nora’s cheeks heated as she observed Henry’s discomfort. A trip? Had he been about to book their honeymoon the night their relationship fell apart? She spotted the driver’s door of the deputy’s vehicle swing open on the rocky ridge above them. “Henry, I think Zach is starting to wonder if something’s wrong.”

He pressed a hand on his forehead. “The point is that my conversation with my parents didn’t go well. I thought they’d finally accepted my new career, but my dad launched into how much I’d disappointed him by not going to law school like the plan.” He blew out a breath. “And I’d had some feedback that day from my boss that wasn’t all good. So, when I showed up that night, I had certain expectations about what our interaction would be like and instead—”

“I think I can fill in the gaps.” Nora’s mouth fell open, imagining his state of mind that night. “You were trying to prove yourself.”

“I didn’t think that at the time, Nora. I convinced myself I was doing the right thing, by the book. And, if I’m being a hundred percent honest, I was hurt you hadn’t talked to me about your sister beforehand. I could see for myself Maya had been changing. In subtle ways at first, but…” He shook his head. “I thought we had laid the past to rest, but I realized I still owed you an apology for how I acted that night. And if we are going to work together like this then we need to properly put things to rest.” He stood and waved at Zach to indicate all was well. Zach seemed to understand the message to stay put. Henry reached out a hand and Nora accepted. She stood and stepped out of the kayak until they were a mere breath apart.

“You’re wrong,” Nora said. Her breathing grew shallow. “It does make a difference. I appreciate you telling me.” The breeze irritated her eyes and she blinked away the moisture threatening to appear. Allergies, probably. She hesitated, not sure she wanted to continue the conversation, but he’d put everything on the table, so she felt compelled to do the same. “You probably won’t believe me, but I didn’t see the way my sister was changing. Not really. When I had the feeling that something was off, I didn’t want to bring it to you. I knew you had enough on your plate.”

“You’ve never liked asking for my help.”

She stared at the ground and pulled her hand out of his. “We’d both stopped talking by then anyway. Grown apart. It wasn’t anyone’s fault.” She felt like she was back at the lodge parking lot, watching the line in his chin deepen as he looked away and told her the best course would be breaking up. This conversation was too similar for comfort. “Consider the matter laid to rest. We can put the personal history aside, work together and move on.”

That same hard frown returned. “I’m glad you didn’t let the matter go. I think I needed an excuse to bring up the things unsaid.” Henry cleared his throat. “For closure, too.”

“We really didn’t have each other’s backs when you think about it. Guess it’s good we broke up.” She offered a half-hearted laugh. “Zach is probably getting impatient.”

Henry seemed frozen, almost statue-like, as if fighting with himself how to respond. “He can wait. I want to make sure you hear me. I’m not talking about the past just for the sake of it. We need to trust each other now. Communicate. That’s the only way I’m going to keep you safe.”

The gunman seemed to grow in size in