Hope Unbroken (Unveiled Series Book 3) (10 page)

“I promise. Trey’s always there.” I rummaged through my purse for the pepper spray. “And I have backup, just in case.” I brandished the can and my best disarming smile.

His taut muscles gradually relaxed. Being overtired wasn’t helping matters.

“Listen, you can drive me into work each day, okay? But right now, you need to get some sleep.” I stretched over the console to kiss his cheek. “Love you.”

I lumbered out of the car into January’s frosty air, turned to offer one more nod, and dredged up the walkway. Riley didn’t leave until I unlocked my door.

Inside my apartment, I tossed my hat and bag on the couch.

“Hey.” Jaycee flittered into the room with a giant mug of something chocolatey snuggled between her hands. A quick once-over ended in a laugh. She flagged me into the kitchen. “C’mon, I’ll make you a cup. You look like you could use it.”

“That bad, huh?”

She pointed at my reflection in the microwave door. It was worse than I thought. Nothing short of an entire conditioner bottle would rescue me. Well, that, and maybe hot chocolate. The teakettle’s whistle convinced me to put off my shower a little longer.

I plopped down beside Jaycee at the kitchen table and blew into my mug. “Nice highlights, by the way.”

“Thanks.” She fluffed out her hair. “A little new-semester spruce.”

As if she ever needed an excuse to see her hairdresser.

“How was your break?”

I lowered my mug to the table. “Eventful.”

She raised a brow.

“I’ll fill you in later. What about you? I’m surprised to see you back this soon.”

“Yeah, I know. It was great to be home, but I felt like I needed to come back early, get my bearings.” She pushed away from the table and strode over to the kitchen counter. Whatever she wasn’t saying pulled at her shoulders.

“How’s your mom doing?”
Please don’t be bad news
.

She set her mug down and leaned both hands on the counter. “We got the test results back from her last appointment.”

My muscled tightened. All the possibilities of what could’ve been causing her mom’s health problems tore through my mind in one merciless push.

“She has Lupus.” Jaycee secured her mug in both hands again and inched around. “The doc put her on a strict diet. Said that and treatment should simulate a pretty normal life for her.”

Thank God.
My pent-up breath tumbled out.

Jaycee’s gaze bounced away from mine and rebounded off every square inch of the kitchen. “All the stuff going on with my mom got me thinking over the break.” Without finishing her thought, she pivoted to face the counter again. A second later, she spun back around and clamped her lips together like she was battling some inner war over whether to say whatever she was thinking. “Trev and I decided to move up the wedding to March. Spring break, actually.”

Once she’d finally blurted it out, she rushed over to the table and cupped my hand. “Listen, I know you and Riley have been thinking of getting married sooner too. We can try to plan both at the same time, but I didn’t want to interfere with—”

“Jae, I’d push mine back in a heartbeat for you.” I waved off her unwarranted concern. “Seriously, don’t give it another thought.” At the rate things were going, we’d have to hold off on ours, anyway, and planning Jaycee’s perfect day was much more important to her than mine was to me.

She practically drilled a hole into the table with her stare. “There’s one more thing.”

Did I want to know? I craned my head under hers, waiting.

“Trev made me promise to talk to you about it first. So, just hear me out.”

This couldn’t be good. “Okay, you’re kinda starting to freak me out now.”

She forced a smile and tossed her hands in the air. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Really? ‘Cause that nervous twitch of yours says otherwise.”

She snagged her half-emptied mug off the table and locked her fingers through the handle. The nervous energy channeled from her hands to her feet and propelled her into a back-and-forth pace across the kitchen floor.

“Trev and A. J. have become close friends over the last couple of years.”

“Ye-ah?” I dragged out the word.

“So, when it came time to start thinking about who to have in the wedding party, Trev really wanted A. J. to be the best man.”

“That’s what you’re all worked up about?” I hunched into the back of my chair. “Jae, it’s fine. Whatever happened between A. J. and me has nothing to do with your wedding.” I tossed a balled-up napkin at her. “Good grief, girl. You were starting to give me heart palpitations for a second, there.”

Her straight-faced expression cut off my laugh.

She downed the rest of her hot chocolate. “Since you’re the maid of honor, you’ll, um, have to walk down the aisle with him.”

I met her on the floor to intercept her pacing. “I don’t know why you’re making such a big deal out of this. I think I can handle walking beside A. J. for thirty seconds.”

Her face scrunched. “There’s more. I’ve always wanted the wedding party to dance at the reception. So . . .”

My hamstrings found the edge of my chair again.

“It’s only one dance . . . and a few rehearsals.” She bit her lip.

One dance. With A. J. In front of Riley. The implications trapped my response somewhere behind my ribcage.

“I can tell Trev to ask someone else—”

“It’s fine, Jae. I’m sure it’ll be fine.” We were all adults, right? We could put aside everything else for a single day. This was our friends’ wedding we were talking about, here. It’d work out . . . As long as I made it through telling Riley first.

chapter fourteen

Enough

“No way.” Riley’s shoes gripped the pavement outside my apartment with the same tenacity clinging to his response.

Waiting a full day to tell him obviously hadn’t made a difference. No amount of rest would’ve changed his mind.

“Walking down the aisle in a ceremony is one thing. But dancing? Sorry. Not gonna happen. He’s not putting his frisky hands all over you.”

I circled my arms around his back and tried to defuse him with a smile. “We’ll be in a banquet hall, not some night club.”

Riley cocked his head. “Like it matters to him.”

“You’re not giving him enough credit.”

“Credit?” He untied my hands from around him and started to pace again. “That kind of went out the window when he didn’t have enough integrity to stay away from an engaged girl while her fiancé was gone.”

A stab of remorse struck my heart with another reminder of what our time apart had cost us. Was there any way to make it right?

“Maybe you’d feel better if you talked to him first—”

“I’d like to do a lot more than talk to him. And yeah, I’d feel loads better.”

“Riley.” I dipped my chin at him. “Aren’t you supposed to be the mature one?”

His tense shoulders all but sneered at me.

Two girls carrying soccer balls stared at us from across the street.

I cinched my arms over my sides. “Please, just trust me.”

A spark of the gentleness I loved about him touched his eyes. He swept my bangs away from my lashes. “It’s not you I’m worried about.”

Regardless of A. J.’s feelings toward me, he wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize the perfect day Jaycee had planned. But this wasn’t only about distrusting A. J.’s intentions. I’d hurt Riley more than he’d let on. The ache practically bled down his face.

“There’s nothing A. J. can ever say or do to change my heart.” I’d messed up last semester, but he had to know that was true.

A strain of doubt creased his forehead. I backed up.

“Em . . .” His eyes said everything he didn’t have to. He wanted to let it go, wanted it to be okay, but it wasn’t. And it was my fault.

Had he been stifling his resentment this whole time? All those hints of apprehension I’d seen shadow his face since he’d been back from Nashville . . . I wanted to pretend I hadn’t seen them, that he’d forgiven me, and it was all behind us.

I turned.

“Where are you going?”

Away from what I didn’t want to face. Knowing I couldn’t outrun pain had never prevented my legs from trying. Halfway to the bridge, the downhill slope sent my entire body slamming into someone walking in the opposite direction.

“Whoa, is there a fire I don’t know about?” Trevor’s notorious grin filled every word.

I latched on to his arms to regain my balance but didn’t look up from the concrete.

“Em? What’s wrong?”

I tried to shoulder past him. “Nothing.”

“Yeah, you know the problem with lying to one of your friends?” He scanned from side to side and lowered his voice to a whisper. “We can tell.”

I pushed him aside. “I’m fine.”

“Mm hmm.” He tossed an arm around my shoulders and lugged me over to the knee-high brick ledge bordering the sidewalk. “Talk to me.”

“Trev, I’m not in the mood . . .”

He rubbed his hands together. “Dang, it’s cold out. You feel that ice seeping into your bones? I’d sure hate to have to stay out here any longer than we have to.” He leaned his bulky shoulder into mine. “The sooner you start talking, the sooner we can go.”

I craned my head to the sky. Why did I have to have a brother-away-from-home?

He batted his eyes, waiting.

I exhaled. “This whole thing with Riley and A. J.” I kicked my heel into the bricks. “I’m such an idiot for messing this up. You should’ve seen A. J.’s face when I went to see him the other day. He stopped going to the center because of me. And now, Riley’s blowing up. I thought he’d let it go. Thought we were moving forward.” Was this the real reason he was putting off his tour? Because he didn’t trust me to wait for him?

Trevor blinked when I finally took a breath. “Is that all?”

He caught my hand before I could get up to walk away. “Kidding.” His humor drained into one of his rare pensive expressions. “Remember when I told you we’d be on the sidelines to give you a kick into reality if you needed it?”

The memory from last year flooded in and left a smile.

“Well, this is me holding true to that promise.” He drew me into a side hug. “Now’s not the time to lose heart. Not after everything you guys have been through. Love’s enough, Em.”

Squeezed into his side, I closed my eyes and grasped on to that hope.

He bobbed his shoulder against my cheek. His capacity to handle sentimental moments lasted only so long. “I think this calls for a night out with your friends.”

“Does it include Starbucks?”

“Have you met my fiancée?” He towed me up from the ledge. “I’ll even let you tell her it was your idea.”

You’d think after almost four years, I wouldn’t still be surprised at his ability to lighten any moment.

Another car occupied the spot where Riley’s had been parked a little while ago. Knowing him, he’d left to give me the space he thought I needed.

Following right behind me, Trevor shut the apartment door and flaunted a grin at Jaycee. “Look what I found wandering around campus like a lost puppy.”

I shoved him and headed for the teapot on the stove.

Jaycee tossed a dishtowel over her shoulder. “Better a puppy than a stray. You should’ve seen her when she first got home from break.”

I spun around, mouth slack. “Way to come to my rescue.”

She hooked an arm around Trev. “What are friends for?”

I shook my head at them but couldn’t keep a straight face. Cheaters. It wasn’t fair for their laughter to be so contagious.

“See,” Trevor said. “Told you all you needed was a night with your friends.”

“Whatever would I do without you guys?”

Should’ve known better than to ask a loaded question. Jaycee and Trevor exchanged a mischievous glance. Thankfully, someone knocked on the door before either had a chance to beat the other to the punch line.

Even though our earlier conversation had ended in turmoil, relief swept in the second I saw Riley outside the door.

Until the look on his face nearly knocked me backward.

“What’s wrong?”

He stared at the floor and gripped the trim like it was the only thing holding him in place. “Jasmine. She’s . . .”

My heart hammered. “She’s what?”

Without moving, he lifted his eyes to mine. “She’s gone.”

chapter fifteen

Piercing

It took a minute for Riley’s comment to register. I pulled him into the apartment. “What do you mean she’s gone? Where? What happened?”

He strode in the entryway with both sets of fingers clasped through the back of his hair. “She ran away. No one knows where she is.”

“Are the cops looking for her?”

“They’re at the house now. But all that stupid paperwork . . . It’s taking too long. She’s diabetic. If she doesn’t have food with her . . .” He stopped midstream, let his arms fall, and stared at the door. “I have to go. I have to find her.”

“Wait.” I caught the edge of his pullover as he turned. “Give me a sec. I’m coming with you.”

I snatched the backpack leaning against the side of the couch and rushed to my bedroom to grab some extra clothes. Back in the kitchen, I scrambled for a couple bottles of water. “Did your parents check the tree house?”

No response.

I peered above the refrigerator door and winced. Of course they did. “Sorry. That was a stupid question.” I hustled back over. “I’m sure they’ve looked everywhere they could think of.”

Trev tossed me a flashlight and lowered his own book bag. “Just in case.”

Jaycee looped her arm around Trevor’s. “Be careful.”

“Thank you,” I mouthed to both of them as I trailed Riley into the stairwell.

Outside, dark clouds blanketed the campus in a continuous shadow.

He’d thrust the car into gear before I yanked my door shut. I clicked my seatbelt in with more force than necessary. “Where are we going? I mean, we can’t just drive across the state looking for her?”

His knuckles whitened over the steering wheel.

Way to keep stating the obvious, Em.

I set a hand on his knee the way he had when I was freaking out about Austin. “We’ll find her.”

He threaded his fingers through mine.

Whatever we’d left unresolved earlier didn’t matter right now. Riley needed me with him, and I’d go wherever that meant.

Staring ahead, he lurched the car into fourth gear. “Tell me she didn’t.”

Huh? “Didn’t what?”

“I don’t know why I didn’t think about this before.” He whipped around a semi into the left-hand land. “I have a feeling I know where she went.”

“Where?”

“I used to sneak out to these woods when Dad and I had a fight.” He twisted a lever next to the steering wheel, and the wipers sputtered across the drizzled-on windshield. “There’s this little cave tucked way in the back. You can’t even get to it without scaling a tree that’s over the ravine.” He shook his head. “It was the perfect hideout.”

His smile fell. “I was so mad the night I caught her following me.” He shoved the lever up another notch. “It’s one thing for me to be out on my own. I can take care of myself. She’s just a little girl. There are all kinds of animals and who-knows-what-else in those woods.”

“I’m sure she’s fine.”

“What if she’s not?” He banged his fist on the wheel. “I never should’ve gone home over Christmas.”

“This isn’t your fault. Riley, look at me.” I lifted a hand to his cheek.

He glanced away from the road long enough to lock on to the assurance in my eyes.

“Jazz is one clever girl,” I said. “I think you might be surprised at how well she can take care of herself. I doubt there’s a tree she can’t master.”

An overdue exhale seeped out. “You’re probably right. She’s been climbing trees since she was old enough to stand.”

“And if there are any animals stupid enough to chase her,” I teased, “she’s probably already won them over.”

A gentle laugh lowered Riley’s shoulders the rest of the way. He smoothed his thumb over the back of my hand. “Thanks.”

I settled in my seat. Honestly, the rift between Riley and his dad very well could’ve been the reason Jasmine ran away. It seemed to affect her more than the others. But I had to believe she’d be okay and that we’d find her. There simply wasn’t another option.

The miles passed much faster than the first time we drove them. Riley parked in front of what looked like a lake. His headlights tunneled into the fog rising between a series of pine trees.

With the engine off, it wasn’t hard to understand why he’d turned here for peace. The sounds of the forest blended into a lullaby I could’ve fallen asleep to under different circumstances. Not to mention the fragrance. The trees might as well have been growing hundreds of Yankee candles instead of pinecones.

“This way,” he called from a few strides ahead of me.

Holding the flashlight between my teeth, I zipped my book bag and wrenched my arms through the straps. I jogged up the path, dodging overgrown roots, until I was less than a foot behind him.

The deeper the shadows grew, the further they eroded the serenity that’d felt indestructible only a few minutes ago. Instead of a collective symphony, each sound echoed on its own. I glanced toward every noise, hyper aware of our intrusion into the night’s normal routine.

Something howled. We both froze.

“Riley?” I reached for his hand.

A scream more piercing than any howl shook through the trees.

Riley took off in a sprint. Underbrush clawed at my ankles as I ran after him. “Riley, wait.” Wind scraped down my lungs. Overgrown branches whipped across my cheeks. But I didn’t slow down until the trail split. I spun in a circle. No sight of Riley. Only fog. I stopped moving, stopped breathing, and listened for any clue on which way to go.

Another howl.

I whirled toward the sound and ran. A sharp corner sent me stumbling into Riley.

He steadied me by the waist. “Don’t move,” he whispered.

Adrenaline-fueled breaths came hard and sharp, the cold air burning in my chest.

He turned off the flashlight and steered my eyes toward an animal prowling close to the ground a stone’s throw away from us.

“Is that . . . ?”

“A wolf.”

Didn’t wolves travel in packs? Panic set right back in. I wanted to shrink into the darkness, run to the car. We had to get out of there. “Riley, we need to—”

He put a finger to his lips and pointed at a cave on the other side of some type of gully. A long, curvy branch from a tree rooted on our side of the woods nearly barricaded the entire face of the cave. Something moved behind the leaves. The moon filtered through the trees onto a panic-ridden Jasmine, standing flush against the inside wall.

The wolf clawed at the edge of the cliff. Riley inched forward. I grabbed his shoulders. “No.” Even with a running start, there was no way he’d clear the jump.

“It’s the cooler.” He flicked his chin toward it. “Jazz has food with her. The wolf’s too distracted to notice me.”

“Jazz?” Melody yelled from the trail right before flying straight into me.

Riley didn’t flinch. “Stay back, Mel.”

Without acknowledging him, she sprang up the maple tree beside us.

Riley shot to his feet. “What are you doing?”

She scaled the arced branch like it was nothing and landed on the ground beside her sister. The
thump
echoed in the cave, followed by a menacing growl. Both girls gasped. The wolf spotted the tree and snarled.

Riley hedged me into the woods, out of view, and turned to the cave. “Mel, look at me.” His voice held an assurance I had no idea how he was maintaining. “When I say go, you take Jazz back up that tree. Don’t move until I say so. Do you understand me?”

Acknowledging Riley for the first time, she nodded.

“On three.” He snagged an oversized rock from the ground. “One . . .”

I followed his eyes toward the wolf circling the tree trunk. “What are you doing?”

“Two . . .”

He inched closer, crouched.

“Riley, no . . .”

“Three.”

Melody flung Jasmine onto the branch at the same time Riley dove on top of the wolf. He raised the rock, but the wolf knocked it free with his snout. The animal flipped over and sank its teeth into Riley’s arm. Jasmine screamed even louder than he did.

I dropped to my knees in search of something—another rock, anything. The wolf towered above him with his paws pinned to his chest. A vicious snarl shuddered across the ground and up my body. Riley looked at me with eyes carrying more of a burden than they ever should have. The stone I’d grabbed rolled out of my hand.

Everything stopped until a deafening noise retriggered time and motion again.

The wolf snapped his head in the direction of the gunshot and tore off, nicking Riley’s face as he went. Leaves rustled behind me. Mrs. Preston rushed up and left her husband standing twenty feet away with a rifle still raised against his shoulder blade.

She fell beside Riley and checked him over, fear and relief colliding.

“I’m fine,” he said.

Jasmine landed on the ground. “Riley, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for—”

“What were you thinking, young lady?” Mrs. Preston’s tugged her into her arms.

I bolted over, dug out an extra shirt I’d packed, and coiled it around his arm. Leaves crunched under footsteps creeping up from behind us. A glance at Mr. Preston’s boots trailed up to his face, calm and collected, under the broken moonlight.

Jasmine rose to her feet. “I’m sorry, Mom, but I couldn’t take it anymore.”

From the center of the group, she turned toward each of us. Her flare of indignation bled into sorrow when she stopped in front of Mr. Preston. “He’s a part of our family, Dad. You can’t keep pretending he’s not.” She faced Riley. “Please. Please try to find a way to remember you love him.”

She shuffled in a circle in front of her family, eyes beseeching.

No one spoke. Even the trees seemed breathless. Every sound bowed to a silence dedicated to the earnestness in this little girl’s heart.

Mrs. Preston searched her son over once more. He nodded again that he was fine.

Looking from him to her husband, she stretched her arms around her two daughters. “C’mon, girls. They’ll meet us home.
After
they stop at the clinic,” she said, staring at Riley.

I helped him to his feet. Leaning on my shoulder, he stumbled forward until he regained a sense of balance.

Mr. Preston stepped in front of us, face unreadable. He placed a firm hand on Riley’s shoulder, extended the other, and looked his son in the eye. “Thank you.”

I’d heard those two words spoken by countless people on countless occasions. But in that moment, it was more than an everyday phrase. It was the beginning of a reconciliation that everyone except an eleven-year-old girl had lost hope in ever seeing.