Page 83 of The Secrets She Keeps

Heather just stared for a moment. Then she saw a man there, in a business suit. Standing outside the doors to the ER.

A very tall man. Six five or six six. Strong and tall. Muscled.

All the men in Finley Creek just seemed sotall.So unbelievably tall. She’d noticed that before. Hope kept saying she was going to test the Finley Creek water to see what made the men grow so strong and beautiful in Finley Creek.

Her sister could be so funny sometimes. She really wanted to see Hope. To make sure Hope was okay too.

This man was tall. Tall, like Gunnar. Beautiful like Gunnar too. But it wasn’t Gunnar right there. But he could get what she had to Gunnar. She knew that.

Heather just walked right toward him. And just kept walking.

Then she stopped. Waited.

Until he stopped pacing and just stared at her.

She waited. Right in front of him. Not even blinking.

Beautiful blue eyes widened. And he stared at her. He was very beautiful. But he always looked like a politician, in thenavy suit, and red tie, with his chocolate brown hair so perfectly perfect. He was always so politician-pretty and preppy-perfect.

His hair wasn’t so perfect now, though. It stuck up everywhere.

And his beautiful blue eyes were red-rimmed.

Of course. She understood why. He’d been worried and afraid.

Heather wet her lips, wincing from the sting. As she looked at him. “Is Powell okay?”

“How…how did you get here?”

“I got away from them. I climbed out a window two stories up, and then I climbed down a tree, while they were setting the building on fire. And then I ran. I run really fast, you know. It’s a Coleson thing. I got away. I got away, and then I hid, and when they left, I walked here. Is Powell here? Is she okay? I really need to know if Powell is okay right now. Please.”

“She’s okay. She’s inside. Resting. Gunnar is with her,” Powell’s brother said.

Not their neighbor.

Theotherone.

The really annoying one. The one who had made her so angry before.

“Everyone has been out looking for you for hours now,” he said.

She was vaguely aware of her new best friend introducing himself, saying he had found her walking along Barratt Road. Saying that he couldn’t let her walk by herself as hurt as she obviously was.

Barratt.Heather wasn’t lost to the irony of that.

And she just kept staring athim.Waiting.

She couldn’t think what to do next right now.

She’d just let him decide.

He was probably good at making decisions for people—even when they didn’t want it. He was thetype.

“Heather, what happened? Talk to me, baby,” Powell’s oldest brother said. The prettiest one. “Tell me what happened so I can help now.”

He was just so irritatingly pretty. He always looked so pretty that it irritated her. Each and every time.

Heather just couldn’t really remember his first name right now.

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