Page 119 of Second Chance Savior

“But on the other?” she asked.

“He’s…wonderful.” I melted into my seat just thinking about him. “And the way I feel when we’re together, the way I’vealwaysfelt around him… I have never felt like that with anyone else.”

River made me feel alive. Making him happy mademethe happiest I’d ever been.

She nodded thoughtfully. “Can I ask you this? How long will you stay in Hartley? And how devastated will River be when you leave?”

Wow. She was going for the jugular, wasn’t she?

“I can’t speak to how River feels. You’d have to ask him. But I can’t stay much longer. I don’t see any other way.”

Though it had been hectic, I’d loved every day that I’d spent with River in Hartley. This was the part of the state where I’d grown up. Where River had built a new life for himself. He fit perfectly here.

It was too easy to imagine that I could fit here, too.

But my job was calling to me. I didn’t have the most powerful position as lieutenant governor, but I had influence. I could make a difference.

As much as politics drove me nuts, I loved it in equal measure. A little like the way I felt about River.

How was I supposed to choose?

We were finally wrapping up when I got a call. I expected to see River’s name on the screen. But it was a different number from my contacts.

“I should get this,” I said to Genevieve. “It’s one of the FBI agents I was telling you about.” I answered. “Agent Torres?”

“Lieutenant Governor,” Torres said. “It turns out Agent Rainey and I have found ourselves with time off and little to do. Would you mind if we stop off in Hartley to see you?”

“I’d love that. Of course. When are you coming?”

“Uh, it was a spur-of-the-moment road trip. But my partner here was supposed to call ahead and check on your schedule. Apparently, he neglected theone thinghe was supposed to do.”

“I was getting the drinks and car snacks!” Agent Rainey protested in the background. “I’m working with one arm here! So sue me!”

I laughed, glancing over at Genevieve. She looked backcuriously. She could probably hear snippets of what the agents were saying.

Torres sighed into the phone. “My apologies, Lieutenant Governor. We’re about half an hour from Hartley. If this afternoon doesn’t work for you?—”

“Then make time for us!” Rainey shouted.

I smiled. “It’s fine. I’m visiting with a friend at Jessi’s Diner on Main Street. Join us here. I’m sure she’d love to meet you both.”

Torres said they’d see me soon, and I ended the call.

“Those are the FBI agents who helped protect you during the botanic gardens attack?” Genevieve asked with a wicked glint in her eyes. “Josh Rainey and Rafael Torres?”

“Yep, that’s them.”

“They don’t know I’m a reporter, do they?”

“Nope. They just surprised me with their visit, so I’ll surprise them right back. Make them answer some of your questions.”

She cackled. “And you sayI’mvicious.”

Rainey was jovial when they arrived, his broken arm in a sling and his blond hair sticking up in the back. He flirted with Genevieve until she mentioned that her boyfriend was the local sheriff, and then he toned it down.

Torres was more subdued, as usual, and he moved stiffly. I remembered what Brynn had told me. That he’d been shot after helping cover my escape with River at the fundraiser.

“Got me in the side,” Agent Torres explained, lifting his polo shirt slightly to show me the bandage.

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