Page 7 of Desert Wind

“We have,” nodded Kari. “We’ve been to several countries and, of course, sometimes travel for work.”

“What are you getting at?” asked Bree.

“I’ve never been anywhere other than my parents’ home and the convent. Now, here. That’s it. I’d bet you all dated, had other boyfriends, partners, that kind of thing. You had girlfriends, sleepovers, and parties. I haven’t had any of that.”

“We could do that here, Jenna,” whispered Bree, reaching for her hand.

“I know,” she nodded. “I’d like to see if there are any of the people that I knew from high school still in Arizona. Where have their lives taken them? Did they have children? Are they even alive? I’ve been cut off from everything and everyone or lost them. I just feel as though I need to connect again.”

“You’re sure?” asked Kari.

“I think so,” she nodded.

“You need to let us send someone with you,” said Kat. “We’d all feel much better.”

“No. I don’t think…” Her voice trailed off as she looked out the window, seeing Nash standing in the grove.

“Ask him to go with you,” said Bree. “He’d go.”

“I’ll think about it,” she said, smiling at them as she stood. “No matter what, I’ll never forget what you all did for me. Ihaven’t had a lot of exposure to female friends, but this is what I dreamed it would be like. I’ll write to you all.”

Jenna turned and left the conference room, leaving the women to sit quietly for a long moment.

“I’m scared to death for her,” said Katrina.

“Same,” said Kari. “I wish there was a way to keep her here. I’m not sure she’s ready to be out there alone.”

“Did you all know that she’s been at that same convent her entire adult life and never even drove to a major city? She only flew home for the funerals of her family members and flew back. That woman is about as green as you can get,” said Bree.

They watched as she walked toward Nash, stopping more than arm’s length away from him. She gave him a shaky smile, unable to actually look him in the face. He tried to smile at her, lowered himself to hopefully get her to look up at him, but no luck. She just stared down, speaking to him.

“I’ve never prayed so hard for a love match to happen since my own,” whispered Georgie. The other women nodded.

“Amen.”

CHAPTER FOUR

“She’s going to leave,” said Nash, speaking to a few of the men on the team.

“Maybe,” said Ghost, standing with Kane.

“No. She is. She told me this morning that she was considering going back to Arizona for a while. She needed to visit the graves of her family and remember who she was.”

“You could go with her, Nash,” said Kane. “We’d provide whatever you need to go. You’ve got the trackers on you, the comms devices. You’d be safe.”

“I don’t think she wants me to go with her,” he said.

“Have you asked her?” smirked Ghost.

“No.”

“Ask her, stupid,” laughed Kane. “You never know what she might say. You’d at least know how she feels about things right now. But things could change in the future, Nash. She’s still healing.”

“She only sees me as a friend and protector,” he frowned.

“Right now. Right now, she sees you as a friend and protector, Nash. Give her some time to figure out her new normal. That woman has been through a helluva lot in the last few months. Brutally attacked, raped, and beaten.

“She reevaluated her life only to realize that being a nun wasn’t what she wanted at all. That’s a lot for anyone to take in, then realizing that another nun was placing her in danger had to have been the final blow for her.”

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