Page 20 of Relentless
“I know,” Sabina replied with a grin. Because shewasright. No relationship of any depth skated through without some bumps. To Sabina’s point, hopefully those bumps weren’t too big, or didn’t destabilize the relationship beyond recovery. But there’d be bumps.
“So is Ethan worth it? Is he someone that you can weather those hurts with?” Sabina pressed.
Everything in her clawed to say yes. And yet she couldn’t bring herself to say the word. “What if I decide I want to go back and work for the agency?”
Both Sabina and Gina sighed.
“Oh, honey,” Gina said with a shake of her head.
Kara narrowed her eyes. “It could happen.”
“It could,” Sabina agreed. “But would you ever tell Ethan to stop working for HICC?”
“No,” Kara replied without hesitation. “Why would I do that? He loves his work. I’m not super excited about the dangerous aspects of it, but he loves it.”
“Then why do you think he’d ask you to stop working at the agency if you decided it was what you really wanted?” Sabina asked.
The answer came to her in a blinding flash. He wouldn’t.
“Now, I’m not much one to give relationship advice,” Gina said. “Butifyou think Ethan is someone you want in your life, then I have a hard time believing you two won’t figure out how to make it work. You are a smart woman, and he’s a rather determined man.”
Kara bit back a sigh as she accepted that she’d been using her uncertainty about work as a crutch. Not to diminish the reality of it. What she would do next was a very real, and important, question for her. But it wasn’t something she had to check off her list before moving on to the next question: Ethan.
“So I should just jump him when I get home?” she suggested in an attempt to lighten the mood. Not that it was somber, but she needed time to process the truths Sabina and Gina spoke.
“Not unless you’re serious about giving the relationship a real chance,” Sabina said, surprising her. Kara eyed her sister. Sabina pulled them all to a stop. “I love you, Kara, you know that. And I love Ethan, too. He’s a good man who deserves someone who loves him. If you aren’t open to exploring that with him—if youknowthat’s not what you want—then no, don’t jump him. Just walk away.”
Kara bit back an urge to snap out a defensive comment. Hadn’t Sabina been listening to everything she’d said? Hadn’t her months of friendship with him shown how much she cared about Ethan? Hadn’t she justtoldSabina how important Ethan was to her?
Kara stared into the dense pine forest, forcing herself to calm. When she felt she could, she leaned forward to confront her sister. But as she studied Sabina’s face, the need to defend herself slowly bled away. Sabina was doing what she always did—protecting those she loved. And she loved both of them. She didn’t want Ethan to get hurt. But she also didn’t want Kara to carry the guilt of hurting him. It was one thing to give your best to a relationship and have it fail. It was quite another to go into it knowing you wanted different things. The former was difficult and sad. But the latter could be cruel. And Kara wasn’t a cruel person.
Kara nodded. “Understood and yes, I agree.” Sabina let out a long breath, then turned and urged them forward again. Killian had come to a stop at a large boulder and was waiting for them.
“If we climb up here, there’s a great view of the lake,” he called.
The conversation had been oddly exhausting, and Kara was more than grateful for his diversion. Casting a glance at her sister, she grinned. “Last one up is a rotten egg?” she asked. Then she took off running without a backward glance.
CHAPTEREIGHT
“Want to sit outside?”Kara asked Ethan as she handed him a cup of coffee. Twenty-four hours had passed since he’d first tried to tell her that he was looking into the deaths of her colleagues. But life, and family, had kept him from the task.
His brother Asher and his cousin Mitch had stopped by the day before. With Chad already keeping him company, the afternoon had transitioned to an impromptu card and pizza night.
Kara had stayed out late as well. Dinner with her sister and Gina, followed by drinks at the Dirty Boom. Olivia, a friend of theirs, and Ava, an HICC employee and friend, had joined them. By the time she’d returned home, he’d been in bed. And not wanting to keep her up any later, he’d feigned sleep when she popped her head in to check on him.
Now, though, it was time to talk with her about his suspicions. He wasn’t looking forward to the conversation, but he’d created the situation and he’d be the one to face it. Keeping his misgivings to himself hadn’t exactly been wrong. But he should have talked to Kara before her sister. And he definitely shouldn’t have gone behind her back and asked Sabina to watch out for her.
“Sure,” he replied, sliding off the stool and reaching for his crutches. His leg occasionally pained him when he moved suddenly, but overall, it was feeling much better. He had an appointment with the ortho doc in four days, and he expected she’d let him ditch the crutches and walk with a brace. He wished she’d declare him magically healed, but even he knew that wasn’t realistic.
Following Kara to the porch, he settled into an Adirondack chair. She helped him prop his leg up on an ottoman then handed him the coffee she’d carried out. He almost reached for her and pulled her onto his lap. He’d like nothing better than to hold her while he walked her through his quasi-investigation. Instead, he watched as she curled up in the two-person rocker Josh had built for Sofia.
“Did you have a nice time yesterday with your brother and cousins?” she asked.
He nodded. “It was good to see them. We’re not in each other’s pockets all the time, but I’ve gotten used to seeing Chad at work most days. What about you? Have a good hike and dinner?”
A funny expression crossed her face before she nodded. “The hike was…beautiful,” she said. Her words were sincere, but he got the impression that her time on the trail had been more than just aesthetically pleasing. “Dinner at the Perch was amazing,” she continued. “And seeing Ava and Olivia is always fun. School starts in less than two weeks, so Olivia is trying to get in as much fun time as she can while also preparing her classroom.”
Olivia taught in the local high school and was also the founder of the Hedy Experience, a club that encouraged high school girls to explore the field of technology. Both Ava and Sabina volunteered with her on a regular basis. And although Sofia worked in the entertainment industry, she planned to join them this fall as well. For a small town, Olivia had some firepower when it came to women in tech.
