Page 47 of The Secrets We Left Behind
“Cate?”
She wriggled back, embarrassed at hearing Jack say her name when she was so close to him. His voice was gravelly, dry from not being used.
“You’re awake,” she said, struggling upright so she could peer down at him.
“I feel like death,” he groaned, trying to sit up and then falling straight back down again. “How long have we been here?”
“Two days,” she said. “But after everything your body went through, you ended up sleeping for most of it.”
His hand lifted slowly and landed on his abdomen. “You stitched me up again?” he asked. “I remember something about you bent over me and a man, asoldier, holding my shoulders to keep me still?” His eyes squinted, his face screwed up with the effort of trying to piece everything together.
Cate rose and went to get the glass of water she’d brought up earlier for him in case he woke. “Harry,” she told him. “The soldier’s name is Harry, and he’s downstairs right now. There’s three of us Brits hiding here.”
She could see that Jack was starting to remember when he pushed up on to his elbows, his eyes clearer as she held the glass for him and he took a few gulps.
“Are we safe?” he asked.
Cate shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know. But there’s nowhere safer we could be.”
He stared straight into her eyes and it took all her resolve not to look away, scared of the way he looked at her now that they were alone. It was so much deeper than innocent flirting in a hospital full of people.
“We should have made for the beach, shouldn’t we?” he asked. “I think I led us the wrong way.”
Cate just smiled, not wanting him to worry. The truth was, if the evacuation had been successful then they should have madefor the beach, but she hadn’t known what to do, and without Jack, she’d probably have been captured or killed.
“We’re here and we’re safe,” she said. “And you’re alive. There’s no point wonderingwhat if.”
She set the glass down and sat back on the bed, propping pillows up behind Jack’s head to make him comfortable and then drawing her knees up to her chin once she’d shuffled down to the other end.
Jack was looking around the room, seeing it properly for the first time, and she only wished it were daytime so she could let some light in. They both needed fresh air and sunshine; she was starting to go mad without it.
“What are they like?” he asked. “The people who own this house?”
That was at least something she didn’t have to lie to him about. “They’re lovely,” she replied. “Elise and Adelaide live here alone, their brother and parents have both passed away, and Harry seems to be a good man, too. I like them all.”
“You trust them?” he asked, his face drawn, as if he didn’t believe her.
“I do,” she said. “They took us in when they didn’t have to, lied for us, and came back to help me bring you to safety. If we can’t trust them, we can’t trust anyone.”
He was silent for a bit, his breathing more labored, before he spoke again. “Where are the Germans? Are we in the middle of it all?”
She sighed. There was no point hiding it from him. “They’re all around us. It’s a miracle we even made it here from the clearance hospital, and from what Elise has told me, there are Nazis everywhere. They’ve taken over some houses nearby, and she’s heard they’ve taken nearby St.Venant, too. Nowhere is safe, not this part of France and certainly not Belgium either.”
“So we’re stuck here?” he asked.
“I’m afraid so.”
Cate’s hands started to shake then, and a lump rose in her throat that was impossible to swallow away. She turned, angling her body away from Jack, but there was no fooling him.
“Hey,” he said, reaching out his hand. “Cate, it’s all right, everything’s going to be all right.”
His fingertips brushed hers, clasping around her knuckles, but it only made it worse. A guttural, embarrassing sob escaped from her lips, and her shoulders started to tremble more violently than her hands.
“Come here,” he said, his voice cracking as he sat up. She knew the pain he was in, how much it must have hurt him, but he didn’t let go of her fingers, holding on tight as she tried to steady her breath and fight the overwhelming emotion rising inside her.
“I just want to go home,” she whispered. “I want this all to be over, I just want to be home.”
“You might want to be home, but I’d much rather be here, in this room with you,” he said, his low voice making her slowly look up at him, tears caught in her lashes and blurring her vision. “You’re the strongest woman I’ve ever met, Cate. You want to cry, you cry. You’ve dealt with blood and wounds and broken men, I’ve seen the way you’ve taken everything in your stride and made everyone around you always feel better, but you’re allowed to be the broken one now.”
