Page 133 of To Belong Together
Oh. Right.
“I’m kidding. That all sounds great.”
“Okay.”
Was it time to end the call? What more had he hoped for from this conversation? Besides, he was still on Erin’s step. What if she came home to find him here, choked up?
“Stace said you told her you love her.” Kate let the statement hang.
He laughed. Like when she’d hinted she no longer wanted him in the wedding party, there was once again something she wanted but didn’t feel right requesting. This time, he was happy to give in.
“I love you, Kate.”
A wet sniffle answered first, and then, “I love you too.”
41
The next evening found John back on Ellen’s doorstep. He’d stopped by the shop, but Erin wasn’t there. Her aunt, though talkative, didn’t have any hints about her whereabouts, only that she’d left about half an hour before. John had circled by here, but the garage had been open and Erin’s car hadn’t been parked inside. So, he’d checked her house, the cemetery, and two of the closer fishing spots, hoping to locate her on his own. When that failed, he’d circled back.
The garage door was closed now. Had Erin returned?
Rain spit on his neck as he waited to see who’d answer the door.
The hinges creaked, and there stood Ellen. She hugged her blue sweater closer around herself. “She isn’t here.”
A bigger raindrop plopped on his cheek. If he lingered, he’d have to drive home in a downpour.
Ellen chewed her lip.
“It’s important that I talk to her. Do you know where I can find her?”
She held her peace another beat. “Her father would’ve questioned you thoroughly before sharing anything with you.”
If only Erin still had her dad in her life, John would gladly face him. But what assurances could John have given that he wouldn’t break Erin’s heart? He still didn’t know the full story of what had gone wrong, and he couldn’t promise she’d want to see him at all. “I need to apologize to her, and if she’ll talk, I need to listen.”
Ellen chuckled. “Ifshe’ll talk?”
He understood the irony. Supposedly, Erin was a good talker and John a good listener. Yet they’d gone off course somewhere.
Ellen’s expression sobered. “Listening sounds harmless enough, and I’m not keen on her spending time out at the picnic area, especially after dark.”
Two more raindrops struck. “Picnic area?”
Ellen threaded her fingers together, studying him. “In the forest, where Robert was found. It’s secluded. I tried to talk her out of it by telling her about the forecast, but she just shrugged.”
John spared the clouds a glance as wind gusted, cold and damp. The day Robert had been found, his focus had been on Erin, not on the whereabouts of the picnic area. He’d gotten the impression it was twenty or thirty minutes from town, and with the sky promising to break open any moment, he’d have to navigate a downpour if he wanted to talk to Erin. But put this off again?
Besides, he didn’t like the idea of her out in the dark, alone, any more than her mom. Compounding his concern, he considered what kind of emotions would’ve drawn Erin out to that spot. Surely not good ones.
“Can you tell me where to find it?”
Obtaining the directions meant going inside with Ellen and searching the maps on his phone to make sure his navigation would take him to the same spot she pointed to on her paper map. By the time he’d found it, she’d jotted down basic directions. Armed with both his phone and the notes, he jogged through the rain to the car.
The windshield wipers kicked up speed like a visible representation of his pulse as he pulled out. Would their conversation be worth the hassle?
Would Erin even allow him a conversation?
Once he got out of Hartley and into the national forest, pines lined the road on both sides. His headlights were the only illumination for miles. Road signs flickered by in the rain, and John counted his breaths in and out.
