Chapter 13
Zane
Looking at the horizon now, you’d never know a storm blew through town last night. My heart is still racing with the image of Tessa, wide-eyed and terrified, stumbling overboard into the raging sea.
She could have died.
But she didn’t.
Thank God, she didn’t.
I’d drifted off with her in my arms and woken as the first ray of sunshine snuck in through the window. Tessa had still been pressed against me, her head on my chest, her arm wrapped around me.
I’m ashamed to admit—even to myself—that it took every bit of strength and willpower I had to climb out of bed instead of pulling her in closer. She’d been so warm against me, her cheeks pink, expression soft.
Keep it together, Knox.
Turning away from the ocean, I pick up the pace again, sprinting until my body aches.
Weston is at the boat this morning, keeping an eye on her until I get back.
It was an offer I took him up on because, if I don’t stop looking at her like the one who got away, then I’m going to be left broken all over again when she leaves.
Taking the steps quickly, I ascend the beach hill and step onto Main Street. The bookstore is straight ahead, so I check for cars then jog across.
The bell dings when I open it.
“Morning, Zane!” Maria Santos greets, her dark hair in a high ponytail.
She offers me a bright smile and a friendly wave.
Two years younger than I am, she’s been close friends with my sister since they were in kindergarten.
Though I’ve always known she’s had a thing for me, things were never weird between us.
Something I’ve always been grateful for.
“Morning, Maria.”
“What can I do for you?”
I consider. Is this a mistake? But I shove those thoughts aside. “I need a Bible.”
“Of course.” She moves out from around the counter, and I follow her toward a large display near the middle of the store.
After surveying the different covers, I choose a leather-bound Bible with a cross imprinted on the front, handing it to Maria. She takes it back toward the front and rings me up.
“Do you want this gift wrapped?”
“Nah. A bag is fine.” Tessa has never been great at receiving gifts, so if I wrap it, it’ll just make her uncomfortable.
“You’ve got it.” She sticks it into a bag. “Thirty-nine, ninety-five.”
I hand her my card, and she runs it, then hands it back to me.
“That was some storm last night, right? Did you end up staying with Anastasia?”
“No. I stayed on the boat.”
“Really?”
I nod. “I was monitoring the weather, and it wasn’t supposed to get bad enough that it would have been unsafe. Just slightly uncomfortable.” I force a smile. It was dangerous, though, because I nearly lost someone who matters more to me than she probably should, considering the circumstances.
“Well, I’m glad you’re okay.” She offers me the receipt and bag. “Anything else?”
“Nope, that’s it.”
She grins. “You headed to Anastasia’s next?”
“I am, need something?”
“Just let her know I’m looking forward to tonight! It’s girls’ night, and I am in desperate need of it.” She laughs. “It’s been a rough month.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Her dad has been battling early-onset dementia, and Maria spends nearly all of her spare time with him.
“Thanks. It’ll all be okay. God is good, and I know He can make something beautiful out of this. Even if I can’t see it.”
“Amen to that.” I smile, then push the door open. “Thanks again, Maria.”
“Anytime, Zane. Let me know if you need anything else.”
“Will do. See ya.” I push out onto the street and head toward Anastasia’s coffee shop so I can pick up two cups of coffee and some breakfast for Tessa. She was still asleep when Weston showed up this morning and took my place, granting me the opportunity to slip out for a run and get her a Bible.
What if she never reads it? What if it’s a waste?
I shut those thoughts down the moment they cross into my mind. She will read it. And offering someone the Word of God is never a waste. She’d been getting close to God before she left, which means the seed is there.
I just need to help her find it again.
With a smile on my face, I breeze into the coffee shop. It’s relatively empty this morning, which is not super unusual for mid-morning on Saturday around here since most people are out on the water, even given the cooler temperatures this time of year.
“Morning,” I greet Pastor Reeves and his wife, Helen, as they sit at a small, round table near the entrance.
“Morning, Zane. How are things?” Pastor Reeves stands and offers me a hug.
“Not too bad. I’m alive and can’t complain,” I reply, then embrace his wife when she stands as well.
“We are so glad to hear it,” Helen replies. “How is your mom?”
“Good. I’m nearly done renovating the other side of her duplex, so she should be ready to rent it out again soon.”
“That’s so great to hear. You’ll give her our love?” Helen asks.
“Absolutely. We’ll see you guys tomorrow for church.”
“Looking forward to it.” Helen smiles. She and Mom were thick as thieves growing up. The absolute best of friends. And when my dad died, Pastor Reeves and Helen were right there, helping us the best they could.
They’re family. The fact that they don’t bring up Tessa either means word hasn’t spread through town yet—which is surprising—or they don’t want to risk upsetting me. Either way, I appreciate it.
With a final smile, I turn around and scan the bakery for my sister. When I see her talking to a man I’ve never met, though, a shiver of unease runs up my spine. It doesn’t matter that she’s only two years younger than me and going on thirty-four years old; she’s still my baby sister.
She glances up from her conversation with him and beams at me. “Hey there, Big Brother!”
“Hey.” I cross over and stand beside the man. He smiles at me, his grey eyes friendly.
“Zane, this is Jack. Jack, Zane.” As Anastasia does the introductions, I reach out my hand to shake his.
Unease continues to spread through me, and while he doesn’t look overly menacing, I can’t shake the feeling that this guy can’t be trusted.
Though that could absolutely be due to the way he’s watching my sister as though she’s the single point of focus for his day.
“Nice to meet you,” Jack greets, shaking my hand tightly.
“You, too. I haven’t seen you around before. Are you new in town?”
“Just passing through,” he replies. “My parents used to bring me here as a kid every summer. They passed suddenly a few months ago, so I’m here trying to connect with old memories.” His expression turns sad, and a bit of my unease dissipates.
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Thanks,” he says. “Your sister here makes the best coffee around, and I was just telling her that.” He turns back to Anastasia, whose cheeks flush with color.
Oh boy.
“Well, I appreciate your compliment.” She turns to me. “Your usual?”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
She smiles. “You’ve got it.”
As she turns away, I fix my attention on Jack. “So, where you traveling from?”
“California,” he replies. “Just outside of Sacramento.”
“That’s a long way.”
He laughs. “Don’t I know it. Didn’t seem like that long of a drive when I was doing it with my parents. We’d make a whole road trip out of it, stopping at a lot of sightseeing places along the way.”
“Sounds fun.”
“It was.” He smiles wistfully, then takes a drink of his coffee. “I’m in town for a few more days, so maybe I’ll see you around.”
“Yeah, maybe,” I reply.
“Any recommendations as to what I should do while I’m here? Anastasia says I need to get out on the water. But I’ve never actually sailed a boat myself.”
“You can rent smaller boats at Nina’s Bait Shop. It’s down near the marina. She’ll give you a crash course on sailing, too.”
“Nina’s Bait Shop? Got it. Thanks.” He raises his coffee toward me, then calls out, “It was great to meet you, Anastasia! I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow, Jack!” she calls out as she preps the two lattes I ordered.
One cinnamon vanilla. The other vanilla lavender—Tessa’s favorite.
As the bell above the door dings, I shift my attention back to Anastasia. “I thought you knew better than to talk to strangers.”
She laughs and rolls her eyes. “If that’s the case, then I went into the wrong line of work.”
“Seriously, Anastasia—” I let my attention shift back toward the door. “He didn’t seem off to you?”
“Nothing is off about him,” she replies. “You’re just mad because you don’t like me talking to handsome men.”
“Handsome men? No. It has nothing to do with that.” Right? “Either way, just watch yourself, please. I’ve got enough trouble in my life right now. I don’t want to have you get into any.”
“Ahh, yes. The infamous trouble. How is she doing?” she asks me, low enough that no one can hear.
“She’s fine.” I leave out the fact that she tried to leave last night and then nearly drowned because of it.
“Great,” she says dryly.
“Go ahead. Give it to me. I can take it.” I wave her on, letting her know that whatever is on her mind, she can feel free to speak it.
“Fine.” She leans in closer. “The more I think about it, the angrier I get. You are going to let her back in just so she can destroy you again. I see it all over your face.”
I lean in closer. “No, I’m not. And there’s a lot more to the story than either of us knew.”
“Yes, you are! See, you’re already defending her!”
Taking a deep breath, I contemplate what I’m about to do for all of two seconds before I do it. Anastasia was hurt when Tessa left, too, and she needs to know that Tessa didn’t just walk out without reason. Even if I don’t agree with it, she thought she was doing the right thing.
“She went over to her dad’s that night,” I tell my sister, keeping my voice low.
Her eyes narrow, but she doesn’t speak.
“He told her that he wanted to make amends and be a part of the wedding. When she got there, he beat her, Anastasia. Badly. She was afraid that I would do what I promised to do the next time he put his hands on her—and kill him. She was scared that, if I saw her, bruised, bloodied, and broken, I would snap. So she left.”
Anastasia’s eyes are full of tears, her mouth slack. All anger has vanished from her expression. “Are you serious?”
“Yes. Now, I don’t agree with her leaving like she did. She didn’t even give me the chance to protect her. To defend her.” Even as I talk about it, anger rushes through me. I would have done anything to keep her safe. To make sure she never suffered again.
“Would you have done what she was afraid of?” she asks.
“I would have done something,” I reply. “I’m not sure what, but I know the headspace I was in back then, and it wouldn’t have been pretty.”
“Vengeance belongs to God.”
“I know that now. But I was a nineteen-year-old boy about to marry the woman I loved, and her father beat her bloody.” I leave out the part about him trying to set her on fire because Anastasia is horrified enough.
She’s quiet for a few moments. “I guess I owe her an apology. Maybe even a thank you for sacrificing her happiness to save you. I was pretty rude the other night.”
“I’m not letting her back in, Anastasia. Even if I wanted to, I can’t. But I do think we can find some closure before this is all said and done.”
“I hope you’re right,” she replies, then offers me the two coffees she’d finished right before I told her about Tessa’s reasons for leaving. “Just watch yourself, okay? I don’t want to see you get hurt again. I love you and stuff.”
I laugh. “I love you and stuff, too, Anastasia. And I’ll be careful.”
“Not just with your heart, Zane. After what happened the other night—” She shivers. “I just have this sick feeling in my gut.”
I set the coffee down and cover her hand with mine where it rests on the counter. “I’ll watch myself, okay? You know I’m good at what I do.”
“I know.” She smiles softly. “But you’re not bulletproof, Zane Knox. And these last couple of years, you’ve been walking around like you are.”