Chapter 27
Addie watched the trees outside the car, anxiety tingling her spine. Maybe it shouldn’t be, but the closer they got to the park, the higher her nerves crawled up her throat.
“Hey.”
Her gaze swung to Noah behind the wheel. His brows were drawn together like he was worried.
How long had he been watching her?
It had been a week since the attack in her house. A week since she and Noah had found their way back to each other. It had been a quiet week…which was good, right?
He looked at the road before glancing back at her. “What’s wrong?”
“I haven’t been back to the park since we found Rhett.”
The image of his dead body in the small kitchen flashed in her mind, making her skin crawl.
Noah reached out and gripped her thigh. “It’s safe. We’ve got the silent alarm on the cabin that only you, me, and Colt know about, so we know no one’s been in there. And I’ll be by your side the entire time.”
She nodded quickly. “I know. I guess I’m also a bit worried about Cass.”
“What about Cass?”
Crap. She hadn’t told him. “I guess with everything going on I forgot to mention that I ran into her at The Tea House last week. It was the same day Jules told me about her cancer.”
She swallowed hard, still feeling sad whenever she thought about that. She had told Noah about Jules because it had been a constant on her mind.
“What happened?” he asked.
“She was angry.”
“At you?”
“Yeah. She confirmed she and Rhett were in a relationship and said his death was my fault.”
Noah’s fingers tightened around the wheel. “She really said that?”
“She sure did.” Addie lifted a shoulder. “She was hurting.”
“It doesn’t matter. Nothing about what happened to Rhett was your fault. He obviously got mixed up with the asshole who’s harassing you and paid the price. Have you spoken to Cass since?”
“No. I texted once or twice to check in, but she hasn’t responded. And I’m not sure if she’ll be too…friendly toward me today.” Would she spew more accusations about Rhett’s death being Addie’s fault? Or would she keep it to herself because they were going to be at work?
“If she says anything to hurt you, she’s out,” Noah said quietly.
“Noah, you don’t have the staff to be letting anyone else go.”
“She’s already had a warning for covering for Rhett the day of the climb. And we’re already advertising for new employees. We can replace her too if we need.”
“She’s good at her job. Besides, I’m sure everything will be fine. I am looking forward to checking in on Jules though.” She glanced behind her at the pot of soup she’d made. After everything Jules had done for her, it didn’t feel like enough.
“Hm.” That was all Noah said. He didn’t have to say it out loud for her to know that he still thought Jules was involved in what was going on. And that was despite the second, more in-depth background check coming up clear and Jules giving them no indication that she had anything to do with this.
Another reason she knew it wasn’t Jules was because her attacker had felt like a man. His strength, the hardness of his body…there was no way it had been Jules. Something she’d told both Noah and Jesse.
When they reached the park, there were already five cars in the lot—Colt’s, Jules’s, Cass’s, Buck’s, and Flint’s, which meant they were last to arrive.
She grabbed the soup, and the second Noah was around the car, his hand went to the small of her back as they headed toward the log cabin.
Inside, Colt, Buck, and Flint were talking, while Cass and Jules stood together.
Addie walked to the women, offering Cass a small smile and a hi before looking at Jules. “Hey. I made this for you.”
Jules gasped. “Oh, Addie, you didn’t need to do that.”
“I know. I wanted to. It’s my mother’s famous chicken soup.”
Jules took the dish and set it on the desk before giving Addie a hug. “You are so beautiful, my darling.”
“Jules, you’ve made me a million meals in the last few months. It was the least I could do.” She pulled back. “How are you doing?”
It felt like a stupid question. The woman had terminal brain cancer. Although, she didn’t want to be too specific, because she was aware of Cass’s presence.
Jules nodded. “I’m doing really well.”
“Good.” Addie stepped back.
“That was kind of you,” Cass said.
Addie turned to look at her, nerves once again rattling her rib cage. “Just being nice. How are you, Cass?”
Something flared in the other woman’s eyes. It came and went so quickly that Addie almost thought she’d made it up in her head. “Better. I took Noah and Colt up on the therapy they suggested and offered to pay for. It’s helping.” Then she smiled slightly, and it actually looked genuine.
“That’s great.” Really great. Addie didn’t want things to be weird or awkward between them if they were going to continue working together.
Noah cleared his throat, and everyone turned to look at him. “Thanks for coming to the team meeting. I see everyone’s gotten coffee from Jules. Thanks, Jules.”
The older woman smiled before reaching for a to-go cup on the desk and handing it to Addie. “Mexican hot chocolate. I think you’ll like this one.”
Her mouth salivated. “Thank you.”
“We still don’t know when the park will reopen because they haven’t found Rhett’s killer,” Noah continued.
There was the smallest flinch from Cass beside her.
“But they will soon,” he continued. “Until then, everyone will continue to be paid as promised. And the offer for company-paid therapy is also still there.”
Addie snuck a peek at Cass beside her. She seemed okay. But then why did she flinch every time they mentioned Rhett?
Was therapy really helping? Or was at least part of it for show?
He should feel good. The team meeting had gone well. Buck was doing better. And everyone was happy that they’d continue to be paid.
So why did it feel like a rock was sitting in Noah’s gut? Because Jesse didn’t seem any closer to finding the guy? Because they didn’t know how long the park would be closed or how much longer Addie would be at risk?
Addie touched his arm. “Are you okay?”
He looked down at her as they walked down the path through the park. “Yeah, just stuck in my head.” A damn understatement.
A gust of wind blew over their faces. Colt and Flint were checking one side of the park while he and Addie checked another, just to make sure all the lockboxes and equipment were still okay.
“You know,” she started slowly, “I’m pretty good at sorting out head thoughts.”
His lips twitched. “Is that right?”
“Mm-hmm. I’ve even been called a brain wrangler before.”
He stepped over a tree root before turning to help her. “Really? Who called you that?”
“My dad. I’m pretty sure I was six and giving him advice about our dog. Poppy kept eating his socks, so I told Dad to give him his own. Pretty good advice.”
He chuckled. “It sounds like great advice, but I’m fine.” He shot a look at her. “Cass seemed okay.”
“Yeah, she did.” Addie frowned. “It was a complete one-eighty from the last time I saw her. She said the therapy’s been helping.”
“Well, at least Toby’s helping someone.”
“You offered Toby’s services?”
“She asked if we knew anyone, and we gave her a list of local therapists. Cass was the only one who took us up on the offer, and she chose Toby.”
Addie kicked a stone. “When’s your next session with Dr. Burton?”
“Tomorrow. It’s strange, I’ve actually started looking forward to the sessions.”
“You didn’t look forward to them before?”
Noah laughed, but the sound was almost hollow.
“I dreaded every one of them. I had to force myself to go. But Burton’s different.
His sessions don’t feel painful—they feel like progress.
He’s the first therapist to stop the nightmares.
And I don’t feel scared about having a flashback anymore. I feel more in control.”
“Noah, that’s wonderful.”
He glanced at her. “I also like him because he encouraged me to make things right with you.”
“I should get him a Christmas present.”
They stopped at Jules’s food truck, and Noah rounded it and checked that the doors and windows were locked. When he returned to Addie, her smile was gone and she was frowning at the vehicle, arms wrapped around her waist.
He touched her hip. “What’s wrong?”
“I hate that Jules is sick. She’s such a beautiful person.”
“Sickness doesn’t discriminate.”
“I know. It just sucks.”
He squeezed her hip before turning, giving her a moment to gather herself. They were just starting back toward the path when a gasp and a thud sounded from behind him. He spun to see Addie on the ground.
Fuck! He dropped beside her. “Hey! What happened?”
Her cheeks turned a pretty pink shade as she pushed up into a sitting position. “My lack of coordination in combination with my complete inexperience with hiking led me to trip over a stupid tree root.”
He didn’t even crack a smile. He wanted to kick his own ass for not sticking right by her side. “Are you hurt?” Gently, he lifted her hands and studied them.
“No. I’m okay. Just a wounded ego.” She started to stand…only to frown, glancing to the loose soil near her feet. “What’s that?” She lifted a piece of paper that was just poking out of the dirt.
Not a piece of a paper. A photo. The edges were frayed and the print dirty, but he wasn’t sure if that was from the dirt and any recent rain, or the age of the photo.
Addie ran her thumb over the photo to brush off some of the dirt. “Is that Jules?”
It was hard to tell with it being so scuffed, but maybe. “It kind of looks like her, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah, but much younger.”
Jules looked to be maybe in her twenties in the photo, with long dark hair. She sat in a hospital bed, holding a baby. “She was looking for a photo the other week. This must be it.”
“She was?” Addie frowned. “It must be her and her daughter.”
“She doesn’t have a daughter.”
Addie frowned up at him. “Yes, she does. She told me she has one daughter that she doesn’t see nearly enough.”
What the hell?
Raindrops suddenly hit their shoulders.
Shit. He wrapped an arm around Addie. “Come on. Let’s get back. I’ll ask Colt to check the rest of the equipment boxes.”
But even as they jogged back to the cabin, his mind was still on the photo. This entire time, his gut had told him that Jules was somehow involved in whatever was going on. And now, he was even more certain.