“I can’t believe Sean did this,” she said quietly. “If he loved me...”
“No, Ellie. Don’t go down that path. If you thought he loved you when he was alive, hold on to that feeling.”
She took a long breath. Could she accept that she may never know Sean’s reasons? It all came down to belief. Could she trust her experience, that their life together was truly filled with love?
The snowfall had eased in the little valley where they stood, and the forest was silent. Thick wet flakes lay everywhere, on her jacket, in Michael’s hair. She looked at the man in front of her, reminding herself how good God had been to her despite everything. He had brought Michael into her life when she’d needed someone to trust.
Michael’s eyes were so warm and caring, his face so handsome and rugged, and her heart thumped in her chest. His gaze was steady on her, and something strong, something big, passed between them. She swallowed. Grateful—that’s what this feeling was, she told herself. She was grateful that he’d listened and hadn’t judged... Or was this attraction?
A thunderous rumble echoed down the mountain, jolting her back to the present. It sounded like a cannon that wouldn’t stop.
“Avalanche,” said Michael. “Not close, thank God. But we need to get out of here.”
She knew he wasn’t going to like what she was about to say next. “I need that go bag. I need to go to my house for it.”
Michael shook his head. “You know that’s not safe.”
“It’s the only way,” she said. “I need to disappear.”
“If it’s money you need, I can help you work that out,” he said.
She shook her head and tried for levity. “Do you offer money to everyone who shows up on your property?”
The hint of a smile told her the answer might be yes, but he said, “Only the people with no memories.”
Ellie found herself smiling. He was a good man, with such a generous offer. All the more reason not to get him involved in whatever was going on—any more involved.
“All I need is to be dropped off near the property.”
“Drop you off?” He gave a humorless laugh. “Not a chance.”
“I get to decide where I go, remember?” she said. “I’m going back to my house.”
Michael couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Ellie wanted him to drop her off at her house? She may as well have asked him to paint a target on her back, too. Helping Ellie run from danger was an easy choice, but helping her run toward it? That stirred up emotions he had buried years ago, emotions he had no interest in uncovering.
Except this whole situation wasn’t about him or what he wanted. It was about what she needed. And he needed to keep his emotions out of this entirely.
Reluctantly, Michael admitted to himself that even if he didn’t agree with her next move, he understood it. He looked into her eyes and saw steely determination. He admired this, that in a day full of more danger and fear than most people faced in their lifetime, she was determined, not defeated. He needed to accept the risks she was willing to take.
“And what happens if someone is waiting for you there?” he asked.
“Obviously, I won’t go in if anyone is there. But I need to try.”
He swiped a hand over his face. “How can you ask me to leave you alone at your house in a snowstorm?”
“I have an escape plan.” Michael lifted an eyebrow and she added, “A good one, I promise.”
“I want to stay with you until I see that plan in action.”
She tilted her head to the side, like she was studying him.
“Your choice,” she finally said. Then her expression softened. “We’ll check the property for footprints and car tracks first.”
Michael frowned. “I don’t like this.”
“Noted.”
He gave a wry laugh and a hint of a smile twitched at the corners of Ellie’s mouth. Then she sighed. “I don’t like it either. What else am I supposed to do? Keep running with no money, no ID, nothing? Where does that take me?”
His family had helped many people over the years, whether it was his cousin who’d needed a little time away from city life or a woman who had wandered onto their property, hungry and with nowhere to go. Growing up, his father had offered support to more people than he could count, enough that Tang Ranch was known for generosity all the way back to the San Francisco Bay Area, where his aunties and uncles and cousins lived. And yet, help had never felt like this. Michael didn’t want to think further about what this was, blooming inside him.
He opened his mouth to tell Ellie that he’d figure out how to help her, but she shook her head, like she could hear his thoughts. “No offense, but I need to be able to keep myself safe. On my own.”
“Then we better get up there right away,” he said. “Before the people in that truck dig themselves out of the snowbank. And let’s hope they don’t have cell service.”
She nodded. “It’s spotty over there, but no guarantees.”
Michael’s mind was at work, calculating their odds. Even if the men were working with the Alexander family and had made contact with one of them, they wouldn’t know Ellie’s exact location right now...though the snowmobile made enough noise to figure it out. He listened for others in the area, possible decoys, but there was only the wind. If someone wasn’t already at the house, they’d need to get in and out of it fast enough to stay ahead of their pursuers.
He climbed onto the snowmobile again and pulled on his helmet. “Ready?”
“Yes.” She put on her helmet and slipped her arms around his waist. He started the motor and, as he moved forward, her voice came through the intercom again. “Thank you. For believing me. For listening to me.”
“You’re welcome,” he said as another rush of warmth spread through him.
It had been so long since he’d felt alive like this. The danger was part of it, but there was something more, a connection with Ellie. It feels good to be helping someone else again, he told himself as the snowmobile started over the wintry terrain. That was all this was. Don’t overthink it.
Michael stayed lower on the mountain as they made their way over the bumpy terrain of the park toward private land. The mountain dipped into a valley then over a ridge. The forest ended as they crested the ridge, exposing the bare rocky land of the new development.
