on the desk.
As Kat typed in the URL, Jennie joined Ethan. She instantly felt the tension radiating off him like heat from the sun. The news clearly would not be good.
She watched as the webpage opened and the headline came into focus. Her heart started to pick up speed.
Local Photographer Not Afraid of Thugs. Show Will Open as Scheduled.
She gasped.
“I second that,” Kat said.
Jennie forced herself to read the article adjoining her official head shot, photos of the trashed gallery and a picture of crime-scene tape strung around her house. Linda Becker, the gallery assistant, had told the reporter all about both break-ins. She extolled Jennie’s professionalism, said she kept a spare set of negatives and announced that the show would proceed as planned.
Jennie couldn’t pull her eyes from the screen.
Oh, Lord, how could You let this happen?
“How did they get this on here so fast?” Kat asked.
“Madeline’s assistant already had an interview scheduled today for a PR piece,” Jennie answered. “All she had to do was call with an update.”
“So much for keeping a low profile,” Kat mumbled.
“You think?” Ethan slammed a fist onto the desk, making Kat and Jennie both jump. “I was standing right there when Madeline warned Linda not to tell anyone. She knew better than this. She might as well have painted a bull’s-eye on Jennie’s back.”
Distress brought a lump to Jennie’s throat. “Why would she do this?”
“I don’t know, but I intend to find out.” He stormed around the desk and out the door.
Jennie charged after him, hearing Kat’s footfalls not far behind. By the time Jennie caught up to him, he was in the foyer, talking on his phone.
“I don’t care how you do it, Cole,” he barked. “I want to talk to Madeline’s assistant. Have her at the gallery by the time I get there.”
He clapped his phone closed and jerked open the door.
“Ethan, wait.” Jennie rushed forward. “I want to go with you.”
He turned, his eyes all hard and angry but softening a touch when they met hers. “It’s better for you to stay here.”
“But I—”
“Please, Jen.” His anger faded more, and he sighed out a long breath. “You’re safe here. Taking you to the gallery would just invite danger.” He looked at Kat. “I’m certain no one knows Jen is here, but don’t take any chances. Lock up and stay alert.”
With a final glance at Jennie, Ethan left. She felt his loss the moment the door closed. All day she’d wanted him gone. Wanted to be anywhere but with him, and now she wanted nothing more than to see his caring face looking at her. To hear him tell her everything would be okay even though she knew in her heart things had just gone wrong. Very wrong.
* * *
“Ethan, wait,” Kat called from behind as he jogged down the sidewalk.
He stopped to allow her to catch up.
“Are you going to talk to Jennie?” Kat asked.
“I don’t have time for this, Kat.” He turned away.
She grabbed his arm. “It’ll take a while for Cole to bring in the assistant.”
“Then I’ll help him.”
“You’re making a big mistake in running from Jennie with so much unresolved between you. It could jeopardize both of your lives.”
“Really?” He studied her. “Suppose you enlighten me on that.”
“You’re wound as tight as a clock. If you let this fester between the two of you, it might cloud your vision and get in the way of your job. You have to clear the air.”
“So what do you propose I say to her, then?” he asked, hating how his sarcastic tone made her tense up. “That after she bailed on me I spent every free minute for a year trying to find her? How about that I turned over every rock in Seaside and every other place she’d lived until I tracked her down like some lovesick weirdo? Or maybe that I found her father and uncovered the past she’d tried so hard to avoid telling me about?” He’d tried to keep his tone free from self-disgust but it filled his words. He was still ashamed of how pushy he’d been, how he’d refused to back down until he’d forced to light things Jennie had had every right to keep hidden. Only then had he learned his lesson and backed off…but not before learning one thing he’d never wanted to know. “No matter what I say, I’ll come off looking like a loser.”
Kat placed a hand on his shoulder. “It wasn’t like that and you know it. You just needed some closure.”
“Well, I got it all right, didn’t I?” He looked up at the clouds and remembered the pain of finding out the woman he’d loved could replace him in less than a year. “I could’ve lived without finding out she’d taken off for Texas with that guy.”
“It helped you move on.”
“I appreciate your concern, Kit Kat. I really do.” He squeezed her hand then gently removed it. “But getting to the bottom of the threat against Jennie has to come first. When the time is right, I’ll talk to her. Okay?”
“Okay.”
Hoping the time was never right, he hugged his sister and headed for his car, feeling her appraising eyes on him even after he drove off.
On the short drive, he tried to think of anything but the hopelessness he’d felt after Jennie had taken off. He’d been desperate to find out why she’d really left. At first, he’d thought it’d be easy to find her. Seaside wasn’t that big of a city. But she’d moved and he’d had to go all the way back to her high-school records to track down her father. He’d learned so much about her past and even discovered that she’d given up a baby for adoption.
Surprising, shocking actually, but he saw God’s hand in this. He’d never believed his birth mother had loved him. If she had, why give him away? Through Jennie’s selfless actions with her daughter, he finally believed his birth mother could’ve given him up because she loved him and wanted a better life for him than she could provide. So he’d sought her out and found a very similar story. Now they had a strong relationship and it was all thanks to Jennie. But his shame from digging into Jennie’s past wouldn’t let him tell her about it.
He parked in front of the gallery and pounded on the door. Cole headed down the long, narrow space, now free from debris. Ethan wasn’t surprised to see the gallery floor already cleaned up. Madeline didn’t let anything get in the way of what she wanted, and she wanted Jennie’s show to open on Friday.
Cole unlocked the door.
“She here like I asked?” Ethan pushed past Cole, who snagged Ethan’s arm.
