Page 70 of Jep

“And where’d that get you? Look at you. You’re falling apart, and that’s my fault.”

“You give yourself too much credit. And I’m feeling better.” Shedidfeel better. Stronger. So she pushed herself up to sitting. It helped diminish her sense of vulnerability.

“I’m not comfortable leaving you on your own like this,” he said.

“I’ll be okay. All I needed was time to settle in. But if you don’t mind waiting, I could use another couple of minutes. To make sure. But I think the worst has passed.”

She knew she couldn’t keep him there forever, no matter how much she wanted to. He wasn’t hers. He never would be, and she’d be okay with that. There was someone else God had for her. She wouldn’t compromise on that. Not when her faith was such an integral part of her life. If her future husband couldn’t share that part of who she was at her core, it would be too much to bear for a lifetime.

“You going to be okay if I get you that drink now?” Jep said.

“Yeah.”

When he got up, he left a cold wall next to her. She knew when he returned, it would still be there. The moment had passed, and they’d both survived unscathed.

Jep fumbled through cupboards, opening every door that looked like itwouldn’thave a cup just to make it take longer. He had been a breath away from kissing her. It would have meant he’d taken advantage of her in her weakest moment. Maybe he was as bad as everyone thought. As bad as she’d thought he was from the start, and she didn’t deserve that.

He took his time filling the glass once he’d found it, then brought it to her and sat in a chair across the coffee table.

“You sure you don’t want to call your aunt before I go?” he said.

“No. I’ll call her if I need to.” She took a sip. “I don’t want you to leave thinking you’ve done anything wrong,” she said, and immediately he thought of the almost kiss. “Knowing that my sister was at the park,” she continued. “Even after what happened, I’m glad I was there. Who knows what would have happened otherwise?”

His fingers rubbed on the arm of the chair while he battled what remained of his protective instinct for her. He wanted to be near her and hold her, whether she needed it or not.

“I should go,” he blurted. Standing. “If you think you’ll be okay.”

“I’m much better. Thanks for everything. I’m glad you were here.”

His lips flattened into a frown. “I wish today had gone differently.” In more ways than he would ever admit. “Give me a call if you need anything. Even if you need to talk stuff through.”

“I will.”

Jep headed for the door when Em added, “Jep—” He turned. “Just because something’s hard doesn’t mean it’s wrong.”

“What?” He couldn’t find his breath.

“Everyone is worried about me. You think I shouldn’t have been at the park because it was hard to take, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong.”

“Oh. Yeah.”

“Don’t let anyone tell you you shouldn’t have brought me, okay? I’m tired of you all deciding what I can and can’t handle.”

Jep’s phone buzzed, and he checked it. “It’s from Pearce. They’ve got Jade in custody. I’ll head in now and see how everything’s going. Make sure they’re treating her okay.”

“They have every right to do what they please. If she’s responsible for—” She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. “I wouldn’t blame them for being rough.”

“That doesn’t mean they should be. We have laws in this country about that.”

“Do you know what kind of time she’ll face if she’s convic—whenshe’s convicted.”

“That depends on a lot of factors. If she cooperates and the information she gives us helps us apprehend whoever is leading this, that will work highly in her favor. Also, because she didn’t pull a weapon on us, and she didn’t have the trigger armed, they’ll take all of that into consideration.”

“Maybe she didn’t want to do it. Maybe she was coerced somehow.”

“Maybe.”

“You don’t think so?”

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