Page 30 of Rescued Faith

Bryce leaned into Penny’s side. “I told you not to bring it up. Now they’ll be staring moon-eyed at each other over the rest of dinner.”

“Oh, let them be, Bryce.” Elizabeth stared him down for a moment, then turned her blue eyes Penny’s direction. “Don’t you have a sister in Last Chance now?”

Elizabeth probably meant to steer the conversation to safer waters. But the only thing more personal than romance was family.

Penny nodded as she took a sip of her tea. “Yeah, Libby and her husband moved out here over a year ago.”

“Is it just the two of them?”

“They have two kids too.”

“Is your sister Libby Lawson?” Elizabeth tilted her head.

Penny’s fork froze, the cucumber on it hanging in the air. “Yes. How did you know?”

“I just met her at the women’s Bible study at our church. What a small world!”

Some might say too small. She still couldn’t get over the fact that her sister darkened the doors of a church in the first place. Of course it would be the one Jude and Andi attended, and apparently Elizabeth too. At least she didn’t have to worry about Bryce joining the club. He’d never had much time for church.

“Does this mean you’ll settle down here in Last Chance too?” Elizabeth’s face brightened up way too much. “That would be nice, Bryce, wouldn’t it?”

He tried to hide his surprise behind his too-handsome grin. “Sure.”

“You could join us for Sunday dinners! You know you’re always welcome. You saved our lives bringing down Diego Ruiz Sosa, so like it or not, you’re one of us.”

One of us.

It sounded a lot like belonging.

Elizabeth’s warm smile bored a small but piercing hole straight to Penny’s heart—a motherly gesture that Penny hadn’texperienced in so long. That was the only reason she’d reacted so strongly, right?

But as nice as belonging sounded, it came with entanglements, expectations.

And it made her vulnerable.

Vulnerability could be exploited. She’d seen it with the Sosa case. Diego Ruiz Sosa had used Elizabeth’s own family, caused a car accident that had forever altered her husband’s brain and personality, another car accident that’d injured Logan, and Andi had almost been killed too. All so he could force Elizabeth to give up the identity of Izan Collins, who he’d thought was his son. And he’d probably wanted the millions of dollars his accountant—Izan’s true father—had stolen. Evil people went to a lot of trouble to get what they wanted, and they didn’t tend to care who they hurt to get it.

And Penny tracked down such people.

Could she really bring danger to the doorstep of nice people who had already been through so much?

Penny had already lost her mother. How in the world would she handle it if anything happened to someone else she loved? She needed to settle this now.

“I’m not much of one for settling down. Anywhere. Ask my sister.” Penny chuckled. “She blames our dad for my wanderlust.”

“Oh? And where do your parents live?” Elizabeth took a sip from her glass.

Penny could’ve smacked herself on the forehead. “Uh, my mom died when I was young, and Dad passed away a few years ago.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” The compassion welling in Elizabeth’s eyes had Penny squirming.

“I’m fine. It’s been a while.”

“Well, please know you have a standing invitation. And we have a guest room if you ever need it. Do you have any other family?”

“My sister, Tori. She’s been out in Alaska as part of a hotshot crew the last few years. She’s hoping to be a smokejumper this year. Speaking of which, how is Logan liking being a smokejumper in Montana?” She stuffed her mouth with a big bite of pasta.

Anything to get the attention off her fractured family.

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