Page 76 of A Secret Escape

“I don’t know. My life is complicated. So complicated it makes my brain hurt to think about it.” She hoped he wouldn’t ask in what way it was complicated because she didn’t want to talk about it. She wouldn’t have known where to start. It wasn’t clear in her own head, so she certainly wouldn’t have been able to share it.

Fortunately he was one of those rare people who knew when to let a subject drop.

“In that case you were right to get out in the mountains. It’s the perfect cure for an overheated brain.” He drove out of Forest Nest, past the sign and toward the village.

It was early, and there was little traffic.

He took narrow roads that snaked along the valley, past another lake and then gradually started to climb.

She gazed out the window, loving the wildness of it and appreciating the fact that right at this moment no one knew where she was.

She was as close to being invisible as she’d ever been, and it was a good feeling. She felt free and normal and happy.

“I’d forgotten how stunning it is here. The scenery is like nowhere else.”

“Milly says you spent your childhood here.”

They crossed a stone bridge, and she glanced down at the river rushing beneath it.

“Yes. That seems like a lifetime ago. And do you know the weird thing? All I wanted was what I have now. I had such a clear goal in my head.”

He slowed down to allow a couple of sheep to cross the road. “And now you have it, you’re not sure if you want it anymore.”

She turned her head to look at him, wondering how he could read her so clearly. “I’d be mad not to want it, wouldn’t I?”

“No. People change. I’m not the same person I was at eighteen, and I don’t suppose you are either.”

She thought back to the excitement of that time. It had felt like a nonstop adrenaline rush.

“I’ve been lucky.”

“Luck plays a part, sure, but there’s always more to it than that. Talent. Hard work. Resilience. Focus. Sacrifice. Do you miss LA? Are you homesick?”

She should be, shouldn’t she?

At night she slept on Milly’s spare bed, and if occasionally she thought of her giant custom-made bed in her house with its expensive mattress, it wasn’t because she missed it but because she was relieved she wasn’t there.

“I don’t miss it. I’m not homesick.” Saying those words aloud cleared her head. She should sell the house. She hadn’t spent a single night there since the incident with the intruder. “Have you ever just wanted to start fresh?”

“Yes.” He slowed down as they approached a hairpin bend. “And I did. Five years ago. I was living in London. Worked for a big international firm. Spent half my life in airports or doing site visits. It was relentless.”

“How did you end up here?”

“My brother-in-law died suddenly. My sister was struggling on her own with two little girls. My nieces.” His smile was soft. “I wanted to be closer to her so I could help when needed. I was willing to take any job that gave me flexibility and some control over my time. Connie had a job for a maintenance person with carpentry experience, and it seemed ideal to me. I assume you know Connie.”

“Yes.” Nicole felt a rush of affection. “I always wished she was my mother.”

“I know what you mean. She’s been great to me. Gave me time off whenever I needed to take the kids for Suzie. Let me leave early. I made sure the jobs got done, and she didn’t care how I managed it all.” He eased the van closer to the edge of the road to allow a car to pass. “After a decade of working for a corporation that felt as if it was full of machines, not people, she restored my faith in human nature.”

“I can believe that.”

The road climbed up through the valley, and she gazed at the wild beauty around them, reflecting on the ups and downs of life.

“How is your sister doing?”

“She’s doing well, thanks. Tough couple of years, and then she met someone. Pete’s a doctor. They got married last year.”

“You like him?”

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