Page 162 of Those Who Are Bound

Jonah

Jonahheadedtowardtheshowers. He wanted to wash the day off himself, regenerate, and find Elliott. The look on her face when he’d had to walk away from her at the river devastated him. He’d hated doing that; he hated feeling as though he’d had to choose between a hurt parishioner and her anxiety.

Now, however, he intended to make it right. Hold her, talk to her, comfort her.

But it was Lucy hurrying toward him from their cluster of tents, not the woman he was aching to lay eyes on. He smiled for her regardless, his gaze searching beyond her.

“Hey, how’s Tao?” she asked.

“He’s good. He’s going to be fine.” Jonah caressed her arm reassuringly. “How’s Elliott? Where is she?”

“She went to take a shower.”

Jonah looked past Lucy to the building that housed the small canteen and showers, where his girlfriend currently was. He made a move to head in that direction, not entirely sure that he wouldn’t barge into the women’s side and claim her.

Lucy grabbed his arm, stopping him. “She’s… I think she’s unhappy right now.”

He looked back at Lucy. Yeah, he knew she would be.

Grimacing, Lucy informed him, “When you walked away, she looked like her world would fall apart. I told her that she’d have to get used to it—that you’re on call almost twenty-four-seven, and you have to be able to go at any moment.”

Not wholly untrue, but it wasn’t something she should have learned from Lucy; Elliott should have heard that from him. He was making more mistakes with her than he could have imagined, and relationships weren’t new to him. But it was Elliott’s first real one. And she was easily spooked; she’d panicked on their second date.

But she had a beautiful spirit. They clicked; she knew it, too. He recognized that their intense chemistry might be a reason for her pushback now—why she was looking for ways to derail the bullet train they were on—because he couldn’t quite believe that in this day and age, religion was a hindrance.

“We’re having some speed bumps,” he admitted. “But I’m falling in love with her. Today was amazing. Being near her… She’s funny, she’s adventurous. When it’s the two of us, the world disappears. All I see is her, and she’s all I want to see.”

“I think Greg and I were almost witness to some of that world falling away. I’m glad it came back to you before it was too late.” She punched his arm lightly. “She’s scared right now, too. Anyone can see that.”

“I know. She’s not ready. But this struggle… she’s worth it.” He grinned. “So am I.”

Now she shoved at him. “Of course you are, dufus.”

“I hope she feels the same way.”

Beaming up at him, Lucy gave him a look of reproach. Sobering, she said seriously, with a touch of concern, “I know you’re in love with her because I saw something I’ve never seen in you before: youwerescaredat the thought of losing her when she tried to break it off. You’ve never been scared before.”

He shook his head in agreement. No, he hadn’t been; not like that. He thought he’d kept those fears locked down, but Lucy knew him. It hadn’t completely gone away, either. Their relationship was unstable. He was still afraid he would lose her. He hadn’t been this vulnerable in a long time. He wanted to leave this all behind them; work out their questions, these bumps in the road, and find their feet under them again.

Because he and Elliott? They made sense.

At that moment, she walked out of the building, not yet aware of them. Her wet black hair was back in a ponytail, and she was wearing a pair of yoga shorts and a tank top with a sports bra beneath. Her expression was… sad; resigned. He wanted to wipe that look off her face.

Doing a visual sweep, she spotted them. He saw the storm clouds gather as her expression sifted from sad to guarded.

Damn it.

She approached them warily. He held out his hand to her, but she dodged it, moving closer to Lucy, lightly swinging her backpack in front of her as it dangled from her hands. She reminded him of a caged panther: cautious, a little wounded, ready to attack at any provocation.

“How are you?” he asked.

“How’s your friend?” she countered.

“Tao. He’s going to be okay. The ambulance just left with him.” Jonah glanced at Lucy. “Vita went, too.” She nodded, but he knew she’d assume that.

“What happened?”

He smiled at her curiosity. “Dehydration; taking him in is a precaution.”

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