Page 65 of Harbor

Shawna

Five days have gone by since the worst day of my life. I’ve thanked God every day for saving Noah and me. Thinking about what could’ve happened to us if Nate and his team weren’t there still haunts me. My therapist said I need to stop thinking of the what-ifs. Otherwise, it’ll be harder to push past this horrible experience. It’s difficult, but I’m working on it.

Noah started seeing a therapist, too. He’s had nightmares ever since he was kidnapped, and he’s afraid to be away from me. Neither of us has gone to work or school this week. I decided not to push Noah right away, but come Monday, I may have to. He’ll have to return to school eventually.

It was one week ago that Nate left Port Townsend the first time. I was so angry with him then! It’s funny how things can change so quickly. Now, he’s planning to move here to be closer to me, and he’s flying in next week to test with the Port Townsend police. I’m not freaking out about it at all … nope, not at all.

Well, maybe a little.

There’s a knock on the door, and I get up to answer it. I know it’s Kim since we had planned on her coming over for dinner. Mom took Noah out to his favorite restaurant, not only to give Kim and me a chance to talk uninterrupted, but to also try to help Noah get over his fear of being away from me. She figured it might be easier for him if she took him to his favorite restaurant that also boasts an impressive arcade.

I open the door, and Kim walks in, holding a bottle of my favorite wine. “Let’s get this party started!” she says, giving me a quick hug. “How are you doing today?”

“I’m okay. Getting a little better every day, I guess.” I close the door behind her.

Kim hands me the wine and takes her coat off. “Well, you look and sound better than you did when I saw you on Saturday,” she says.

“I guess that’s good.” I laugh. I was a mess on Saturday. Not only was it just one day after the incident, but it was the day Nate left town, too. I didn’t want him to leave so soon, but he had to.

We walk to the back of the house, and I set the wine on the kitchen counter. “It was nice of your mom to take Noah out. How did he handle it?” she asks.

“Not well at first. He was really apprehensive when she told him her plans to take him out. He cried, but after I talked with him about it, he was better. They just left a few minutes before you got here.”

“I thought I passed your mom’s car driving here,” she says. “Let’s open this bottle!”

I open and pour the wine into two glasses, then we sit in the family room. I’ve already told her about Nate and his plans to hopefully move here, but she doesn’t know he’s flying up next week to try to make it happen.

“Are you going back to work next week?”

I nod. “Yes, I need to. I mean, things are going fine there without me, but I can’t stay away forever.”

“And a week is forever?” she asks with a chuckle.

Rolling my eyes, I smile at my friend. “You know me too well. My name is Shawna, and I’m a workaholic.”

She laughs. “Yeah, well, I can’t say much … it takes one to know one, and I’m a workaholic, too. So, what’s the latest on Jarred? Have you heard any news about what’s happening to him?”

“He’s being released from the hospital either tomorrow or Friday, then the feds will take him and book him in Seattle.”

“Has he told the FBI what he was planning to do with you and Noah?”

I bite my lip. This isn’t easy to discuss. “He did, actually. He and his father were planning to take Noah back to Montana with them. Apparently, after his mom passed, he got this urge to know his son and be a father to him. But, in order to do so, he wanted to get me out of the picture. He’s no stranger to making people disappear, if you know what I mean, and his father had a criminal history as well. Jarred was wanted by the FBI because he was in deep with a white supremacist organization and carried out several murders, arson, and even a couple of bombings.” I take a sip of my wine. The what-ifs begin replaying in my mind again.

“Oh, God, Shawna.” Kim places her hand on my knee. “I can’t believe Jarred was involved in all of that! I’m so sorry. We don’t need to talk about it anymore.”

“It’s okay.”

Kim lets out an audible breath. “Let’s discuss something better. How’s Nate doing?”

I smile. “He’s doing good. In fact, I have some news.”

“Ooh, do tell,” she says, waggling her eyebrows.

“He’s flying up here next week to test with the police department.”

Kim’s eyebrows shoot up. “That’s great! One step closer to him moving here!”

“I know … it is … isn’t it?” I scrunch my face to show my recent apprehension about these plans.

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