Page 37 of Hiding in Alaska (Home to Owl Creek 4)

“Can I get you anything? I made some biscuits earlier and—”

“No,” he said quickly, cutting her off. He needed to talk to her before he lost his nerve. There was something about Ella that always made him feel badly about questioning her. “I’ve already had breakfast at the diner. I need to talk to you about something.”

“All right,” she said. “Why don’t we go to the living room and sit down?”

Connor trailed after her, all the while thinking of what he wanted to say. When Ella sat down on the couch, he resisted the urge to sit next to her. Instead he sat in a high-backed chair across from her.

“Is everything okay? You seem upset.”

He inhaled a calming breath. “I heard something earlier from Gabe. He said you had a visitor fly in from out of town. Is that true?” He was watching her reaction carefully, eager to see her response.

Ella looked like a deer caught in the headlights. She was staring at him with big eyes and picking idly at her long-sleeved shirt. “Yes, it’s true,” she said in a halting voice.

“Who is he?”

“H-he’s a friend.”

His jaw clenched. So why hadn’t she told him? Why had it been such a secret?

He knitted his brows together. “From where? What’s his name?”

“Connor, what’s going on? Why are you grilling me like this?” She wiped her hand across her forehead. She appeared to be nervous. In his heart he’d wanted her to be calm, cool and collected with nothing kept secret.

His heart sank. She was getting defensive and not giving him any of the answers he so desperately needed. Perhaps he was springing this on her, but if she wasn’t keeping him in the dark it shouldn’t be a problem. And it wasn’t just this omission. There had been so many piling up for weeks now. He cared so very deeply about her. Getting to the truth was the only way they might ever have a chance at a future together. And if he was being honest with himself, that’s what he wanted more than anything.

“Has he been here before?” he asked, his suspicions intensifying with every passing second.

Ella bit her lip. She nodded. “Yes. Once before. When I first came to Owl Creek he helped me get settled.”

A feeling of disbelief swept through him. Clearly this man was important to her. He wasn’t a member of her family, and yet she wasn’t doing much explaining about his presence in her life. If he didn’t suspect she was sitting on a world of secrets, maybe this development wouldn’t bother him so much. In many ways it was the final straw of weeks spent wondering about the skeletons in Ella’s closet. He’d had enough!

“His name is Jonah. Like I said, he’s a friend.”

“He flew all the way here, but you didn’t want to introduce him to anyone? Show him around town?” If Ella had toured a stranger around town, Connor would have heard about it. The town gossips would have had a field day over it. But at least it would have been done out in the open. It would make sense.

She looked down instead of meeting his gaze. “H-he wasn’t here long. There really wasn’t time for sightseeing.”

Connor shook his head. It made no sense. Ella was playing him for a fool and pretending as if her actions weren’t suspicious. It felt like she was gaslighting him.

“You said you’re not used to snow, but Flagstaff gets tons of it,” he blurted out. “You didn’t know how to drive in the snow. You were completely unnerved when I wanted to take your ID picture. You didn’t want your picture put online. And the very first day we met you didn’t answer me when I called out your name. How do you explain these inconsistencies?”

“I... I can’t explain those things, Connor.” Her tone was flat and unemotional.

“Can’t or won’t?” he asked. Frustration had gotten t

he better of him. Although he felt badly about blindsiding her with his questions, he’d been driven to the brink. He was trying to bridge this chasm between them, but she wasn’t giving him anything to hold on to. She wasn’t giving him any answers. Nothing made sense. At this point he wasn’t even sure he could justify a friendship with her based on all of her evasions. After what his family had experienced in the past, Connor knew better than to ignore warning signs.

Ella wasn’t even trying to make eye contact with him now. She was shutting down on him, and he had no idea of how to get through to her. Perhaps he was being too insensitive. Maybe she needed a sympathetic approach.

He softened his voice. “Ella, I know you might be scared. I think you’ve been through something that frightened you. I think there are things you haven’t been able to express.”

Ella’s expression was shuttered. How could she be this calm? She wasn’t reacting as if any of this was a big deal at all. Didn’t she care about how he felt?

“Ella, I grew up with secrets. My whole childhood was affected by lies and deception. I can’t go through that again. It hurt too much the first time. And that pain only recently began to heal with Sage’s return. I care about you, but I can’t be involved with someone who won’t be honest with me. The truth is too important to hide.”

“I understand,” she said calmly.

“Is there anything you’d like to tell me?” he asked, offering her a final chance to open up to him. “I’m here, Ella. Here beside you, willing to listen.”

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