Page 48 of In Hiding

He groaned in protest but did as she asked, stacking their dishes, and taking them to the sink. She heard the water run as he prepared to wash up and gave Jake a nod of the head. They stood and went into the hall.

“Where are we going?”

She went to the stairs. “Follow me.”

Taking the stairs one at a time would make it a long journey, but she wanted him to experience a sight sure to impress. Three floors up, she halted at the top of the stairs to catch her breath.

“Wow.”

He stared, open mouthed at the studio around him. The top floor of the house was almost a self-contained apartment. There was a bathroom and a built-in closet, but the rest was a single room with an old, four-poster bed at one end, a sitting area, and a wall of windows much like those in the kitchen.

That was where Jake stood, gazing out into the world outside. Hobbling to his side, Sarah unlocked the French doors to the balcony and pushed them open. Cold wind swirled around them, bringing with it a flurry of snow, but the winter wonderland was too beautiful to ignore.

Jake stepped out onto the balcony, leaving footprints in the snow. The panoramic vista was possibly better than that from the kitchen, judging by the awe on his face. He turned and held out a hand to her. Accepting it, she joined him.

“This is amazing.”

“It is.”

The moonlit landscape below held a magic she’d never tire of. Why would anyone want to trade it in for the city? Side by side, they leaned on the balustrade.

“When I’m up here, I feel like the luckiest woman alive.”

He glanced at her. “I’d have to agree.”

“It would seem you and my son have formed a friendship.”

He nodded. “There’s a lot to like about your kid. Not least of which is his honesty.”

“What makes you say that?”

Jake turned to face her. “He’s scared for you. He has been for a long time and when you fell, it hit home that he almost lost you. Again.”

Again.

Had William told him everything? “I don’t know how to fix that for him.”

“You don’t have to.”

“And I don’t know how to get him to talk to me.”

Jake winced. “That’s a touchy subject for him, I think. He doesn’t want you to feel guilty for the way he’s feeling, if that makes any sense. I don’t think there are too many sixteen-year-olds who worry about hurting their mother’s feelings the way he does.”

She hugged herself against the cold. “Do you think the counseling is helping?”

Jake smiled and, in the moonlight, his eyes sparkled. “It is, but I think it’s going to take time. He wants me to teach him how to fight, to defend himself. I said I’d ask you if that was okay.”

“Why would he need to learn that?” The expression on Jake’s face said she should know the answer. “It’s not for him,” she conceded. “He thinks he needs to defend me.”

A slight nod of the head confirmed her fears.

“How much did he tell you?”

“Most of it, I think.” He took her by the arms. “I wish you’d told me, Sarah.”

She tried to swallow but her mouth was dry. “I never have the words.”

He looked like he was ready for a deeper conversation than she wanted to have. “I can’t imagine what you went through. I suspect it’s made it hard to trust me?”

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