Page 140 of Forever After All

“Wouldn’t we all. Man, I know you don’t have many friends, but if they’re all like this guy, just don’t tell us,” Brett said.

“Sorry ‘bout that.” Linc glanced at Jess before hanging his head.

Vera rubbed her hands together. “Well, we’d better go. You probably need some rest. Just call us if you need anything.”

“Thanks so much,” Jess said.

“Oh, and we’ll have your house cleaned up before you get home. At least, we’ll try to. It’s still a crime scene right now. Paul already got a new door, and we’re just waiting on the go-ahead to fix it.”

Jess’s face grew cold remembering the mess in her living room. The front door was busted, and there had to be blood everywhere.

“Ms. Landry is having the time of her life,” Jess explained. “Actually, she called the police before I got a chance. They were already on their way.”

Linc huffed. “That woman is my new best friend.”

Brett crossed his arms over his chest. “What? I called too! And I’ve been trying to get even a friend status for years. This is bogus.”

“You can have friend status, but Jess still outranks you,” Linc said groggily.

Brett nodded. “I guess that’s fine, as long as you treat her right.”

Linc squeezed Jess’s hand, sending a surge of warmth up her arm. “You don’t have to worry about that.”

“Well, we’d better get going. See you two back at the ranch soon.”

Soon? How long would that be? All of the chores that needed to be done before the tourist season started would be taking a back seat while Linc recovered. She didn’t intend to leave him unless she had to.

Brett wrapped her in a gentle hug, careful not to touch her injured side.

“Thanks again,” she whispered to her brother.

“Don’t mention it. Love you, sis.”

“Love you too.” She had a new appreciation for love lately. Not only did she have a family she could count on, but she had a man with no obligation to her who would risk his life for her.

Linc.

After Brett and Vera left, Linc squeezed Jess’s hand again. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine. Really. I was discharged last night.”

Linc rubbed his thumb over her hand. “I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“But I did. I did everything Ryan said I did. Now, I put you through this because of the things I did–”

“In the past,” Jess finished. “If you did those things, they’ve been forgiven.”

“I need to tell you about the woman,” Linc said, looking down at their linked hands.

Oh. That. She’d been hoping to avoid talking about it for a while. Was she ready to hear it?

“I burned buildings. It was stupid. I was angry, and I didn’t care about anyone but myself. We mostly burned abandoned buildings. Old stores, run-down sheds, things like that. One night, Ryan set fire to an abandoned apartment building. We hadn’t talked about it before, and when I got there, he handed me the lighter.”

Jess’s pulse pounded in her head. She didn’t want to hear the story, knowing the outcome was so awful.

“I thought to ask if he’d checked the building. I always did that. He said he hadn’t, so I panicked. I went in, but I couldn’t see through the smoke. By the time I ran back out, the police and fire departments were already there, and I was arrested.”

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