“What time does the next ferry leave?”
“In about twenty minutes. Can you get here?”
“Not a chance, but don’t worry. I’ve already talked to Gayle Merriweather. I’ll call her and she’ll get them to hold the ferry till we get there.”
“Oh, geez, Mom. You called the police?”
“Of course we did. We were—”
“Gotta go. Kate’s coming.”
“We’re on our way.”
“Bring Petey?”
“Sure.”
The line went dead.
Jonathan stood and pulled her to her feet. Sliding into his arms was maybe not the smartest move, but she went anyway. She tipped her head to look up at him and sucked in a quick breath just as his lips met hers. There was nothing tentative about this kiss. His mouth was firm, as comforting as it was demanding, and his arms created a warm shelter. She wished they could linger, and on another level was glad they couldn’t. This had been an emotionally charged day, it had been a very long time since she’d experienced this kind of intimacy, and it all felt like uncharted territory.
After a few seconds, he eased away. “We need to go.”
“I’ll get the dog.”
“We can take my car.”
“And I’ll call the police.”
He was standing next to his SUV talking on his phone when she stepped out her front door. With her purse slung over her shoulder and Petey’s travel crate clutched in one hand, she locked up and joined Jonathan in the driveway. She stowed the dog in the back and climbed in, buckling her seat belt while making the call to Constable Merriweather.
Jonathan slid in behind the wheel and tossed his phone on the dash, started the engine, and backed onto the street as he buckled himself in. She didn’t have to ask who he’d been talking to. The tight set of his jaw said it all.
As they drove out of town, she updated the police with the girls’ whereabouts and was assured that an officer would pick them up at the ferry terminal before the next sailing.
“I’ll call as soon as we find them,” Gayle said.
“Thank you.”
In the backseat, Petey yipped from his carrier, excited about going for a car ride. Sarah periodically gave Jonathan a sideways glance. He kept both hands on the wheel and never took his eyes off the road, his features so rigid, they might have been set in stone.
“Kate’s mom must be relieved.”
He nodded.
Okay. Maybe something else was bothering him. Maybe he was thinking about how to react when they reunited with the girls. Or maybe he wished they hadn’t just shared a kiss. She hoped that wasn’t it. That kind of kiss shouldn’t be ruined by regret. Finally, she couldn’t take another second of the silence.
“Are you okay?”
“Not really.”
“You’re worried about Kate.”
“Of course.”
“But there’s something else.”
He nodded.
Great. Was he intentionally giving her the silent treatment? She looked away, staring out the passenger window as they whizzed their way down the coast, catching glimpses of the deep blue water of the strait. She was still trying to process the few details Casey had given her, how she had gone with Kate in an effort to talk the girl out of doing something rash. She still had a lot of questions, but those could wait till they were home, alone. For now the relief of knowing they were okay was all she needed to set her mind at ease.
Her phone rang, snapping her back to the present.
“It’s the police,” she said before answering. Jonathan didn’t respond.
“Gayle? Hi, what’s happening?”
“We got lucky, Sarah. We had a cruiser near the terminal and the officer was able get there within minutes. He has apprehended the girls and they’re on their way to the station in Gibsons.”
Apprehended? “Oh, I...I’m not sure what that means. Have they been arrested?”
That snapped Jonathan out of his ironman pose, and he gave her a quick glance before turning his attention back to the road.
Gayle laughed. “No, it does not. They haven’t done anything wrong.”
Sarah wasn’t sure she agreed with that. Kate had decided to run away, and Casey had decided to go with her. Both girls had made bad decisions, but at least they hadn’t made it onto the ferry. She was beyond grateful for that.
“Thank you for everything you’ve done, Gayle. We’re so relieved to know they’re safe,” Sarah said. “We should be there in ten minutes, fifteen tops.”
She tucked her phone into her handbag, folded her hands in her lap, and waited for Jonathan to say something, anything, but he didn’t speak. A few moments ago she’d been in his arms and he’d kissed her, thoroughly and with enthusiasm. Now, as though a switch had been flipped, he wasn’t speaking to her. She looked at him again and realized there was so much about him that she didn’t know. Beneath his outdoorsy, laid-back exterior, there was an underlying sadness that had been there right from the start. She hadn’t noticed it until now, and her heart broke just a little bit.