At that instant, Evie moved into the frame of the doorway, looking out to the ocean. Clancy’s heart jumped to see the shock of white blond hair, the long neck, and those legs. God, it was so wrong to be looking at her legs at a time like this! But he was only a man, and for eighteen years now he’d been walking the earth with the image of Evie’s legs permanently burned into his brain, the standard bearer for every woman he would encounter. No one ever came close.
Evie turned, peered through the glass, and caught him staring. Her face remained blank, just a hint of sadness in her expression, but she didn’t shy away from his gaze.
He went to her.
“Chris is napping.”
“Good.”
“Have you seen the news?” Evie wouldn’t make eye contact with him, her voice sounding as blank as her face appeared.
“Look at me, Evie.”
“Don’t ask me to do that.”
“Please.” Clancy placed his hand on her shoulder, then let his fingers trail down her left arm. “You need to tell me everything. It doesn’t matter what this looks like on the news or what anyone else is saying. I want to hear it directly from you—what’s real, what’s politics, what’s complete bullshit. Just tell me what is going on and we’ll go from there. Whatever I can do, I’ll do it.”
“Chris won’t be asleep for much longer.”
“All the more reason to not waste any more time.” Clancy eased her around so that she faced him. So much pain in those pale green eyes, so much fear etched in her beautiful face. It was obvious how alone she felt, and it wasn’t right. The girl he once loved so deeply shouldn’t feel that way.
“First, I need to ask you to do something for me. It’s important.”
“If I can, I will,” Clancy said.
“I need you to somehow get a message to my father, telling him we’re okay. But it’s not safe to call or e-mail or even write. I think the FBI is—”
“I’ll take care of it.”
Her eyes widened. “You will?”
Clancy put his fingertip under her chin and forced her to look up at him. “I can safely get a message to your family that you and Chris are all right. It will just take a little ingenuity.”
Evelyn grabbed Clancy’s forearm for support, as if she felt light-headed. “You’ll do that for me? It’s only my dad. I know he’s going crazy right now, not knowing what’s happened to—”
“I didn’t know your mom passed away.” Clancy couldn’t begin to imagine the weight of the grief she carried. Both her sister and her mother were gone, and he hadn’t been there to help her through any of it.
Again . . . her choice. So why was it still so hard for him to remember that? Why did he have to keep reminding himself that Evie chose not to write to him, not to have him in her life?
She nodded. “The summer after you and I . . . she had cancer. It was very quick. Dad, Chris, and I are what’s left of the family.”
“I wish I would have known, Evie. I’m so sorry. About your sister, too.”
She didn’t say anything, just dropped her eyes to her feet.
“Evie, you’ve got to tell me what’s going on. Right now.”
Her head snapped up. “I . . .” Tears began to well in her eyes. She tried to stay in control but her chin trembled. Ah, shit. It was obvious she needed to be kissed more than she needed to be interrogated.