Page 53 of Solid as Steele
“In case you needed me.”
He took a shuddering breath. “Wouldn’t mind the company to go see Keith.”
“Of course.”
“He moved to Salem this year to take a job at the Salem Police Department so it’ll be a long drive.”
“No worries. I’m glad to help.”
He watched her then rested his hand on hers where she’d laid it on the open window. “You’re a very special woman, Mackenzie Steele.”
Heat crept up her neck. “Just doing what I would want someone to do for me.”
“Don’t play it down. You’re special, and I want to be sure you know it.”
She didn’t. Not in so many words. As the middle child in the family, she’d often received less attention. But she’d learned to deal with it. Not that her parents didn’t show their love for her—let her know that they were proud of her. But the spark Owen was offering had been missing from her life, and the wonder of it captured her like nothing else ever had. Like a cozy fireplace on a snowy day.
“Let me tell my parents that I’m not taking the car, and I’ll be right back.” He gave her hand a quick squeeze then went back through the garage and into the house.
She lifted her window, letting the warmth from his touch and kind words ease out the chill from the horrific day. Not that it could erase it for long, but for a moment she felt full. Complete.
Thank You for Owen. I hate the circumstances under which we met, but thank You for bringing him into my life.
She should also ask God to show her thereasonhe brought her together with Owen, but right now she didn’t care. Didn’t care that she didn’t want to be tied down. She just wanted to bask in the heartfelt look he’d given her and help him cope.
He returned and punched a code into the keypad to close the garage door then climbed in the passenger seat. “I’ll put the address in your GPS.”
He tapped it in, and she reversed their earlier route to the interstate highway. Most importantly she clamped her mouth closed and resisted the burning urge to ask how it went with his parents.
He sat back and didn’t speak. Her heart ached for him, and the silence felt like sitting on a bed of nails.
“FYI, I got the background report on Cassie from Nick,” she said to break the silence. “Nothing we don’t already know.”
“Not surprising.” Owen turned to look at her. “Thank you for staying. I have to admit after I told my parents, I wished you were waiting for me.”
She didn’t know what to say other than her heart ached for him, and she was glad to help. Things she’d already told him, so she kept quiet.
He faced forward and stared. “They took it hard. Not harder than I expected. I think they were in shock.”
“I would imagine so.”
“After so much time with Cassie missing, you prepare yourself for this kind of news, but can never be ready for the reality.”
She wanted to say the right thing and took her time replying. “Coming from a law enforcement family, we all knew someone could lose their life. Still, it was a shock when we heard about Thomas. Even more, because he’d left the force to run Steele Guardians. So you think the danger is gone, but not in our world. It’s everywhere and getting worse.”
“Murders are climbing to an alarming rate I never thought I’d see.” He fell silent.
“When I was on the force, I got lost and swept away by the world’s brokenness. It was heightened when Thomas died. That made everything personal.”
He looked at her. “You seem to have recovered.”
“Recovered? I don’t know that I did. That a person can. But it helped to leave the force and not see every day how man could hurt their fellow man. Now I can wake up and see joy still comes every morning. I embrace that as much as I can.”
“I think it’s going to take me some time to get there.”
“Of course it will. Maybe it will help to think of God grieving over the evil in this world and that He grieves over what happened to Cassie.”
“He could’ve stopped it.”
