Page 73 of Lost Cause
She offered a heartfelt prayer. Surprisingly he offered a halting one of his own. It wasn’t pretty. Not eloquent. But it was music to Abby’s ears.
She squeezed his hand. “Just keep praying. I promise it’ll help.”
“Couldn’t hurt, I guess.” A faint smile appeared on his face. “Thanks for showing me how important it might be.”
She smiled back at him and stood. “We’ll arrange for someone to stay with you tomorrow to ease your security worries.”
Gabe cocked his head in question. She shook hers, letting him know he was off the hook from another unexciting day of babysitting.
He slashed a hand in front of his neck and smiled.
Burke gave Victor what she knew was one of his rare comforting smiles. “We want to make this process as easy for you as we can.”
“I thank you for that.” Victor relaxed back in his chair.
Abby’s heart, already warm from Victor’s attempt to return to God, heated even more over the kindness Burke had just shown. Another positive characteristic in Burke’s favor. He could empathize with people in difficult situations and didn’t seem afraid to show his compassion.
Confusing. Which guy was he really? The one who reminded her of her family, or the one who’d just comforted a stranger in need?
Did it even matter? She wouldn’t give in to her feelings, especially not when they could possibly find Estelle’s body tomorrow, changing everything.
Abby would once again find herself working with Burke on a stressful murder investigation. Such an investigation would take over everything else in her life right now, leaving her feelings for Burke on the back burner.
Enough. No more tossing and turning for Burke. He gave up on trying to turn off his brain to sleep. He hadn’t been counting sheep because his thoughts were filled with the investigation. No. It was Abby of course. She occupied every inch of his mind, coupled with visions of a future with her. Like tonight. Sitting across from her in a casual dinner setting, relaxed and animated. A side of her he’d never seen before, and he liked it. Every bit of it.
“Argh.” He pushed out of the twin bed, making sure he didn’t wake the snoring Victor.
He stepped into his boots and grabbed a jacket, then moved outside. His breath puffed white in the cold, and he tugged Griff’s loaner jacket tighter around his body. Griff had offered casual clothing, but Burke opted to stay in his suit. He thankfully accepted the loan of the jacket though.
No destination in mind, he strolled toward the fake small town. Looking up, he stopped to stare at the millions of stars glistening above, and the moon, bright and full, beaming down on him.
If he didn’t believe in God, the beautiful creation before him would certainly make him question. But he’d believed in God—had for as long as he could remember and still did—learning to live for Him from his family.
But living for Him now? Not so much. Now he felt the need to blame someone for Tiffany’s betrayal, and God was convenient. Always there. Always the same. Always reliable. He never changed. Only Burke had changed.
“So what do you plan to do to fix that?” He continued to stare at God’s mighty display overhead as if he could find his answers in the stars.
“Couldn’t sleep either?” Abby’s voice came from behind. She was wrapped up in a fuzzy-lined coat, her face red from the cold, but looking toasty warm. “My mind’s been racing all night, and I couldn’t get it to quiet down.”
“Same.”
“Is it the investigation?”
He didn’t want to tell her the truth, but he wasn’t a liar. “No. Something about you is.”
“Me?” She blinked. “What about me?”
“I think you know. All those sidelong glances, and that not-so-hidden attraction.”
Her smile wobbled a little, awkward. “So it’s that obvious, huh?”
He nodded.
She released a quiet breath. “I’m surprised Sam didn’t say anything. She usually doesn’t miss that kind of stuff.”
“Oh, she noticed. She was watching us during dinner. She just didn’t comment.”
Abby shook her head and wandered over to the bench outside the fake Starbucks. She sat, and he took it as a quiet invitation to join her. They needed to talk. Maybe he was reading everything wrong, but even so, it was time to stop dodging whatever this was between them and talk it through.
