Keeping Her Close

by Carol Ross

  Kyle barely resisted the urge to chuckle and shook his head. “You have to use the app every time someone is at the door, even when—”

  “I’m expecting someone,” she finished for him.

  “Especially when you’re expecting someone. A skilled criminal would know to strike when your guard is down and—”

  She finished his statement with a resigned, “And they’re the most dangerous ones. I’m sorry. I know you’re right, it’s just... Ugh.”

  “I don’t want you to be sorry. I want you to be alive.”

  Harper studied him for a beat before giving him a firm nod. “Okay.” She gave him a quick kiss and added, “With so few words, you do such a good job of scaring me straight.” Then she headed to the door to welcome his family.

  After the women took a tour of the house, they gathered in the dining room to sample the food.

  “Harper, this hummus is delicious,” Nora gushed. “Is it homemade?”

  “Thank you, Nora. It is. I think everyone should add a little hummus to their diet.” Harper smiled smoothly at Kyle as she scooped some onto a plate. When she reached for his favorite chips and dumped a few next to the dip, he could see what she intended.

  “Laney,” Kyle said, in an effort at distraction, “you should slip a few of those cookies into your backpack and take them home for Levi and Jay.”

  “That’s a great idea,” Harper agreed. “I’ll get something to put them in.” She hustled into the kitchen, passing Kyle the hummus-laden plate on her way by. With a wink, she said, “Here you go. Help yourself.”

  “Sneaky,” he whispered.

  When they’d eaten their fill and caught up on small talk, they all headed into Harper’s office. Kyle couldn’t believe that the woman he loved had so effortlessly gained his family’s favor. He couldn’t make out what they were saying, but he savored the sound of their animated conversation and laughter. He decided he could listen to them for hours. But he needed to utilize this moment of privacy. With the package from Sheila in hand, he quietly exited the house, locking the door and setting the alarm behind him. He wouldn’t be gone long, and with any luck, he’d be back before he was ever missed.

  Once inside his cottage, he took a deep breath and stared at the box. After Harper’s reaction to Owen’s lies about his family, he hadn’t thought it wise to open the package in front of her. He had no idea what to expect and suspected he might prefer to be alone with his reaction. He couldn’t help but feel like Owen was reaching out to him from the grave.

  Tearing off the brown paper and opening the box, he found an envelope on top with his name printed in bold black letters. Inside, he found a letter dated only two weeks before Owen died. Emotion clogged his chest as he read the words from his friend.

  Dear Kyle,

  If you’re reading this, then things probably aren’t great. I’m either dead or dying in a hospital. (I hope it’s the first one because you know how I feel about hospitals and dying slow.) Either way, I hope Mom came across this package and sent it to you before much time passed. Knowing her, I’m afraid you’re reading this, and I’ve already been gone for months—or years. Ha-ha! In the grand scheme of things, it shouldn’t matter, it would just be nice for you to be able to pick up where I left off as soon as possible.

  But first, I need to tell you a few things. We’re different, me and you. I wish I was more like you even as I wish you were more like me. Mostly I wish I was like you because you’re the best man, the best friend and the best SEAL I’ve ever known. But if the second were the case, you would be with me right now and this letter wouldn’t be necessary. We’d already be partners in this. But that’s okay, we both have always done what we felt was right. Even if it didn’t always match up completely.

  Now I’m going to say the hard stuff because it’s easier to write it down—I love you. You are the brother of my heart. You know that, right? That’s why I’m turning this operation over to you. You’re the only person I can trust. But I gotta be honest with you here, I may be in over my head a little and taken chances that I shouldn’t have taken. Not that that matters now. What’s done is done. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, and all that.

  But it’s also the reason I’m writing this letter. You know, in case. Always have a plan B, right?

  I know you’ll be able to straighten things out if I’ve gone too far. I can’t say much more in this letter in case someone else finds it before it finds you.

  Take this key and figure out the code. Go there! You’ll find everything you need.

  Please remember that I’m trying to give Mattie all the things I never had. You know how much I want that. You know how much I love her. So, I’m also asking you, if something happens to me, to help Mattie remember me through your eyes. That’s how she’ll see me the best because no one really knows me like you do. I’m counting on the fact that you’ll do this. You’ve never let me down.

  Your friend,

  Owen

  PS: I hope you never read this! Someday when we’re old men, I’ll show you this letter and tell you about this time of my life while we’re sitting on my porch and talking about the good old days.

  Kyle wiped the tears from his eyes and read the letter again. He knew his friend wasn’t perfect, but he loved him.

  And Owen loved him, too. He knew it with all of his being. Owen had risked his own life to save Kyle. Kyle made a vow to spend time with Mattie doing exactly what Owen had asked. It wouldn’t be difficult for him to do it, to help her remember all the best parts of her dad. Harper was right that she hadn’t known the man Kyle had. This was the Owen he knew.

  This letter was cryptic, yes. But Kyle was confident that this was Owen’s way of telling him that he was on to something big. If something happened to him, he wanted Kyle to see it through. Kyle felt his stomach churn at the thought of Owen trying to uncover a dangerous smuggling operation all on his own. Had this, as Harper feared, been what got him killed?

  Inside the box, Kyle found a bag of mementos stretching back through the years of his and Owen’s friendship: a bottle cap from their favorite bar in Coronado, a business card from a paintball place they’d frequented in San Diego, a pouch of shells they’d collected on the beach for Mattie, on it went. Kyle was touched that he’d saved the items. He found the key inside a baggie that was wrapped up in two US Navy T-shirts. A slip of paper was tucked in with it.

  Kyle unfolded the note, chuckling when he saw the “coded” message. He and Owen had invented their own code when they’d first met. Before SEAL training, after basic, they’d both been stationed in San Diego. They’d had a nosy, jealous roommate who was constantly trying to get them in trouble. They’d devised the code both to communicate confidentially and to irk their annoying roommate. They’d eventually unloaded the roommate, but the code had lived on.

  Whatever Owen had left for him was in a safe-deposit box in Newport Beach, California. And there was no doubt in Kyle’s mind that it was there that he’d find the proof he needed to clear Owen’s name.

  * * *

  THEY WERE OUTSIDE in the yard when Kyle noticed the strange car creeping close to the end of Harper’s driveway. He and Harper had gone grocery shopping that morning and stopped at a nursery on the way home. Harper was preparing to plant some flowers. She was happy, and he loved that. He wished with all his soul that he could relish the domestic simplicity of the outing, but he was too busy trying to decide whether he should tell her about the safe-deposit box.

  Should he explain what he believed Owen was really up to? Or wait until he had the proof in hand? Probably the latter, he decided. She hadn’t known Owen like he had and might not see things the same way.

  His contract with David was up in two days. He’d detour to California before going to Seattle. He’d hand over the proof and tell Travis that he wasn’t taking the job with Dahlia at the same time. Then he would surprise Harper and his
family with the news that he wasn’t leaving Pacific Cove. But first, he wanted to solidify his new plan for employment. He looked forward to a time when Owen would no longer be this looming presence in his relationship with Harper.

  The ominous car turned into the driveway and distracted him from his thoughts.

  “Are you expecting someone? Do you recognize the vehicle?” Kyle asked Harper, positioning his body so that he stood in front of her.

  “No, on both counts,” she said.

  The car stopped behind Kyle’s pickup.

  “What do we do?”

  By that time, Kyle already recognized the man behind the wheel. But what in the world was he doing here?

  “It’s okay,” Kyle said. “I know him. That’s my friend Josh.” He kept his tone casual, but his mind was busy spinning through possibilities. Did Josh have news about Owen? The double threat weighed on him instantly. He didn’t want Josh to know that he and Harper were romantically involved. Not until he had a chance to explain about her and Owen. And he didn’t want to tell Josh what he suspected about Owen until he had the proof in hand.

  Of course, the bigger danger was that Josh would let it slip that Kyle had been working for Dahlia. He needed to get rid of him. And he needed to do it fast. Maybe he’d invite him out for coffee. That would be good; he and Harper had been talking about simulating situations that might arise when he was gone. That would be his excuse.

  “Oh, how nice. A navy friend?”

  “Yes, but he works for Dahlia now. I don’t know what he’s doing here.”

  “Kyle! Hey! Looks like I have the right place?”

  “Yes, you do. Hi, buddy!” Kyle said enthusiastically when he approached. “This is a cool surprise,” he lied and shook his hand.

  Motioning between his companions, Kyle said, “Josh Avery, Harper Jansen. Harper, Josh.”

  “Nice to meet you, Josh.”

  “You, too,” Josh said with a sheepish smile. “But I kinda feel like I know you already.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah, I was a friend of Owen’s, too. Like Kyle here. And then, of course, Kyle has told me about you.”

  Kyle could see the curiosity flickering in Harper’s eyes. He braced himself because he knew that expression. It was the one that preceded the question blitz. But it didn’t happen. What she did instead was way, way worse: she invited him in.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  HARPER BEGAN HER inquiry in the kitchen while she made a pot of coffee. The CIA or the FBI should hire her, Kyle thought, to perform all their interrogations. He could see Josh warming to her, falling under her spell. Within minutes, he was providing details about his family and childhood in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

  Kyle hadn’t known that Josh had had a dog named Stan who’d once gotten stuck in a frozen pond. According to Josh, he and the dog had both nearly drowned, and the harrowing experience had resulted in his desire to become a navy SEAL. Kyle would have laughed if there wasn’t so much at stake here.

  The thing about Harper was that she was genuinely interested in people. She had such an engaging way about her that it made you want to answer. But still, Josh should know better than to willingly divulge so much about himself to an unknown entity. And that’s when he realized that maybe she wasn’t an unknown at this point.

  Kyle fought off the panic and tried to think. He wanted to stop this conversation and push Josh out the door. If she found him out, his only hope was that she would trust in his love enough to forgive him. Since she knew how much Owen had meant to him and that he’d been doing a job for his new employer... What was he thinking? None of that would fly if he were in her situation. What he needed was for her not to find out at all.

  Harper poured coffee and arranged cookies on a plate. They settled in the living room, Josh in one of the easy chairs by the fireplace, he and Harper on the sofa. An easy hour passed, with Harper encouraging them to share stories about their time together as SEALs. They acquiesced, and by silent mutual consent they stuck to the funny and more lighthearted stories and avoided much mention of Owen. Kyle started to relax. He should have trusted that his friend would know better than to give him away.

  As the second hour came to a close, Josh announced that he needed to hit the road. His next stop was an aunt and uncle in Newport where he was expected for dinner.

  Harper said to Josh, “I’m so glad you were able to stop by for a visit, but I just realized you never mentioned what you were doing here on our little stretch of coastline? Did you come all the way here just to see Kyle?”

  “Basically. My sister’s baby is being baptized this weekend in Salem, and I’m the little guy’s godfather. When I realized how close to Pacific Cove that was, I decided to zip on over here in my rental car and see the Oregon coast. Visit Kyle and meet you. My new hero.”

  Hero? Kyle tensed. Where was he going with this?

  “You’re just saying that because I showed you the photo of Kyle when he fell overboard,” she joked.

  And that’s when things began to fall apart.

  Josh laughed. “Well, yeah, there’s that. But I also want to thank you on behalf of Dahlia for the tip you gave Drew Louis before Owen died.”

  “Oh,” Harper said, belying her clear surprise with a little shake of her head. “I didn’t think anyone was listening.”

  “Like I told Kyle the other day, Dahlia took that information very seriously. Drew had to play it cool at the time because of your close association with Owen. You know, in case you were somehow involved.” Josh added an apologetic smile. “I’m sure you understand.”

  “Of course,” she returned smoothly, but Kyle could see the wheels spinning in her mind, no doubt homing in on that phrase “Like I told Kyle...” She’d be wondering why he’d been talking to Josh about anything Harper had reported to Drew. It was more than enough for someone as intelligent and perceptive as Harper to put together.

  “There will be a formal thank-you coming your way.” Josh tossed a smile at Kyle but didn’t focus long enough to notice that Kyle didn’t return it. Kyle stared at Josh and willed him to stop talking. If he stopped right now, then maybe Kyle could salvage this somehow.

  Instead, Josh said to Harper, “That part of the investigation is finished. There won’t even be a hint about you or BEST between the pages of the report, no matter the final outcome regarding Owen.

  “I have news about that, too. Good news, sort of. The investigation into the cause of death is complete. It’s been confirmed that Owen’s car wreck was an accident.” Directing his next statement to Kyle, he said, “We should have the answers on the rest of it soon. Hoping for more good news.”

  Harper nodded and looked at Kyle. For a split second, Kyle was afraid to meet her gaze as if avoiding it could stave off this nightmare. But he did. He had to. Anyone else would see a beautiful woman relaxed and enjoying Josh’s speech. Kyle saw a fake smile frozen in place on features unusually pale. The usual sparkle had dimmed in her blue-gray eyes. She knew. Kyle’s chest hurt like his heart was being crushed from within. He recognized the pain for what it was, all the while hoping she’d give him a chance to explain. To apologize. To promise...

  Josh stood. Harper followed suit. Kyle forced himself to move. Such a strange sensation, he thought, to have your dreams, your deepest hope for the future, crumble down around you and not be able to do anything about it. His life was all about action, moving, doing, preparing, fixing. But if time in the military had taught him anything, it was that some things you just couldn’t fix. Because when he thought about this from Harper’s point of view, he didn’t see forgiveness and understanding in the cards. And honestly, he didn’t deserve either.

  “Let me get you some of those cookies for the road,” Harper said and headed into the kitchen where she packed a bag for Josh. Kyle noticed the slight tremble in her hands.

  “Thank you so much,”
Josh was saying. “I can’t remember the last time I had homemade peanut butter cookies...”

  Kyle felt like he was watching himself from above, giving his body commands: walk to the kitchen, take a sip of coffee, laugh at Josh’s joke... Somehow, he managed to escort his friend to the door. They said their goodbyes and expressed how they both looked forward to Kyle’s first “official” assignment with Dahlia. Kyle shut the door, locked it and found Harper standing in the dining room.

  * * *

  BEFORE THIS MOMENT, Harper would have considered herself an expert on betrayal. But one who would never allow herself to be subjected to it again. Positive that she’d finally met an honorable man who truly loved her, she’d been growing smug in the knowledge, and the security Kyle provided. And not the physical kind, but the bone-deep confidence that she could trust this man with her life, her fears, her deepest secrets. It was darkly, horrifically comical when she thought about it. How she’d believed that Owen had broken her heart when in reality, he’d only damaged her pride and wounded her soul. That experience was nothing compared to what Kyle had done. Owen’s betrayal felt like a stroll on the beach compared to this.

  Trembling with a combination of shock and rage and disappointment, she stared at Kyle unsure where to begin. Maybe he didn’t deserve any words. In his eyes, she certainly hadn’t.

  Finally, she asked, “Have you been working for Dahlia in some type of information-gathering role while you were working here for me?”

  “Yes.”

  “I am such an idiot.”

  “Harper, no, you’re not. Let me explain.”

  “Okay.” The word came out involuntarily. It was just there without any thought on her part. Evidently, her heart was doing the talking, because she realized then that she desperately and irrationally wished for the possibility of an explanation. “Let’s hear it. I would love for there to be an explanation that doesn’t include you spying on me for Dahlia while you were purportedly working as my security expert. Getting close to me, being nice to me, letting me fall for you, all the while allowing me to believe we might have a future together. No wonder you haven’t seemed concerned about a long-distance relationship. You were so confident that would work out because all along you knew it didn’t matter. You got what you wanted, and you were leaving, right? Now that I think about that, I need to ask you a question—when did they ask you to do this?”