Silent Run - Barbara Freethy [38]
Sarah hadn’t said much in the past hour, but that wasn’t unusual. She’d never been the type of woman to chatter. He’d liked that peaceful quality about her. He’d liked a lot of things about her, things that were starting to come back now that the haze of anger he’d been living under was beginning to dissipate. He was still furious that Sarah had walked out on him with Caitlyn, but he now knew there was more to her story. How much more he still had to discover. Aside from that, it was tough to spend every second breathing fire over her head. She was clearly terrified and worried and hurt. And they’d get farther if they found a way to work together instead of in opposition.
At least, that was what he was telling himself, and he didn’t intend to look any closer at his motivations. He was just going to stay focused on finding Caitlyn. It felt good to be taking some positive, decisive action. He’d been stuck, running in place for seven months, and even for the past two days. Now he was moving again, and with some good luck for a change he’d have his daughter back by the end of the day.
Sarah’s tension seemed to ease when they left the mountains and drove along the ocean south of Santa Barbara. The sun shone brightly over the breaking waves, with only a few stray clouds marring the blue sky.
“It’s beautiful,” Sarah murmured, her gaze on the sea. “I wish we could stop for a minute.”
Her words were like an echo from the past. He tried to shake off the memories, but they came flooding back.
They’d been driving down the Pacific Coast Highway out of San Francisco, making their way to his boss’s house in Half Moon Bay for a birthday party. He’d had on one of his best suits, and Sarah was wearing a cocktail dress and high heels. The sun was about to set when Sarah had said . . .
“I wish we could stop for a minute, Jake, walk on the beach, feel the sand between our toes. What do you say? Let’s do it.”
He smiled at the eager light in her beautiful blue eyes. “We’re supposed to be at John’s house in fifteen minutes.”
“I know you hate to be late, but I think it will be worth it.”
He wanted to tell her that his boss disliked people who were late. He wanted to say that they absolutely had to keep moving, that they could come to the beach another time, that this wasn’t the moment. But suddenly it seemed as if this were the moment. That was the way it was with Sarah. She made him want to stop and smell the roses or the salty sea. She had an affinity for nature, and she was starting to rub off on him.
Before he could question his behavior, he found himself pulling off the road at the next turnout.
Sarah was out the door before he could tell her that they were just going to take a quick look at the ocean and be on their way. By the time he joined her at the edge of the sand she already had her shoes off.
When he’d first met her he hadn’t thought of her as impetuous or impulsive; she’d been guarded, quiet, almost as if she were in hibernation. But now she was blossoming, coming out of her shell, and letting him see another side of herself. There were no haunting shadows in her eyes today, nothing to make him wonder what or whom she was thinking about.
“Take off your shoes, Jake,” she said with a laugh. “Live a little.”
“Sarah, we don’t have time.”
Her expression turned serious. “I know we don’t, and we’ll leave if you want to, but look—the sun is setting and the sand is still warm beneath my toes. It won’t last much longer. It will be dusk soon—nighttime. The sea will turn dark and dangerous, but right now it’s gorgeous.”
Sarah didn’t like the nighttime. She didn’t like walking home from