More than a year had passed since that first date-a year of no big fights, no heartache, and no drama. That was just the way Ellie liked it. She liked the sex, too, but sex wasn’t everything. Honesty was.
Ellie had something important to share with Jake, something that could change their relationship drastically. He’d show up any minute, and Ellie would have to confront him.
Ellie gazed down at Winston from the hilly rise of the ten-acre plot of land her father had willed to his three daughters. As a matter of fairness, Ellie’s father had divided his substantial assets equally among the three children, but only Ellie wanted to stay in Winston. She used her inheritance to buy out her city-dwelling siblings.
The home and land were special to Ellie, filled with cherished memories of playing hide-and-seek with her sisters, capturing fireflies, and roasting marshmallows in the big fire pit where her father frequently burned brush. No place on earth was quite like it, and Ellie felt lucky and grateful to have such a beautiful home. Over these last few months, Jake had come to know Ellie’s home, and he, too, had fallen under its spell.
Ellie’s property stood at the end of a long stretch of dirt road. It looked like something out of a fairy tale. A hilly landscape with breathtaking views of Winston cradled a gorgeous post-and-beam home, which her father had built by hand. Not far from the wide front porch was a large duck pond, which froze in the winter and made a perfect ice-skating rink. Neighborhood kids could always be counted on for a spirited game of hockey. The sounds of the children’s shouts and laughter always made Ellie feel a little less lonely since the divorce.
Now she had Jake to cure those winter blues. Or did she?
Ellie had never been invited to Jake’s home. She knew he lived in a double-wide trailer. That didn’t bother her in the least, but maybe it bothered him. On the surface, Jake and Ellie seemed to have much in common-a love of dogs and guns, a history with a difficult disease-but a wall remained between them, and Ellie wasn’t sure who was doing most of the construction. Initially she hadn’t pushed the issue. Ellie still carried some of the wounds Walt left behind and she liked the relationship just the way it was. So Ellie let it go, and Jake didn’t change. But she had fallen for Jake Dent and started to want something more. If she was going to be in a relationship, she had to believe it was going to grow and deepen. Ellie brought her walls down, but it was clear Jake had not. Ellie began to think there was more to Jake than just a supremely private guy.
Which was why she’d turned to Google. And how she found a whole lot more than she ever expected.
CHAPTER 4
Jake drove up Ellie’s driveway in his Chevy Tahoe. Kibo came running like his best buddy suddenly materialized out of thin air. As Jake came to a stop, the muscular German shepherd stood on hind legs, slipped his nose under the front passenger-side door handle, and lifted his head. No scratches left behind. The door latch disengaged, and Kibo used his head to pry the door open the rest of the way. He jumped inside and gave Jake’s face a proper licking.
Jake had seen Kibo do the door trick countless times, but he never tired of it. Ellie’s dad had trained his dogs to open car doors, and Ellie did the same with Kibo to honor her father’s memory. As for Kibo, he didn’t care how he got to Jake. He was just glad they were together. Jake grabbed Kibo’s fur, gave him a good petting, and laughed as the dog licked his face.
“You miss me, boy?” Jake asked in a high voice, which always sent Kibo’s tail wagging. “I missed you. Yeah, I did.”
Two years ago, Jake’s much-beloved Rottweiler, Cinnamon, had died from bone cancer. There were no bad breeds, Jake believed, only misguided handlers, and Cinnamon was the sweetest, gentlest, most loving dog Jake had ever known until he met Kibo. Andy would be leaving for college soon, and Jake would think about getting a dog when the quiet really started to get to him. Who knows? Maybe he would help Ellie train a shepherd-apprentice with her, even.
Jake got out of the car, and Kibo did the same. Now that they could get closer, Jake ruffled Kibo’s thick fur and gave him a hug, which turned into a wrestle. On the ground, Jake found a red rope bone, and soon the toy was locked in Kibo’s powerful jaws. A game of tug-of-war ensued, in which Kibo growled his enjoyment and Jake marveled at the animal’s natural strength. If the day ever came, Jake would want Kibo to come live with him-which meant he’d want Ellie to come along, too. But, of course, that meant confiding in Ellie about a part of his life he kept secret.
Ellie crossed the grassy lawn where Jake and Kibo were tussling. Kibo had probably just been with Ellie, but he sensed her coming and set off running as if she’d been gone for years.
Jake propped up on his elbows and took in everything about the moment. He had been in a few long-term relationships since his exwife, Laura, had left. All had ended amicably, but this felt different. Ellie was attractive, smart, tough, fun to be around, and maybe, just maybe, Jake had met the one.
Ellie came over to Jake, with Kibo heeling at her side. She gave him a kiss hello, but it felt different, guarded, cooler.
“We need to talk,” Ellie said.
Five minutes later, Ellie sat on the sofa in her living room, with three German shepherds lounging at her feet. To Jake’s eyes, they looked like one big happy pack. Two of the dogs were being trained for future owners, but they still treated Ellie like the alpha she was.
“So, what’s the big talk about?” Jake asked. He took the armchair across from the sofa so they could face each other. “I hope we’re not breaking up.” Jake’s smile didn’t lighten the mood any.
“I guess it depends on whether you want to start really opening up to me.”
Jake felt a knot in his chest. His last two girlfriends had ended their relationship because of his lifestyle, and he was keeping Ellie at arm’s length to prevent a number three.
“Well, what do you want to know?”
“I Googled you, Jake. I didn’t before, because it felt kind of creepy. Like I didn’t trust you. But something has been missing for me with us. So I did a quick search and, well, I know all about the accident.”
Jake understood right away. This was the other part of his life he liked to keep secret for as long as possible. His baseball career was more than a decade in his past. He liked his new persona as the head of maintenance at a prep school, and he wanted Ellie to think of him as just that. Besides, opening up about baseball risked revealing the secret about his avocation. In many ways, baseball had turned Jake into a prepper. Of all the things Jake was prepared to deal with, the truth wasn’t one of them.
“So, what do you know?”
“Everything,” Ellie said. “But I want to hear it from you.”
Jake looked resigned, but his deep, audible exhale made it known he was not entirely pleased.
“Where do you want me to start?” he asked.
“At the beginning,” Ellie said.
“Guess we’ll start in high school, then.”
“I’m sure you were cute.”
“Extremely,” Jake said with a wink. “I was also in love with Laura, Andy’s mom.”
“I want to know more about her. And about you.”
“She left us after the accident. Well, after the accident and after Andy got his diagnosis. Bad things come in threes, isn’t that what people say? I crashed my Beemer while driving drunk and shattered my elbow, Andy got sick, and then the love of my life walked out on us.”
Jake had made it a point to show Ellie the scars from his many surgeries. He had told her he had arm surgery, but intentionally had left out some critical details.