He looked over at her then. She was staring out over the gravel road, into the grassy field beyond.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
She took her time before answering. “I was just thinking that I’m glad you’re here. You don’t even know me.”
“I think I know you well enough.”
Katie said nothing to that. Alex watched as she lowered her gaze.
“You think you know me,” she whispered, “but you don’t.”
Alex sensed that she was scared to say any more. In the silence, he heard the porch creaking as he rocked back and forth. “How about I tell you what I think I know, and you tell me if I’m right or wrong? Would that be okay?”
She nodded, her lips compressed. When Alex went on, his voice was soft.
“I think you’re intelligent and charming, and that you’re a person with a kind heart. I know that when you want to, you can look more beautiful than anyone I’ve ever met. You’re independent, you’ve got a good sense of humor, and you show surprising patience with children. You’re right in thinking that I don’t know the specifics of your past, but I don’t know that they’re all that important unless you want to tell me about them. Everyone has a past, but that’s just it — it’s in the past. You can learn from it, but you can’t change it. Besides, I never knew that person. The person I’ve come to know is the one I want to get to know even better.”
As he spoke, Katie gave a fleeting smile. “You make it sound so simple,” she said.
“It can be.”
She twisted the stem of her wineglass, considering his words. “But what if the past isn’t in the past? What if it’s still happening?”
Alex continued to stare at her, holding her gaze. “You mean… what if he finds you?”
Katie flinched. “What did you say?”
“You heard me,” he said. He kept his voice steady, almost conversational, something he’d learned in CID. “I’m guessing that you were married once… and that maybe he’s trying to find you.”
Katie froze, her eyes going wide. It was suddenly hard to breathe and she jumped up from the chair, spilling the rest of her wine. She took a step away from Alex, staring, feeling the blood drain from her face.
“How do you know so much about me? Who told you?” she demanded, her mind racing, trying to piece it together. There was no way he could know those things. It wasn’t possible. She hadn’t told anyone.
Except for Jo.
The realization was enough to leave her breathless and she glanced at the cottage next door. Her neighbor, she thought, had betrayed her. Her friend had betrayed her—
As fast as her mind was working, Alex’s was working as well. He could see the fear in her expression, but he’d seen it before. Too many times. And, he knew, it was time to stop playing games if they wanted to be able to move forward.
“No one told me,” he assured her. “But your reaction makes it clear that I’m right. That’s not the important question. I don’t know that person, Katie. If you want to tell me about your past, I’m willing to listen and help in any way I can, but I’m not going to ask you about it. And if you don’t want to tell me, that’s okay, too, because, again — I never knew that person. You must have a good reason for keeping it secret, and that means I’m not going to tell anyone, either. No matter what happens, or doesn’t happen, between us. Go ahead and make up a brand-new history if you want and I’ll back you up word for word. You can trust me on that.”
Katie stared at him as he spoke, confused and scared and angry, but absorbing every word.
“But… how?”
“I’ve learned to notice things that other people don’t,” he went on. “There was a time in my life when that was all I did. And you’re not the first woman I’ve met in your position.”
She continued to stare at him, wheels turning. “When you were in the army,” she concluded.
He nodded, holding her gaze. Finally, he stood from the chair and took a cautious step toward her. “Can I pour you another glass of wine?”
Still in turmoil, she couldn’t answer, but when he reached for her glass, she let him take it. The porch door opened with a squeak and closed behind him, leaving her alone.
She paced to the railing, her thoughts chaotic. She fought the instinct to pack a bag and grab her coffee can full of money and leave town as soon as she could.
But what then? If Alex could figure out the truth simply by watching her, then it was possible for someone else to figure it out, too. And maybe, just maybe, they wouldn’t be like Alex.
Behind her, she heard the door squeak open again. Alex stepped onto the porch, joining her at the railing. He set the glass in front of her.
“Did you figure it out yet?”
“Figure what out?”
“Whether you’re going to take off to parts unknown as soon as you can?”
She turned to him, her face registering shock.
He held open his hands. “What else would you be thinking? But just so you know, I’m curious only because I’m kind of hungry. I’d hate for you to leave before we eat.”
It took her a moment to realize he was teasing, and though she wouldn’t have believed it possible considering the last few minutes, she found herself smiling in relief.
“We’ll have dinner,” she said.
“And tomorrow?”
Instead of answering, she reached for her wine. “I want to know how you knew.”
“It wasn’t one thing,” he said. He mentioned a few of the things he’d noticed before finally shaking his head. “Most people wouldn’t have put it all together.”
She studied the depths of her glass. “But you did.”
“I couldn’t help it. It’s kind of ingrained.”
She thought about it. “That means you’ve known for a while, then. Or at least had suspicions.”
“Yes,” he admitted.
“Which is why you never asked about my past.”
“Yes,” he said again.
“And you still wanted to go out with me?”
His expression was serious. “I’ve wanted to go out with you from the first moment I saw you. I just had to wait until you were ready.”
With the last of the sunlight fading from the horizon, twilight descended, turning the flat, cloudless sky a pale violet. They stood at the railing and Alex watched as the southern breeze gently lifted wayward strands of her hair. Her skin took on a peachy glow; he saw the subtle rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. She gazed into the distance, her expression unreadable, and Alex felt something catch in his throat as he wondered what she was thinking.