be put off until she could help him through whatever had happened to him.
He turned to his brothers. “You two get back to your wives, and I’m sure Cora is waiting for you.” He nodded to Quill.
They all appeared stunned.
“We want to be here for you,” Aster said.
“Thanks. I appreciate that, but I don’t know how long I’ll be and I’ve got Mave.”
Her heart melted. He did need her. Of course he’d forgive her for the secret she’d kept. This was Ren. He’d been so devoted to her even when she’d ditched him and run from him.
He pointed to Cedar. “I’m not keeping you from your honeymoon.” He looked to Aster. “You need to be there for your first Christmas with Chelsea and Dax. Give the little man a hug from me.” He gave Quill a mocking smile. “And Cora will probably dump you if you don’t constantly remind her why she shouldn’t.”
“Ha-ha.” Quill rolled his eyes.
“You’re okay?” Aster asked, leaning forward as if he could peer into Ren’s eyes and see what went wrong up there on the mountain that had affected Ren so much. It was obvious to all of them he wasn’t himself.
“I’ll be okay. Mavyn and I have some things we need to work out,” he said quietly. Mavyn’s palms felt clammy. Why did that sound so ominous? Was it only because she was hiding her own secrets or was there something more? “Thanks for coming,” he told his brothers, hugging each of them again.
They all said their goodbyes. Cedar handed her back her purse and told her it looked better on him, and Aster told her he’d put her suitcase in the back of Ren’s truck. She walked with Ren to the low, flat building that was their headquarters. He left her with one quick kiss in a small, plain waiting room and went to meet with the incident commander.
He was gone for a long time. Mavyn wondered if she should pull out her computer, but she couldn’t work with how stirred up she was. She re-read part of Cora’s first book, searched through some social media, and then she downloaded the Bible on her phone, said a prayer, and started reading in the New Testament. It was the Bible she remembered from her youth. The words blurred on the page, but it calmed her.
She heard footsteps and looked up. Ren walked into the room. He’d showered and dressed in a similar tan t-shirt and pants. She would’ve flung herself in his well-built arms, but the look on his handsome face stopped her. His blue eyes looked tortured and the depth of that angst only increased as he stared at her.
She stood. “Everything okay?”
He shrugged. “As good as it can be. Let’s get out of here.”
“Okay.”
Mavyn had the horrific feeling that the Ren who had told her repeatedly that God was in the details of her life and that He would bring her back to him had disappeared. Had his faith and the deep love he’d seemed to have for her been buried in the fire somewhere? That was crazy thinking. She needed to calm down and find out what was going on.
She shouldered her purse and walked to him. He extended his hand. Holding his hand felt right. She couldn’t second-guess everything just because he was somber after an obviously hard mission. He wanted her here. She was ready to tell him the truth about her relationship with Bruce. It would all work out.
One glance at his jaw, that looked carved from stone it was clamped so tight, had the fear rolling again.
He said goodbye to different men and introduced her to Joshua and Tyler. They were both pleasant enough but flinched when they heard her name. Mavyn clung tighter to Ren’s hand. What had he told them to have them looking at her as if she were an apparition or maybe as if they weren’t certain if she was from heaven or the other direction?
The ride to his house was quiet. She’d been so ready to tell him all, but whatever had happened to him out there was obviously ripping him apart. She held her tongue and stewed.
Ren simply stared out the front window. He drove through Wendy’s and got them a load of food she was certain they’d never eat. Her stomach was rolling and her body full of nervous energy.
His house was nice, small but well-kept with wide, tan clapboard siding and black shutters in a cute neighborhood.
“I like your house,”