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“She was afraid of him. She only told the truth when he was in county jail for unrelated charges.” I stopped walking for a second and bent over to catch my breath. “I appreciate this spring weather but is it hot out here or what?”

“I’m boiling. Also, those birds chirping are getting on my nerves. Maybe power walking isn’t for me if spring birds singing in delight has me feeling rage.”

It was a gorgeous spring day. The kind you dream about in February. The sun was shining, the trees were budding, the tulips were standing tall and proud.

“I don’t think we’re outdoor girls. We want to be. But maybe we need to stick to shopping in boutiques and going to the art museum.” I tightened my ponytail and did some bending stretches. I swore my calves were cramping up.

Alyssa had slowed her walk almost to a crawl. “That’s fair. Lawson asked me to go for a bike ride and I laughed myself silly. I explained to him that I look amazing lounging next to a pool but he will never see me on a bike unless it’s a motorcycle.”

“It’s good to be upfront about who you are at the beginning of a relationship. How is it going with Lawson?”

“We’re taking it slow. I guess as slow as you can when you’re already married.” She made a crazy face. “But seriously, I like him. He’s easy to be around. No real red flags so far.”

“Aside from the fact that he thinks I’m crazy.”

“He’s just pragmatic about police work and it’s hard for him to wrap his head around you being involved. You know I love you, but you also know sometimes I struggle with the woo woo. It’s not a reflection on you. It says more about me than you. You and Lawson will be fine once you get to know each other.”

“That’s fair. Let’s just stroll leisurely.”

When we weren’t trying to break a speed record, it was a nice walk. The highway was on one side, which created a buzz of background noise, but otherwise it was very bucolic for being in the heart of the city. A man zipped by on a bike and Alyssa acted like she’d been buzzed by a fighter jet. She actually jumped.

Then we both started laughing.

“We’re ridiculous.” Alyssa looked at me. “But you know that I support you, right? Just because I don’t always understand doesn’t mean I don’t believe you. And you know I would never lie to you.”

“I do know that. There are three people I can guarantee will never lie to me—you, Jake, and my grandmother.”

“That’s a good crew to have around you.”

“It is.” It also didn’t escape my attention that I didn’t include Ryan in that group. “Who’s in your group?”

“You and my parents. I trust my brother to have my back, but I don’t trust him not to lie.”

“Very solid. I feel the same way about my sister. She likes to fluff the truth. My mother would never lie to me but she might omit the truth. My father would one hundred percent lie.”

“Isn’t your sister coming to town soon?”

“Yes. Sometime soon. I didn’t get exact dates. Hey, did Jake talk to you about my birthday? I feel like he’s planning some kind of surprise and you know I don’t like to be surprised.”

“No, he hasn’t said anything to me.”

“Ryan said he saw Jake hiding an engagement ring.”

Alyssa stopped walking. “Shut. Up.”

“I don’t want it to be on my birthday. But something feels off anyway. Jake isn’t acting different at all. Nothing cagey about his behavior.”

“Is Ryan someone you can believe?” she asked, sounding skeptical.

My jaw dropped. “Oh my God. You’re right. I think he’s messing with me,” I exclaim. “There’s no ring. He’s trying to sabotage my relationship with Jake!”

“Why would he do that?”

“He’s jealous. Not of me marrying Jake. But that we’re alive.”

“He’s going dark? That’s so…dark.”

“I know. But it makes sense, right? Because if he tells me that Jake is proposing and Jake isn’t proposing then when I am acting weird waiting for him to propose, he doesn’t know I’m acting weird waiting for him to propose because he isn’t going to propose so all he knows is that I’m being weird. When I’m weird, then he’ll get suspicious and start acting weird and then we have a wedge in our relationship. It’s genius, really.”