Page 9 of Her Last Whisper

The room closed in around her. She knew that it was her imagination, but she instinctively readied herself for a fight-or-flight scenario.

No… You’re not welcome here.

These feelings made her want to run—anywhere. No destination in mind, just leave and keep going. She thought that she was mostly over these episodes, but faced with undue stress, they often came charging back.

Feeling her cheeks flush, she hurried into the bathroom to splash cold water on her face. As she blotted herself dry, she stared at her reflection, freshly applied mascara pooling under her eyes.

What am I doing?

I can lead an army patrol, but not get ready for a date?

Katie touched-up her makeup and waited a few more minutes until her complexion had returned to a more normal color. Just as she was leaving her bedroom, she grabbed her favorite gold bracelet, the one with several garnet stones, to put on for luck. She stared at her wrist, suddenly reminded of the photos of Amanda Payton—her bruised wrists and ankles. Were those restraint marks consistent with being held against her will? Or self-inflicted wounds to gain attention?

It was too soon to tell.

Cisco’s cold nose touched her hand and shocked Katie back into the moment, realizing that Chad had gone quiet and must be waiting for her in the next room. Pushing work from her mind, she grabbed a small purse with her essentials and a lightweight jacket. Cisco’s amber wolf eyes looked up at her as if to say, “you’re going out without me again,” but Katie reassured him with an affectionate scratch behind the ears before she left the bedroom.

“Hey,” Chad said as he stood at the end of the hall. “I thought I was going to have to call my buddies to do a welfare check.” He smiled broadly. “But I can see it was totally worth the wait.”

“Thank you.”

Looking at his watch, “We’ll just about make the reservation.”

“Reservation?”

“Yes, that is what one does when one wants to celebrate at the best Italian restaurant in town and score a great table that’s not next to the restroom.”

“Celebrate?” she asked.

“We’ve both recently been employed in jobs that might get us killed…”

“That’s a good line to begin a toast.”

“We’re living the dream…”

Since it was earlyin the week, Little Gino’s was only half filled with patrons. The intimate tables were covered with crisp white linens and decorated with swan-shaped napkins and little candles. Italian art adorned the walls, with an entire mural of a quaint Italian village along one side.

Katie suddenly recalled that she had been to this particular restaurant before, what felt like a lifetime ago before she did her tour in the army.

“What are you thinking?” asked Chad, his head cocked, eyes looking deep into hers when she looked up. Katie laughed and blushed. “Whatever it was—it must’ve been a doozy,” he added.

“I was just thinking about how long we’ve known each other.”

“And?”

“Well, don’t you think it’s interesting how much we both loved Pine Valley as kids, then suddenly we couldn’t wait to leave. And now, somehow we are both back…” she mused.

“Well, I don’t know. Things change. Priorities change.”

Katie ran her hand over the red cloth napkin. “Things happen for a reason.”

“I agree. But I don’t think of it as acoincidence.”

“Talking about coincidence,” said Sheriff Scott as he approached the table with an attractive woman on his arm.

“Uncle Wayne and Aunt Claire,” said Katie. “It’s nice to see you.” She was relieved that the conversation was momentarily sidetracked.

“Why don’t you join us?” asked Chad.