Page 29 of Snowbound Threat

“She isn’t in any danger.” He’d made sure of that.

“Also she has something she was going to tell you about what happened at the hospital.”

Now Pops was dangling information that was supposedly vital.

“She can call me and tell me whatever it is.”

“You’re running away from her because deep down you don’t think you deserve a good woman. But the truth is that if youare waiting for your life to be right before you take the next step in a relationship you’ll be waiting a long time. Probably forever. There’s no need to put things off until you feel like you have everything in the right place.”

As if Caleb needed relationship advice. He and Tessa had known each other a couple of days in so many years. It was hardly the beginning of a forever love. “The life I have right now is going to get her killed.”

“And deep down you believe you don’t deserve her.”

“Have you been reading psychology books again?”

“I know you. I know what life taught you to believe about yourself. Why you keep everyone at arm’s length and focus on work rather than letting people in.”

Pops stared at him. “And I’m telling you that God’s grace gives us more than we could imagine and definitely what we never deserve no matter how hard we push or how far we go. Or how much we work to be the best version of ourselves that we can be. You turned your life over to Him and He’s going to keep piling on things you never would’ve imagined you could have. Blessings. People. More than you ever deserved.”

“And you think Tessa is that?”

Someone moved behind him, catching him off guard. “You think I’m what?”

Caleb spun around and stared at her, standing in the doorway. How much had she heard?

Tessa looked down at his duffel bag and then back up at him. Were those tears in her eyes? “You’re leaving?”

Chapter Twelve

Of course he was leaving. She didn’t know what else she had expected. But the bottom line was that whatever she’d thought about coming here tonight and staying in a place where she felt protected, she was glad she’d caught him before he left. Added to that, she had to tell him about the conversation with that FBI agent anyway. Even if it turned into something awkward with all of them staring at each other.

Sigh.

Pops shifted his weight and turned to leave. “Well, I need to go check the fences.”

A tendon in Caleb’s jaw flexed. “I’ll do that before I leave.” He pushed out the front door and left it open, striding away off the porch.

Pops looked at her. “Go after him, darlin’.”

Tessa shook her head. “I’m not the one who’s gonna make him stay.”

“You might.”

But was that even the best thing for either of them? There was far more going on here than just her seeing a guy she had liked years ago, for the first time in two decades. She didn’t thinkher heart had settled back down after being at the cabin and getting her father back. Even knowing her dad was safe in the hospital only did little to help her try and regain her peace.

She needed about a month of calm before she would feel like she was back on even footing.

Tessa closed the front door and followed Caleb to the barn, where she found him lifting a saddle from the sawhorse and taking it into one of the stalls. “If you’re just going to leave, you should probably know there’s an FBI agent in town asking questions about you.”

She didn’t know what to do and ended up standing there in the middle of the center aisle. Listening to the shifting of saddle leather and the sound of horses moving in their stalls.

Pops had two and alternated using them. She was pretty sure they had been Noah and Caleb’s horses. Or the horses he had purchased with them in mind.

Much like her teenage crush on Caleb, things didn’t always work out the way people planned.

What was that verse? The one about man planning his way and God directing his steps. She couldn’t understand how that had led any of them to what’d happened over the last day or so. Was it really part of some plan?

Even with how long she’d been a believer, she still felt as if she was struggling to figure things out.