19
“Are you okay?” Jake asked when Alyssa’s feet hit the ground.
Alyssa screamed and whirled around.
Jake was sitting on the end of the dock, in the moonlight, out in the open. She obviously hadn’t noticed him sitting there for the last ninety minutes. Once he saw her disappear into the tree, he waited. When she didn’t come right back down, he went out to the dock and waited for her.
“What are you doing there?” Alyssa asked, her eyes locked on his.
“Waiting for you. Are you okay?”
He could see the war in her eyes, deciding how much she wanted to tell him. He’d heard the same things she’d heard. She knew that. Her shoulders were slumped in defeat, and she looked away from him.
“I’m fine. Good night.”
Alyssa turned away from him, leaving him on the dock, and headed toward the inn. Ja
