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strong for her. Unfortunately, his strength or lack thereof hadn’t seemed to make any difference
.
    He closed his eyes, drew in a breath, then tried again. “Cat, I’m going to make omelets for breakfast. Do you want vegetables in yours or just cheese?”
    Finally, she turned to look at him. “How can you eat today of all days?”
    Today of all days?
    “You don’t even know what today is, do you?” she accused, life finally sparking in her eyes as she rose from the rocker and took a step toward him
.
    Today? He quickly took stock. Not her birthday. Not their anniversary. Today wasn’t even the date the baby had been due. That date didn’t roll around until next week and he’d been trying to decide how to handle it. At a loss, he said, “I’m sorry, Cat. I don’t know what today is.”
    “Today was supposed to be my last day of work at the newspaper. They were going to give me a baby shower today.”
    Jack’s lips flattened into a grim line. What was he supposed to say to that? He didn’t have a clue. “Why don’t you come to the kitchen with me. We’ll have a nice breakfast and then maybe we can go to the gym. I’ll bet a yoga class would make you feel better.”
    You’d have thought he’d drop-kicked a puppy from the look she gave him. “Go away, Jack. Just … go away.”
    Angry now, he did just that. When his work line rang as he finished up his omelet, he didn’t hesitate to volunteer for the trip. Rather than tell her good-bye, he left a note. When he returned seventeen days later, he saw no sign that she’d read it. Or, frankly, even noticed that he’d been gone
.
    Running beside the creek that split the heart of the valley that sheltered Eagle’s Way, Jack put on a burst of speed, hoping to outrun the memories. He ran all out, harder and farther than normal, draining away his energy and the tension that hummed through his blood as a result of sharing space with Cat, until he stopped, exhausted and spent. For a moment he leaned over, resting his hands on his knees until his breathing slowed, then he turned and went back to the house at a slow, easy jog.
    The run had done him good. He felt more relaxed now than at any time since he’d heard the news about the fire at Cat’s house.
    He arrived back at the house just in time to see his ex-wife exit the pool house in a one-piece bathing suit.
    Jack’s tension came roaring back.
    After her swim and her shower, Cat settled down to work in the sunroom at Eagle’s Way. A box of her belongings had arrived yesterday, gathered and shipped to her by her father. As she booted up her laptop, she also tried to stir up some enthusiasm to begin research on a new investigation to follow up the dogfight ring story.
    The day after the Molotov cocktail exploded in her dining room, she’d written a post explaining what had happened and announcing a temporary hiatus from her blog. She spent almost an hour answering email—carefully, so as not to give away any details about her location—then turned her attention to her next project—whatever that would be.
    She always kept a running file of ideas and possibilities so she had somewhere to start. She pulled up the file and scrolled through it. Nothing called to her, so she moved on to surfing an Internet shoe store when Jack knocked on the sunroom’s open door. “Sorry to interrupt, but I want to let you know that we’re having guests for lunch. Some friends of mine are bringing their twin daughters for a swim.”
    “Oh.” She looked up from her computer. “Thanks for the warning. I’ll grab a sandwich and stay in my room.”
    “Actually, I was hoping you’d join us. I think you’ll like the Callahans.” He paused, and when she didn’t immediately reply, added, “Please join us, Cat. If nothing else, spending time with them will give the two of us something to talk about once they’re gone. Maybe it will help us avoid so many awkward silences.”
    The man had a point. “All right. Do you need