Mountain Secrets by Elizabeth Goddard (good books to read for teens txt) 📕

“You should be able to find something to eat.” Fred kept his boots and coat on while Isabel and Jason took off theirs. “I’ll run some errands. Get her some clothes. Sleep where you’re comfortable. I’ll wake you in a bit.” He looked at Isabel. “What size do you wear?”

“Eight.”

After Fred left, Isabel opened the refrigerator and several cupboards, looking for inspiration. “Guess it’s my turn to cook since you did breakfast.”

Their time at the safe house felt like eons ago. For a brief moment, she had caught her breath, felt safe. But she hadn’t been safe, and neither was her heart. The sting of Jason’s rejection still felt raw.

Jason stood beside her, staring at the contents of the cupboard. “Lots of bachelor food.”

“So tomato soup it is. There’s a loaf of bread here. If there’s cheese in the refrigerator, we can have some grilled cheese sandwiches too.”

They worked together to make the meal. Jason buttered bread and sliced cheese while she heated the grill and stirred the soup. Again, she was struck by the contradiction of what they were doing. If anyone were to observe the scene, it would be a picture of domestic bliss, just a couple working together to make a meal.

But the whole thing was a lie. They weren’t safe, and they weren’t going to be together when this was all over...if it was ever over.

Metal scraped against metal when she stirred the soup. The sound set her teeth on edge. She put the spoon down on a paper towel by the stove. Maybe it wasn’t the noise that bothered her but that reality that was rapidly sinking in. They were together for now only because they had to be. The Bureau couldn’t protect them.

Jason flipped over the sandwiches as an uncomfortable silence settled between them.

She had to say the words that were on the tip of her tongue since their car ride over here. “So it sounds like you have a plan. You want to use one of Fred’s cars for some reason.”

Jason lifted the sandwiches off the grill. “Nick is in contact with the guy who set this whole thing up. We can’t depend on the Bureau for help. What if we follow Nick and he leads us to the kingpin? Since someone in this field office would leak information that could cost us our lives, we can get the information to a different field office.”

“If Nick was behind bars, if the mastermind was caught, then I wouldn’t have to go into witness protection. I could have my life back.” Would it still be a life without Jason?

Jason’s blue-eyed gaze rested on her. He nodded slowly as if thinking about what she had said. “Yes, that might be the case.”

His features softened and she wondered if he was thinking about the kiss. Did it mean anything to him at all?

She found some bowls and poured the soup into them. He carried over the sandwiches on a single plate and sat down at the table opposite her.

“Do you know where Nick lives?”

“I’m not sure. He might stay with his aunt Phoebe. I know where she lives. She’s the only relative who has anything to do with him.”

He took a bite of sandwich. “Then we start the surveillance there.”

“Do you think the Bureau is still watching Nick?”

Jason shrugged. “Michael said they would have to lie low with the investigation for a while. Plus, that’s how Nick figured out we were onto him. So I would guess not.”

“The agents must be looking for us, wondering about us?”

“Unless the mole told them some lie about us, that we were dead or that we were the turncoats.”

Isabel dipped her spoon into the soup. The meal had always been good comfort food when she was a kid. A neighbor lady who felt sorry for her made it, but right now she could barely taste the soup.

The plan was risky. What if Nick figured out he was being followed? Their future was filled with so much uncertainty. The potential to end up dead was huge.

She took in a breath and shifted in her chair. “I guess that’s what we have to do.”

Jason placed his hand over hers. “I wish it could be some other way.”

His touch brought back the memory of the kiss. She pulled her hand away as a barb shot straight through her heart. Did he feel anything at all for her?

“I know it’s really dangerous. I wish there was a way for you to be safe and to have your life back.”

“I’m afraid. Can we pray?” Whatever happened to them, God would always be with her.

He nodded. “We should have done that a long time ago.”

Jason bowed his head and she folded her hands and closed her eyes, as well.

She started. “Lord, we need Your guidance and protection. Please help us to bring Nick and this other man to justice.”

After a second of silence, Jason said, “We are both really afraid. Would You show us the right course of action?”

She lifted her head and looked across the table at Jason.

“Amen,” said Jason.

There seemed to be a warmth in his expression, but maybe she was seeing what she wanted to see.

“Let’s get some sleep. I’ll take the couch. You can have the bed.”

Isabel snuggled under the comforter and was asleep within minutes. She was awakened by Jason shaking her shoulder. “Time to get up. Time to go.”

He clicked on the light beside her bed. She winced, still trying to clear her brain of the fog of sleep. “How long was I out?”

“Three hours. It’ll be enough to keep us going.” He held up two shopping bags. “Fred got you some warm clothes. And a phone for me.”

Isabel dressed quickly.

When they stepped outside, it was pitch dark. She could see her breath as she exhaled. Though her cheeks chilled from the cold, she felt snug and warm in the ski jacket Fred had gotten for her.

“The car is in the underground parking lot.”

Jason led