Mountain Hostage. Hope White

about it,” Zoe said. The left corner of her mouth turned up slightly.

      “You’re making fun of me,” he said.

      “No,” she said, touching his shoulder. “I’m teasing, joking around.”

      When he didn’t respond, she continued, “You know, making light of something?”

      He knew what she meant, yet in his experience teasing someone made them feel small and foolish. Zoe’s comment didn’t make him feel that way. This felt...different.

      “I didn’t mean to offend you,” she offered.

      He shrugged. “Like I said, I don’t always understand people.”

      “I’ve been there, too.” She reached out to pet Romeo. Jack noticed her hand was trembling.

      Although still shaken, she was down on the floor trying to console Jack. He didn’t need consoling. He wasn’t traumatized by the assault as much as disappointed in himself that he hadn’t restrained the guy for police.

      “I’m going to get up now,” he said.

      “Okay, sure.” She straightened and extended her hand.

      Jack ignored it and stood on his own, wanting to let her know he wasn’t seriously injured, and she didn’t have to worry about him. From her wistful expression, he wondered if he’d made a mistake.

      They sat at the kitchen table and Romeo trotted up to Jack, waiting for direction. Jack pointed at Zoe. “Go help.”

      Romeo went to Zoe’s side and waited expectantly.

      “Pet him,” Jack encouraged. It always made Jack feel better when his fingers touched Romeo’s soft, Bernese–border collie fur.

      A few minutes later the tension in Zoe’s features softened. Good, it was working.

      “Did you recognize the man who broke in?” Jack asked.

      “No.”

      “Did he steal anything?”

      “I don’t think he was a burglar.”

      “Why do you say that?”

      “Because...” she hesitated “...he said, ‘Where is she?’”

      “She? As in... Shannon?”

      “I guess? This whole thing is so—”

      “Puzzling,” he said.

      “And scary. I mean, one guy kidnaps Shannon and another is trying to find her?” As she kept stroking Romeo’s fur, Zoe’s expression grew contemplative.

      “Would you like me to make you some tea?” he offered.

      His question elicited a slight smile. “Tea?”

      “Tea calms the soul.” He repeated the phrase he’d learned from Aunt Margaret. Whenever he’d get tied up into knots about kids taunting him, or he felt like an idiot because he didn’t know how to interact properly, Aunt Margaret would brew two cups of tea and sit with him at the kitchen table.

      “You’re an interesting guy,” Zoe said.

      “So, yes? You’d like tea?”

      “Yes, that would be nice.”

      Good. It gave him something to do, a way to make her feel better. A challenge, since his skill set did not include nurturing.

      “I’m sorry about before,” Zoe said.

      “Before?” He flipped the gas burner on beneath the stainless teakettle.

      “Being rude when you said Shannon could have gotten involved with the wrong people.”

      “I wasn’t trying to be malicious.”

      “I know.”

      “I’ll try to be less insolent next time.”

      “Interesting choice of words.”

      A word that his grandmother once claimed defined Jack.

      “Why ‘insolent’?” Zoe asked.

      He pulled two mugs out of the cabinet and formulated an answer, not sure how much he wanted to share.

      “Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry,” she said.

      “You apologized for being rude earlier, yet I come off as rude more often than not,” Jack said. “It’s the way I am. Rude, insolent, impertinent.”

      “Whoa, which adult used those words against you?”

      He turned to her. How could she possibly know?

      Sirens echoed in the distance. “Police will be here soon,” he said. Excellent timing. He didn’t like talking about himself, his childhood.

      “You should consider relocating,” he said.

      “I feel close to Shannon in her home. Besides I want to be here when they bring her back.”

      Zoe would risk her own safety to be here for her friend if authorities found her? It didn’t seem like a wise choice to Jack.

      “Is there anyone who can stay with you?” he said.

      “No, I don’t know anyone in town other than Shannon, her friend Kelly and...” she hesitated “...you.”

      Unfortunate. More people in the house would discourage the attacker from returning. But not just anyone. That gave Jack an idea.

      “What is it?” she said.

      “Excuse me?”

      “You got...” she motioned to her face “...a look, like the gears were spinning in your head.”

      Wait, she recognized a change in Jack’s features when an idea was forming? How could she read him better than most of his closest associates?

      “What do you do for a living?” he asked.

      “I’m a counselor for adolescents and teens, why?”

      That explained why she was able to read him so easily. Counselors were trained to identify feelings buried beneath the surface. He’d have to be more careful with Zoe. He didn’t want a repeat of his ex-fiancée, who used her intimate knowledge of Jack against him in the worst way.

      “I expect you’re good at your job,” he said.

      “Some days better than others. How about you? What do you do when you’re not rescuing damsels in distress from a mountain?”

      “IT security. I own my own business.”

      “I’m guessing that’s lucrative.”

      “Privacy is priceless.” He wondered if she caught on to the double meaning.

      “That sounds like an ad campaign.”

      He glanced at her.

      “Teasing again, sorry,” she said.

      “Don’t apologize for my shortcomings.”

      “I don’t see it as a shortcoming. Making light of things is simply not something you do. That’s okay. So, IT security, rewarding work, is it?”

      He suspected she was making conversation to distance herself from tonight’s attack. “Rewarding enough, for now.”

      “And what happens after now? I mean, you seem like the type of guy who would have a plan.”

      Of course, it wouldn’t take long for a woman in her profession to assess his personality and figure out his type.

      “My plan is to sell my business and travel the world.”

      “Sounds lovely,” she said.

      Her tone belied her words. He wondered