Adam seemed unaware. “Shall we eat? We have the Live Oak leftovers, and Angelica gave us Asian tofu lettuce wraps, Szechuan green beans and pork with garlic and ginger on rice.”

The description of the food brought Elle’s consciousness back to the present. Her struggle with death sank into the depths of her mind. She might be moving slowly and aching in every joint, but she was hungry—again. “Yes, that sounds great.”

“All of it?”

“Sure. That’s one of my favorite meals.” Elle heard the echo of a woman’s voice. By God, there’s nothing wrong with your appetite. She tilted her head, trying to catch the wisp of memory.

“Elle, are you all right?” Adam took her arm. “Do you feel faint?”

He yanked her out of her reverie. “What? No, I was just...” She didn’t want to tell him she’d been close to remembering something. A woman speaking to her in an amused, proud tone. “I thought I heard something. The ocean. I’m not used to having it so close.”

He considered her as if he didn’t believe her. “The sound is a constant reminder of our mortality.”

“Really?” She laughed in his face. “I thought it was a constant reminder to run to the beach and play!”

He relaxed. “I suppose. If you are of a frivolous nature.” Now he laughed.

She followed him into the kitchen. They were going to be okay.

He pointed to a kitchen chair. “Sit while I put dinner on the table.” He placed the lettuce wraps on the table and helped himself to one.

“As much as I’d like to loll around and watch you, I need to look something up. May I use your—” she almost said phone, then remembered the kind of cell he carried “—computer?”

He glanced toward the newspaper that sat folded on the table. “Of course. Will you need help?”

“I’ll holler if I do.”

When she came back, Adam had opened the takeout boxes, prepped the food and set the table. He was obviously a man used to doing for himself.

“Did you find what you needed?” He sounded neutral.

“I did. I researched Angelica Lindholm.”

“Oh. Angelica. Yes.” He held her chair. “When she saw you, she had an interesting reaction.”

“You mean she dropped something.” Elle sat and he pushed in her chair. “When I took the Cheery Freeze cup, it was sweating, slick. It slipped in my grip. I steadied it. It occurred to me then that Angelica didn’t even try to catch the cups. It was like her hands had lost their strength.”

“A spontaneous reaction from Angelica Lindholm.”

“Even having just met her, I thought that was odd. I wondered if perhaps she’d been abused at some point.” Elle pointed to her face. “That I was a painful memory.”

“I’d forgotten about how bruised you look.”