Nicholas Sparks - Safe Haven

“Absolutely not. I’m an expert in procrastination, but the last thing I want you to think is that I’m incompetent, too. Because I’m actually pretty good at what I do.”

A flock of starlings broke from the trees, moving in an almost musical rhythm. The motion of the rockers was making the porch creak slightly.

“What do you do?” Katie asked.

“I’m a counselor of sorts.”

“For the high school?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m a grief counselor.”

“Oh,” Katie said. She paused. “I’m not sure what that is.”

Jo shrugged. “I visit with people and try to help them. Usually, it’s because someone close to them has died.” She paused, and when she went on, her voice was softer. “People react in a lot of different ways and it’s up to me to figure out how to help them accept what happened — and I hate that word, by the way, since I’ve yet to meet anyone who wants to accept it —but that’s pretty much what I’m supposed to do. Because in the end, and no matter how hard it is, acceptance helps people move on with the rest of their lives. But sometimes…”

She trailed off. In the silence, she scratched at a piece of flaking paint on the rocker. “Sometimes, when I’m with someone, other issues come up. That’s what I’ve been dealing with lately. Because sometimes people need help in other ways, too.”

“That sounds rewarding.”

“It is. Even if it has challenges.” She turned toward Katie. “But what about you?”

“You know I work at Ivan’s.”

“But you haven’t told me anything else about yourself.”

“There’s not much to tell,” Katie protested, hoping to deflect the line of questioning.

“Of course there is. Everyone has a story.” She paused. “For instance, what really brought you to Southport?”

“I already told you,” Katie said. “I wanted to start over.”

Jo seemed to stare right through her as she studied the answer. “Okay,” she finally said, her tone light. “You’re right. It’s not my business.”

“That’s not what I said…”

“Yes, you did. You just said it in a nice way. And I respect your answer because you’re right; it isn’t my business. But just so you know, when you say you wanted to start over, the counselor in me wonders why you felt the need to start over. And more important, what you left behind.”

Katie felt her shoulders tense. Sensing her discomfort, Jo went on.

“How about this?” she asked gently. “Forget I even asked the question. Just know that if you ever want to talk, I’m here, okay? I’m good at listening. Especially with friends. And believe it or not, sometimes talking helps.”

“What if I can’t talk about it?” Katie said in an involuntary whisper.

“Then how about this? Ignore the fact that I’m a counselor. We’re just friends, and friends can talk about anything. Like where you were born or something that made you happy as a kid.”

“Why is that important?”

“It isn’t. And that’s the point. You don’t have to say anything at all that you don’t want to say.”

Katie absorbed her words before squinting at Jo. “You’re very good at your job, aren’t you?”

“I try,” Jo conceded.

Katie laced her fingers together in her lap. “All right. I was born in Altoona,” she said.

Jo leaned back in her rocking chair. “I’ve never been there. Is it nice?”

“It’s one of those old railroad towns,” she said, “you know the kind. A town filled with good, hardworking people who are just trying to make a better life for themselves. And it was pretty, too, especially in the fall, when the leaves began to change. I used to think there was no place more beautiful in the world.” She lowered her eyes, half lost in memories. “I used to have a friend named Emily, and together we’d lay pennies on the railroad tracks. After the train went past, we’d scramble around trying to find them, and when we did, we’d always marvel at how any trace of engraving would be completely gone. Sometimes the pennies were still hot. I remember almost burning my fingers one time. When I think back on my childhood, it’s mostly about small pleasures like that.”

Katie shrugged, but Jo remained silent, willing her to go on.

“Anyway, that’s where I went to school. All the way through. I ended up graduating from high school there, but by then, I don’t know… I guess I was tired of… all of it, you know? Small-town life, where every weekend was the same. The same people going to the same parties, the same boys drinking beer in the beds of their pickup trucks. I wanted something more, but college didn’t work out and, long story short, I ended up in Atlantic City. I worked there for a while, moved around a bit, and now, years later, here I am.”

“In another small town where everything stays the same.”

Katie shook her head. “It’s different here. It makes me feel…”

When she hesitated, Jo finished the thought for her.

“Safe?”

When Katie’s startled gaze met hers, Jo seemed bemused. “It’s not that hard to figure out. Like you said, you’re starting over and what better place to start over than a place like this? Where nothing ever happens?” She paused. “Well, that’s not quite true. I heard there was a little excitement a couple of weeks back. When you dropped by the store?”

“You heard about that?”

“It’s a small town. It’s impossible not to hear about it. What happened?”

“It was scary. One minute, I was talking to Alex, and when I saw what was happening on the monitor, I guess he noticed my expression because in the next instant, he was racing past me. He moved through that store like lightning, and then Kristen saw the monitor and started to panic. I scooped her up and followed her dad. By the time I got out there, Alex was already out of the water with Josh. I’m just glad he was okay.”

“Me, too.” Jo nodded. “What do you think of Kristen? Isn’t she just the sweetest thing?”

“She calls me Miss Katie.”

“I love that little girl,” Jo said, drawing her knees up to her chest. “But it doesn’t surprise me that the two of you get along. Or that she reached for you when she was scared.”

“Why would you say that?”

“Because she’s a perceptive little thing. She knows you’ve got a good heart.”

Katie made a skeptical face. “Maybe she was just scared about her brother, and when her dad took off I was the only one there.”

“Don’t sell yourself short. Like I said, she’s perceptive.” Jo pressed on. “How was Alex? Afterward, I mean?”

“He was still shaken up, but other than that, he seemed all right.”

“Have you talked to him much since then?”

Katie gave a noncommittal shrug. “Not too much. He’s always nice when I come into the store, and he stocks what I need, but that’s about it.”

“He’s good about things like that,” Jo said with assurance.

“You sound like you know him pretty well.”

Jo rocked a little in her chair. “I think I do.”

Katie waited for more, but Jo was silent.

“You want to talk about it?” Katie inquired innocently. “Because talking sometimes helps, especially with a friend.”

Jo’s eyes sparkled. “You know, I always suspected you were a lot craftier than you let on. Throwing my own words back at me. You should be ashamed.”

Katie smiled but said nothing, just as Jo had done with her. And, surprising her, it worked.

“I’m not sure how much I should say,” Jo added. “But I can tell you this: he’s a good man. He’s the kind of man you can count on to do the right thing. You can see that in how much he loves his kids.”