Page 39 of His Reckoning

I glance toward her in the mirror. “You’re still stuck?”

She hesitates. “Yeah.”

“Writer’s block.”

“That obvious?”

“You fell asleep on your laptop.”

“Point taken.”

She leans back on her hands now, catching her breath.

“For the record,” she adds, “this has never happened to me before.”

“What hasn’t?”

“Not knowing what happens next.”

Her eyes stray toward the ceiling. “It’s like my brain just … stopped cooperating.”

“That sounds frustrating.”

“It is.”

She glances back at me. “You ever have that happen?”

“No.”

“Of course you don’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because you seem like the type of person who always has a plan.”

I consider that for a second. “That’s usually the goal.”

Kayla smiles slightly. “See?”

Then she stands and stretches her arms again.

“Well,” she says, “thanks for letting me interrupt your midnight training session.”

“You didn’t interrupt it.”

“I definitely did.”

She walks back toward the treadmill and grabs her water bottle, then pauses.

“For what it’s worth,” she adds casually, “I think the workout is helping.”

“With what?”

She indicates me with a small wave of her hand. “You seem less … tense than when I walked in.”

I pick up the towel again. “That’s the idea.”

Kayla nods once and heads for the door. “Good night, Sawyer.”