Page 150 of Lee

There would always be sadness when his brother came to mind. There was no getting around that, but at least now Ian was free from the pain and suffering inflicted on him during his short life on earth.

They hugged his parents, then he and Rori headed for his car. As he sat behind the wheel, Lee exhaled deeply, staring out through the windshield.

Rori’s hand slid into his as she said, “How are you feeling?”

He looked over at her and smiled. He’d learned that she always wanted—needed—him to be honest with her. She didn’t want him to sugar coat how he was feeling.

“Relieved,” he said, giving a name to the first emotion he could pinpoint. “You know that I was a bit worried about it, but I think it went pretty well.”

“It went very well, I think,” Rori said. “It’s amazing that each of those people who were connected to you back then were so willing to take on a secret like they did to protect you.”

Lee nodded. “I was fortunate.”

“It was interesting that some of them agreed to appear on that docu-series.”

“I think it was probably a good thing they did. They talked about their role in the case in such a way that no one would ever suspect anything.”

“Do you think you’ll keep in contact with the doctor or the detective?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “If I’m supposed to be moving forward, I don’t feel like I need to. Our only point of connection is to what happened in the past. But I’m not saying that I won’t contact them. I’ll probably want to talk to Mick if Valeria gets parole.”

“I hope that doesn’t happen. She might not have instigated what happened to you, but she didn’t try to help you and Ian, either.”

He’d talked at length with Susan about Valeria’s role in everything. It had been hard enough to understand why a father would do what Ian had done, but a mother? It was so hard to comprehend.

“We’ll see what happens.”

Thankfully, he had no role to play in her parole hearing since he couldn’t reveal that he still lived. Though part of him would have liked to tell the parole board why she should stay in jail, he was glad he didn’t need to carry that weight. It was completely out of his hands.

“Want to go for a walk?” he asked. “There’s a nice park not too far away.”

Rori smiled. “I’d like that.”

Nerves fluttered madly in Lee’s stomach as he backed the car out of the parking spot.

~*~

Rori hadn’t spent much time in Spokane, so she looked around curiously as they drove. Like Lee, she was relieved the meeting was over. It had been a necessary part of his journey, but she knew it had taken a lot out of him.

Over the past ten months, Lee had gotten to where he didn’t need or want to discuss the situation every day. In fact, a week could pass without them talking about it.

Rori didn’t think it was because he thought he couldn’t talk about it. She’d made it very clear that whenever he needed to talk, she was there to listen. Hopefully, the meeting that day was another step forward for him and didn’t send him backwards.

But if it did, she’d be there with him, just like she’d been with him so far.

It was hard to believe that it had almost been a year since she’d come to Serenity. Even more than that, it was hard to believe that she and Lee had been together for nearly that long, too.

Never in her life had she been so close to someone. Never had she had someone who cared for her as much as Lee did. Who loved her as much as Lee did. Who she loved as much as she did Lee.

And it wasn’t just Lee. She now had close friendships with Charli, Janessa, and Carisa, and she had a support system in Essie and Al. The church was also a big part of her life, and she loved helping out where she could.

“I wish I’d brought my camera,” Rori said as Lee drove through the entrance of the park. “This looks beautiful.”

“We can always come back again sometime so you can take pictures.”

He did stuff like that for her all the time. “I’d like that.”

After he parked the car, they headed off down a pathway, hand-in-hand. But then Lee came to a stop. “I’ll be right back. I want to grab a bottle of water.”

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