Page 66 of Fastlander Fealty

“You good?” Corey asked from the kitchen where she was drying the plates they’d found on clearance.

“Yeah, just…” Silver shook her head and looked at Corey, wishing she could explain.

A slow smile took over Corey’s lips. “I watched this with Hallie too. I get it.”

Silver heaved a sigh of relief. She liked that the girls here just understood, and didn’t think her odd.

She made her way out of the house and waved at Owen. He hopped out of that passenger seat as soon as Gunner parked, and strode right for her, bent at the knees and scooped her up as soon as she reached him.

“Hey pretty kitty.”

“Hi, beasty boar,” she uttered on a breath. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, and he settled her on her feet with a chuckle.

“What have you been up to?” he asked.

“Fixing up my house,” she said in a sassy tone. “Want a tour?”

“Hell yeah. Go on, show me, girl.”

She grabbed his hand and dragged him up the stairs to the trailer, and then gestured to the lopsided 1-0-1-0 nailed up beside the door. “Corey explained the meaning of the original trailer named ten-ten. I have one of those. I have a trailer called ten-ten.”

He laughed and held the door open for her. “Yeah you do.”

“Hey,” Corey called as Owen followed Silver inside.

“Are you actually being nice to her?” Owen teased.

“She’s being awesome,” Silver explained, and proceeded to show him her work spot, everything they’d done for the kitchen, the made up mattress on the living room floor, and the bathroom, where she’d organized her toiletries.

She’d been blabbing the entire time excitedly, so when she saw how serious Owen’s face had grown, she was surprised, and also confused.

“Did I do something wrong?” she asked softly.

“Absolutely not.” Owen canted his head and brushed a knuckle down her traitor scar. “You’re happy. I can feel it. You aren’t doing a single thing wrong.”

“Then why do you look so serious?” she asked.

His lips quirked up just at the corners. “I just like seeing you like this.”

“Like what?” she asked, heat tinting her cheeks.

“Like who you’re supposed to be. Fuck your past, Silver. It’s good stuff from here on.”

“Even if I caused a war?” she asked.

“You didn’t cause anything. Lucia saw that coming. You can’t take the blame for anything that comes for us. Your job now is to enjoy every good moment. No one’s gonna live forever, Silver. It’s what we do with the time we’re breathing that matters.”

Silver closed the distance between them and rested her face against his chest, just to hide how thoughtful his words were making her. She had wasted years of her life. Not on purpose, she had just been trying to survive day-to-day, but he was right. They had one life, and she had not been living. She had just been surviving.

“Maybe I was supposed to have a hard time so that I could appreciate the here and now,” she murmured.

He reached his hand into the back of her hair and gripped it gently. “Maybe so.”

“You’re sweaty and dirty and you need to clean up,” Corey announced. “Owen, I mean. Not you, Silver.”

She laughed thickly and looked up at him. “We are meeting at Hallie’s house and getting ready together.”

“Are you wearing the boots I got you?”

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