Page 98 of Lost in the Moonlight

“Even if this set of photos isn’t leaked, Lincoln, you know someone is going to take one. You can’t just disappear forever. If you don’t show up at the inauguration or at any of Katerina’spremieres, it’s only going to fuel the media’s speculation about you. The press will dig even harder.” I could hear the worry in her tone. “If you really love her, if she loves you back, something is going to have to give.”

“I’m working on it.”

Silence settled for a beat. “We’re attending our last event on the West Coast tonight. Your father is meeting with the British prime minister tomorrow afternoon, so we’ll be back in D.C. Your father and I would like to meet Willow, but his schedule is impossible right now.”

“We’ll figure out something soon,” I told her.

I wasn’t sure I was ready for them to meet Willow. Not sure I could trust them not to upset her with their Sienna jabs and expectations, but as I had no intention of letting her go, it would happen eventually.

I wasn’t letting her be whisked away by the Marshals or walk away to protect me. I wouldn’t let her go without a fight. I’d battle the world, and even Willow herself, to prove that what we’d started could be forged into something stronger. We weren’t an easy-to-burst bubble. We were something lasting. Nothing turpentine could wash away. We’d be granite. They could chip at us, but the base would still be there. Solid and unyielding.

Chapter Thirty

Willow

I DARE YOU

Performed by Kelly Clarkson

As Hector and I worked shoulderto shoulder in silence, getting the scones and loaves started, my mind spiraled. Every painful and beautiful moment from the time Poco stepped into the cemetery last week whirled through me on repeat.

I was desperately trying to hold on to the delightful memories, the touch of hands, the look in Lincoln’s eyes saying he’d battle the world for me. But the harsh realities of what was facing me and him and Mom were too much for the joy, and I could feel it withering. I could feel myself slipping back into the Willow of that first year who’d been afraid to leave the house.

I felt responsible for all of it, even though I wasn’t the one who’d marred Hector’s beautiful mural, or thrown rocks at Lincoln’s window, or followed us around taking pictures from the shadows. Whether it was all the same person or multiple people, I was furious they’d broken the bubble I’d flung myselfinto with Lincoln and seeped away at the happiness I’d tried to let run my life since the trial.

The fury I felt only stole more of the joy. And I hated that too.

As if sensing my emotions, Hector let me pound and knead and slam my way through the list of baked goods we needed without asking questions. We were seriously behind this morning. The display case would be emptier than normal, and it would cost him business, which only added to my list of regrets.

It wasn’t until hours later, when I was cleaning the stack of dishes and pans we’d feverishly whipped through, that Hector finally broke the silence. He joined me, taking items as I rinsed them and loading them into the industrial-sized dishwasher.

“Want to talk about it now?” he asked. When I shook my head, he said, “This isn’t your fault.”

I couldn’t meet his look because even though I wasn’t the one who’d defaced his dead wife’s painting, it could be my fault. If I’d led the Viceroys here, it was definitely on me. If this was Poco being an asshole because I’d turned him down, then it was square on my shoulders even when I wasn’t responsible for the actions either of those men took.

The back door opened, and one of the security team poked his head in. Voices behind him were slightly raised. “Mrs. Earhart is here and some woman with a US Marshal’s badge. Shall I let them in?”

The world around me spun at the mention of Deputy Marshal James. The only reason she would show up was if the worst had happened. My throat nearly closed, and I had to press a hand to my chest in order to ease the pressure building.

Hector’s eyes narrowed, glancing from the security guard to me. When all I could do was nod, Hector responded for me. “Send them in.”

Mom rushed forward. Her blond hair normally so neat and tidy was askew. She drew me to her even though I had water dripping from the gloves I’d slid on to do the dishes. She held me tight, and I wrapped my arms around her, squeezing back. “I don’t know if I’m frustrated that even more has happened while I was gone, or if I’m relieved that you have people standing at the door looking over you.”

She let me go, cupping my face with her hands, eyeballing me in a way that said she was trying to read the truths I often tried to hold back to keep her safe and happy. “Love would look good on you if we didn’t have all this nonsense hanging over us.”

I couldn’t help the color that bloomed over my face.

Behind her, a woman cleared her throat. We both turned to take in Deputy Marshal Rebecca James. She wore a dark jacket that curved over the straight lines of her muscular frame. With her square build, dark-brown hair closely shorn, and long, narrow eyes, she resembled a bull terrier. She’d protected us with a determined fierceness I’d been able to appreciate even when I’d first met her at sixteen.

“What exactly has been going on, Willow?” the woman demanded, her voice as brisk and tough as her appearance. “And why the hell didn’t you tell me when you called the other day?”

My eyes darted from the Marshal to Mom to Hector. He ran a hand over his head, brows furrowed. “What’s all this?”

Mom looked at me with surprise. “You didn’t tell him?”

I shook my head as I peeled my gloves off and dried my hands. “I wanted you to be able to do it in your own way.”

Mom leaned in and kissed my temple, and then she slid her arm through mine, grasping my hand as she turned us to face Hector. My palms grew sweaty as I searched his face, hoping thekindness and generosity I’d always seen wouldn’t disappear just because we’d had to lie to him.

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