Page 194 of Cross & Crown

through all Nick’s layers. He knew the man who’d hold the

hand of a dying enemy, who would let a kid tie a piece of yarn

around his wrist for luck and still be wearing it five years later, who would lay his head in Kelly’s lap and sigh as if he’d just

dropped a huge weight from his shoulders. He was the man

194

who would never, ever make a promise unless he intended to

keep it or bleed trying.

“There’s the bridge,” Julian said, pul ing Kelly out of his

reverie.

Ahead of them was a large stone monument, rising over

the bank of the river. A concrete path led around it toward an

arched wooden bridge.

“It’s wood,” Kelly blurted.

He and Julian shared an uneasy glance. “There are

covered bridges in the area that are over two hundred years

old, right?” Julian asked. “It could have survived, being an

important landmark.”

“I guess . . .”

They loitered near the monument until Nick and JD came

into sight. JD was talking animatedly, and Nick had his head

down as he walked. Kelly could tell he was staying aware of

his surroundings by the tension in his shoulders, but he also

looked irritated.

“What’s wrong?” Kelly asked as soon as they approached.

Nick just looked away and shook his head.

“The bridge is a reproduction,” JD told them. “It’s been

rebuilt three times since the Battle of Concord.”

Kelly swiped his hand over his mouth. “Well fuck.”

“Perhaps it wasn’t on the bridge itself; perhaps it was

carved somewhere near,” Julian tried. “The bank of this river

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