Page 107 of Colton's Last Resort

Noah looked past them to where the coffin stood. “Thanks,” he replied. Sliding his hands into the pockets of his black suit jacket, he shrugged. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do with all the orchids.”

“You could take some home and donate the others to the hospital or nursing homes,” Joshua suggested. He glanced at Laura and Adam in question. “Didn’t we do that when Mom...?”

“That’s right.” Laura smiled at him softly. “We did.”

Noah cleared his throat. “You guys reached out to help, and I refused it. I just want you to know I appreciate the offer.”

“We’re going to miss her,” Joshua said. “Allison was the kind of light the world needs.”

Noah lowered his head and nodded. “She was.”

Laura could hardly stand to watch his shoulders rise and fall over a series of hard breaths.

“We’re dedicating the plaque to her in the meditation garden tomorrow evening at six,” Adam said quietly. “You should come. The plan is to light a paper lantern and let it fly. Laura and Alexis will light it. We’d like you to be the one who releases it.”

Noah kept his head down. He bobbed it in a solitary nod. “I can do that.”

Joshua reached out. He grabbed Noah’s shoulder. “You need anything, Detective, call me. Penny’s available whenever you need a long country drive. I can accompany you as a guide...or as a friend.”

Noah looked at him with the light of surprise. “Thank you.”

Adam reached out to shake his hand. “I’m holding on to Allison’s fund. I don’t care if it’s now or thirty years from now. If you think of something you’d like to do in her name, all you need to do is let me know.”

“I’ll remember,” Noah pledged.

Adam looked at Laura. “You need a minute?”

She nodded. “Please.”

“We’ll wait by the car,” Joshua told her before he and Adam strolled off.

Noah ran his eyes over her. He pulled a long breath in through the nose, his chest inflating. “You look stunning,” he said on the exhalation.

She lifted a hand to the neck of her dress. “That’s sweet of you.”

He glanced around at the lingering mourners, unsure what to say or do.

Laura reached out, then stopped. “Are you all right?” she asked.

“No.”

He didn’t dress it up or deflect. That was something.

“What can I do?” she asked. He hadn’t accepted help with the service. He would hardly lean on her now, she knew. Still, she had to ask.

“You’re here,” he replied simply.

“Of course I am,” she murmured.

“Let me look at you a minute,” he requested after some thought. “Would that be okay?”

She nodded. “More than okay.”

He took a step back. His eyes didn’t dapple over her. They reached. The yearning in them, the necessity, made her heart stutter. They started at her feet before winding up the path of her skirt to her waist, her navel, her bodice, before landing on the bruising that hadn’t yet faded from her neck. He blinked several times, lingering there, before circling her face.

She saw so many things in him, and they matched what was inside her—regret, need, longing, hesitation... There was so much she wanted to say to him.I miss you. I love you.

Please, lean on me. Just...lean.

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