Page 72 of The Fixer and the Fugitive

Sam quirked an eyebrow in her direction, giving her the side eye. “Sergeant Major,” he muttered. But then he also extended his hand for a shake. “Cameron.”

“Sam,” Ridge returned. If possible, he sounded as tense as Sam. Clearly there was some history here Celeste wasn’t privy to.

“I haven’t had a chance to congratulate you yet. On the baby. Congratulations.”

“Thank you. I think you’ll understand that Maggie wanted to name him Cliff and I had to veto,” Ridge said, lips twitching.

“Cliff Ridge,” Sam said, shaking his head slowly. “That sounds about right for Maggie. Good call on the veto.” They chuckled and a little of the tension eased. Ridge glanced at the house.

“Is there a good place to talk privately? There are some debrief items we need to go over.”

“Of course. If that’s okay with Celeste?” Sam turned toward her, seeking permission, and she didn’t like it. She had told him it was his home. Did he not want it to be anymore? She gestured toward the house, trying not to stare as he and Ridge walked away.

“I’m going to take some pictures of the scene for our files,” Leo said. He squeezed Celeste’s bicep and turned away, withdrawing his camera.

“Let’s check out the orchard,” Esther suggested.

“What’s left of it,” Celeste murmured, trying not to sound as forlorn as she felt.

Chapter 32

They couldn’t get too close to the orchard. The trees still sizzled with live coals and ash, the acrid smell of smoke hung heavy in the air.

“All your beautiful trees,” Esther said.

They hadn’t been beautiful to most people, but Celeste thought Esther understood. They had been beautiful to her because they represented a fresh start. Now, as with everything else in her life, they’d been destroyed. She folded herself carefully to the cool earth and surveyed the damage, telling herself her eyes watered because of the smoke. Certainly not because she was grieving for fruit trees.

“It’s so sad,” Esther said, sitting gently beside her.

They were silent a few moments, and it was nice, almost like an homage to the nature that had been lost. In any case, it eased some of the ache in Celeste’s chest to have someone share and understand her misery. She took a breath and let it out slowly.

Esther turned to face her, tipping her head as she made a study of Celeste’s features. “I’m not great at intuiting people’s emotions, so tell me if I’m wrong, but you seem sad aboutsomething more than the trees. And I don’t think it’s the guy you’ve shot, given your job history.”

“I told Sam about my past. My real name. Basically everything that’s not classified.” She rested her chin on her knees.

Esther paused thoughtfully again, digesting. She seemed to be trying hard to think before she spoke, to not blurt the first thing that came to mind. Celeste wondered if that was Leo’s influence. He’d always been diplomatic that way. “How did he take it?”

“I don’t know. We were interrupted by…” she gestured to the sad remains of her orchard.

“Oh,” Esther said, facing forward. Now she rested her chin on her knees.

“How’s married life?” Celeste asked.

“I spent a long time searching for the right word, only to discover it didn’t exist in English. So I found it in Balinese:Ramé. It means both chaotic and joyful.”

“And how did your parents take it?”

“Shockingly well,” Esther said. “It turns out they weren’t as into all the rules for our marriage as I thought they were. In fact when I told them we were already married, they were relieved. The stress of wedding planning was getting to them. They told all my hundreds of kinfolk we eloped, and that was that.” She dusted her hands together to demonstrate and then faced Celeste. “Which brings me back to you. Sometimes people surprise us. They don’t fit in the boxes we’ve created for them; they don’t react the way we think they’re going to. I’m not an expert, but I really think Sam cares about you. Give him a little time and space to adjust to the surplus of new information, and I bet he’ll come around, too.”

“I hope so,” Celeste said.

“But also, either way you’ll be okay. Platitudes and feel good sayings aren’t my comfort zone; raw truth is. And that’s the raw truth, Celeste. No matter what happens, you’re going to be all right. You’re healing and growing. I can see the changes in the short time I’ve known you. This life you’re creating, it’s going to be amazing, with or without the cute boy with the big brown eyes.” She reached over and squeezed Celeste’s shoulders and, despite everything, Celeste believed her. She even managed to laugh.

“You still notice cuteness, even after you’re happily married?”

“It took twenty four years for me to notice men. I don’t think that switch can ever be flipped back off again,” Esther mused.

“Believe me, it can,” Celeste replied. She hadn’t allowed herself to get close to a man or be interested in one the last fifteen years. But Esther was right, with or without Sam she would continue to heal. Just because she wanted it to bewithdidn’t mean she wouldn’t eventually move on.

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