Page 257 of On a Fault Line

I snap out of my daydream, looking into the eyes of my soon-to-be sister-in-law. “Hi.”

“I can’t even put into words how terrified I was when you went missing from the charity event. It took everything in me not to follow you up to Seattle and find you myself.”

“Punk would have lost his mind,” I say with certainty.

“That he would have, but I didn’t want to sit back and wait for those I love to not return back to me. I’m,” she says with a pause, “just glad you came back to us.”

Tears start to pool in my eyes, but I keep them at bay.

“Thanks for the hug,” I say, trying to get the topic back to less emotional territory. “I needed that more than you know.”

Claire’s eyes turn serious. “Are you okay?”

I stand like a statue for what feels like a long time, then I give a shrug. “I honestly don’t know.”

Claire nods in understanding, and then she steps back to grant me entrance into her home. “Angie’s in the kitchen making us some snacks. After I consumed three-fourths of a key lime pie, she got nervous.”

I let out a laugh. “I’m just glad there’s some left. You have the best cravings while pregnant, which we all benefit from when we hang out.”

Tilting her head back, she giggles, then quickly straightens her spine. Her hands move to the side of her rib cage. “Ouch,” she whimpers.

“Claire, what’s wrong?” I ask in an octave higher than my normal tone. My gaze follows her hand movements, as she rubs circles against the side of her round belly.

I try to guide her to the couch, but she stops me before we get there.

“I’m fine.” She shoos away my overprotective gestures. “Let’s just go and find Angie. I’ll grab some water.”

My eyes narrow. “Are you sure?”

“Positive. This baby is an attention seeker like its momma.”

I allow Claire to lead the way into her kitchen. When we arrive, we find Angie pulling out a tray of bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers from the oven.

“Oh, Penny, I’m so glad you are here.” She tosses her oven mitts onto the counter and races over to me. “Thank heavens you are okay. Graham made me promise to give you space and not overwhelm you with my”—she makes a face—“aggressive affection.”

I roll my eyes. “Please tell me my brother didn’t state it that way. Surely, he values his life more than to do that.”

She laughs. “He didn’t use those exact words per se. But that’s how I took it. Anyway, I’m so sorry you were terrorized by…”

She doesn’t want to say his name, and I’ll be perfectly fine if I never hear it spoken again for the rest of my life.

“He was going to live inside my mind forever unless I did something to evict him. I’m just glad that Col—” I cut off the second syllable of his name.

And just like that, my tears start to flow.

“Oh, Penny,” Claire says, giving me a warm squeeze.

Angie sniffles and wipes at her eyes. “And I only cry when someone else cries.”

I take a deep breath but it’s shaky. “I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize,” Angie says softly.

“Seriously, though, you both don’t need to coddle me. I’m fine.” I think about my last statement. “Well, I’m not really fine, but I’m also not fragile either.”

“I’m just glad you came over,” Claire says quietly. “I need both of you in my life.”

“I feel the same way.”

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