Page 112 of Delicate Escape

“Your smile is freaking me out.”

I glanced over at Anson as we headed into town in my truck, trying to lessen the grin that had been plastered on my face all weekend. But I had no luck. It couldn’t be helped. “Just because you look like some sort of possessed demon when you smile doesn’t mean the rest of us do.”

Anson just grunted in response. “Doesn’t your face hurt? You haven’t stopped grinning all morning.”

I rolled my eyes as I made the turn onto the main drag through town. Cascade Avenue was still extra crowded from the holiday weekend, tourists lingering to make the most of their trips. I couldn’t stop my gaze from swinging to the bakery, just hoping for a glimpse of dark brown hair through the window.

“Jesus,” Anson clipped. “Keep your eyes on the road.”

My gaze swung back to the traffic in front of us, and I pressed down on the brake to avoid rear-ending a minivan with Idaho plates.

“You aregone,” he muttered.

“Like you’re any better,” I shot back.

Anson was head over heels for Rhodes. It was like she was the center of his universe, and everything rotated around her.

One corner of his mouth kicked up. “Fair enough.” The half grin dimmed. “Has everything been quiet?”

I nodded, a weight settling in my gut. “Trace is still waiting for the prints to come back on the letter. Russ’s are on file, but Brendan’s aren’t.”

“Of course, they aren’t,” Anson groused. “I might be able to figure out how to get a set…”

“A legal way?”

Anson winced, and I had my answer.

“If Trace can’t use them, it doesn’t do us any good.”

Anson slumped back in his seat. “Yeah, yeah. I just want this guy to fry.”

My hands tightened on the wheel. “You think I don’t? He tortured her.” The words felt like blades in my throat. “Thea’s always battling the tricks her mind plays on her because of everything he’s done. He might not have laid a hand on her, but there are still scars.”

Anson was quiet as I pulled into the hardware store’s parking lot and found an empty spot. “Sometimes, the mental scars are worse.”

I knew that Anson understood that. Probably better than anyone. “But she’s healing.” I could see it in how Thea was growing bolder. How she didn’t brace. How she let her guard down around my family. I looked at Anson. “And you’re healing, too.”

Anson stared back at me. “What about you?”

I stiffened for a moment and then let the flash of annoyance melt away. He wasn’t asking to push or be nosy but because he cared. “I’ll always wish that I saw Silas for who he was. And hate that I’m the reason he was able to get to you and Rho.”

“But?” Anson pressed.

“But I’m starting to see just how convincing evil can be. Sometimes, it comes in a pretty or unassuming package. And I don’t want to be the kind of person who searches for the bad in everyone who crosses my path. I don’t want to let what happened change me.”

It was the first time I’d said those realizations aloud. But the truth was, Thea had helped me see them. I saw how Brendan had charmed her, pulled her in. In feeling for her, I started having a little more empathy for myself.

“In other words, you know what happened to Rhodes wasn’t your fault.”

I swallowed through the tightness in my throat. “I know. Do you?”

Anson stared back at me. “She’s kicked my ass into believing it.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “My sister is fierce when it comes to the people she loves.”

Anson clapped me on the shoulder as he reached for the door handle. “So are you. And that makes us all damn lucky to have you.”

As I shut off the engine and climbed out of my truck, I really let those words land. Let the feeling of them hit my chest and expand. I was so damn lucky to have the family I did. The friends. Thea. And I wouldn’t underestimate the miracle that was all of that.

---