Page 154 of Beyond the Blue Horizon
Afraid of the pain and the loss.
Because the loss would come.
It was inevitable.
“I’m afraid he’ll find us. I keep getting that same sense…” Fear pinched my brow. “Like he’s right there, tracking us.”
Worry held her expression. “Have you…seen something?”
“No. I just…” I breathed out the strain. “I think I’m just being paranoid.”
She shook her head in compassion. “I think it’s the thought of settling down that scares you most. The idea of it when you haven’t known anything else. Maybe the only mistake we made was running in the first place.”
“You know it was the only thing we could do.”
“I know it felt like it at the time, but now…?”
That hope she stirred billowed inside me, butting with the worry of what it might cost.
I hugged Finn tighter, pressing kisses to his temple.
He giggled. “No Mommy kisses.”
“All the Mommy kisses,” I teased as I continued to press my lips to his soft skin, inhaling all that he was.
Maybe…maybe I had been fighting for my son in the wrong way.
Nelly’s brow tightened in emphasis. “I think we knew that day that what we were doing couldn’t last forever. All roads end. Maybe that road we’ve been running has come up to a sharp dead end. Maybe everything new begins here.”
“And what if I lose it all again?” It sounded of a petition.
She reached out and set her hand on my cheek.
Tender.
Supportive.
True.
Affection squeezed my chest.
“I want the world for you, Piper. The world for you and our Finn. I want you to live life to its fullest, and what’s living if you’re doing it in fear? If you’re running from every opportunity and from every chance?”
She shifted and set her hand on the back of Finn’s head. “What kind of life is it if this little man never has a home? How’s he going to go to school? Have friends? Build his own life? It just doesn’t work. Eventually, all secrets are exposed.”
“I guess that’s what I’m afraid of most.”
Discernment filled her soft nod. “I will always support you in every decision you make. I will be right here for both of you for as long as this old body will allow. I just want you to remember that you have a choice.”
I knew what she was suggesting.
Go to the police.
But how could I entertain it after what happened last time?
Then she stepped back, clearly knowing I needed the reprieve. “Now, why don’t you show us what is loaded down in those bags? Looks like you bought the whole store.”
Nelly shuffled back to the cutting board and started slicing carrots.
