Page 25 of Montana Silence

Yes.

Tomorrow was Saturday. My work hours weren’t set in stone, and I often did work on weekends, but no one would mind if I didn’t. And I wanted to see him. My stomach did little flip-flops just thinking about it. I wanted him to kiss me again.

I’ll meet you around 1? At your house. We’ve got a drive ahead of us.

Where are we going?

The little bubbles popped up and faded away.

How do you feel about surprises?

In general I wasn’t a fan. Mostly because the surprises in my life up until now hadn’t been good ones. But this was Liam. I couldn’t imagine any surprise he could come up with would be bad.

I don’t mind if they’re from you.

Then I’ll keep it a surprise. ??

That added winking smile had butterflies starting in my chest.

“What has you smiling like that?” Lena asked as she put the cold cup down in front of me. It had a domed lid on the top that was absolutely packed with whipped cream.

“Nothing,” I whispered.

Evie sat down on my other side and nudged me with her shoulder. “You sure? Because your smile is exactly the kind of smile Lena used to get whenever Jude came in to visit. And we all know how that ended.”

I blushed but said nothing, reaching for the drink and the straw and busying myself with unwrapping it and sliding it inside.

“We’re teasing, Mara. It’s good to see you smiling. And I’m sure whatever—or whoever—is the source is well worth it.”

They were definitely right about that, and I was now eager to see what Liam had planned for us tomorrow. I looked over at Evie. “Where’s Avery?”

She sighed. “Lucas is on dad duty. I needed to get out of the house.”

Lena snorted. “You could have gone anywhere, Evie. You didn’t have to come in and work.”

“Where else would I go?” She shrugged. “It feels good to do something like normal. Avery is everything we ever dreamed, but it feels good to be the old Evie too.”

I smiled at her. Evie and Lucas’s daughter was beautiful, and I was more than a little jealous. One of the things I actually missed about being at the compound was all the children. They hadn’t been connected to any of the bad things; they simplywere. Kids were joyous and uncomplicated. They just wanted what they wanted, and that was the end of it.

Someday, with the right person, I wanted them.

A different set of nerves tumbled in my gut. Was Liam that person? Way,waytoo soon to be thinking anything of the sort. And yet, my mind was now filled with images of Liam running around with a kid who looked like both of us, and my heart grew in my chest.

“See?” Lena said. “She’s not even here.”

My friend winked at me, and I realized they’d been talking while I was daydreaming about Liam and babies. “Sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry for,” Lena said. A chime over the door drew our attention as a new customer came in. Leaning in, Lena put her hand on my shoulder. “It was really good to see you, Mara. I hope you come in more often, and when you’re ready to tell us why you’re smiling, we’re all ears.”

They left me alone to help the customer, and I grabbed my drink, heading back to my truck. Just that small interaction and the short walk made me feel much calmer.

This was my life now. I had good friends, a good support system, and if things went well, a good relationship. In spite of my problems with speaking, I wasn’t the girl who’d arrived at Resting Warrior, the one still running from her problems and still not making any progress.

No matter what, I had these things. They weren’t going away because of a shadow from my past. Was it still scary? Yes. Was I sure I could handle it? No.

But I needed to try.

As soon as I got back to my house, I opened my email and told Claire I would testify.

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