Page 207 of Eight Years Gone

Any sense of relief suddenly vanished as her stomach sank. “But I thought you were staying here with us. You’re doing so well in school. You have a job and friends and Amanda.”

“It doesn’t make sense to leave that behind,” Jagger added.

Colton jerked his shoulders again. “I guess I don’t know how long you guys want me to stay.”

“We thought you were sticking around through your senior year.” Jagger gave Colton a gentle shove to the shoulder. “Until you head off to college. But only if you want.”

Colton nodded as he looked at them again, tossing them a smile. “I can probably manage that.”

Grace held Jagger closer, realizing Colton didn’t want to go any more than she or Jagger wanted him to.

Colton glanced toward the clock. “You know, we never got around to that sushi dinner. We could grab some for lunch.”

Grace opened her mouth to remind Colton she was the only one at the shop for the next couple of hours, but she said, “Sure. Let me tape a note to the door. I’ll let customers know that I’ll be back at one.”

She quickly wrote the note, grabbed her jacket, and locked up, heading down the sidewalk with Colton and Jagger.

Colton’s cell phone rang as Jagger hooked his arm around Grace’s waist. Colton pulled it from his back pocket, glancing at the screen. “It’s Amanda.”

Colton answered. “Hey. I’m about to have lunch with my sister and Jagger. Can I call you later?”

Grace’s gaze whipped to Jagger’s when Colton called her his sister.

Jagger winked as he grinned, wrapping his arm tighter around her.

She smiled back, resting her head against his shoulder, grateful for everything about her life.

The last few months had been rocky and rough, but Jagger woke up next to her every morning, and her brother was safe as he walked by their side.

She’d yearned for the love of her life for eight long years. She’d weaved dreams of how everything might be if he ever came home. But nothing she’d imagined could ever compare to the magic that she lived.

Jagger opened the door for them as they stopped at the restaurant. “Let’s get our sushi on.”

“Bring on the California rolls,” she said, stepping in behind Colton, taking Jagger’s hand as they waited to be seated.

Fifty-Five

Six Weeks Later

Jagger glanced up from the disarray on the bed when Grace walked in from the hallway. “Hey, beautiful.”

She smiled as she kept moving in his direction, carrying a wooden frame in her hand. “Hey.”

He snagged her wrist when she stopped before him, pulling her closer, kissing her after a long day apart. “How was the trip to Philly?”

She hooked her free arm around his waist. “Pretty good. How were Saturday classes at the dojang?”

“Not bad,” he said as he kissed her again, never able to get enough of her taste. “What have you got there?”

She flipped the frame around so he could see the eleven-by-fourteen shot of Steve grinning as he cut through a ribbon with five other doctors at the newly constructed hospital in the Central African Republic.

Jagger nodded, seeing how truly happy Steve had been at that moment. “That’s a great shot.”

Grace smiled, studying the image as he did. “Colton and I decided that we should bring it home with us. He conceded that it’s pretty cool that our dad liked helping overseas.”

Her smile faded as she slid her finger along the glass, tracing her father’s cheek. “And this is how I want to remember him—his capacity to be incredibly kind and generous. He gave up his life for someone else. He enjoyed volunteering his time to make other people’s lives better.”

“That’s really nice, Grace.”

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