Sage nodded.
“Or worried?” Raven wondered.
“Both,” Sage admitted.
“What are you worried about?”
“Everything,” Sage admitted. “Nothing.” She bowed her head. “I don’t know.”
Raven took a step closer to her. “Father used to tell us worrying wouldn’t solve anything.”
Sage chuckled. “He had three daughters to care for. He was always worried.”
The corner of Raven’s lips rose. “Perhaps. But he never showed it.”
“I’m not like him.”
“You’re the most like him of all of us.”
Sage looked at her in disbelief. “Father and I fought all the time. He never saw my reasoning. He never understood.”
“Hedidunderstand. He just didn’t agree. And that’s why the two of you were constantly at odds.”
Sage grunted. “I was always right.”
Raven smiled. “As you are now.”
Sage turned to her, shocked. “How can you say that when Landyn questions my judgment?”
Raven shrugged and put a hand on her hip. “Since when do you care what anyone thinks?”
Sage stared toward the river. “I don’t care.”
But deep down, she knew she cared more than she wanted to admit. Every sympathetic look from Marcus, every laugh from Willow, and every glare from Raven struck her heart like little shards of glass, yet she refused to show weakness. She couldn’t afford to be wrong, not after dragging her sisters from their home in pursuit of solving the puzzle. The image of Willow’s terrified expression before she went under the water was engraved on Sage’s mind, and her hands curled into fists.
“I don’t believe you,” Raven replied.
Sage’s shoulders drooped, and her voice lowered as she spoke. “It’s not what others think that’s bothering me. It’s what could have happened. Willow almost lost Mercy. It might have been worse if Christian hadn’t been there to save her.”
Raven stepped forward and patted Mercy’s neck. “You know how reckless Willow is.”
She didn’t like the emotions an injured Willow or a dead horse stirred inside her. “Losing Father was difficult. I don’t want to lose anyone else I love.”
Raven’s eyes softened with empathy. “Neither do I,” she replied, her voice gentle.
Sage lowered her gaze, feeling the warmth of tears welling in her throat as Raven’s hand kindly squeezed her shoulder before dropping away.
“Instead of thinking of what could be, focus on the mystery. On the directions,” Raven suggested.
Sage nodded, the doubt still lingering. Together they turned, heading back to the farmhouse.
Sage bumped Raven’s shoulder with her own. “How did you become so wise?”
“I was born this way,” Raven said.
Sage smiled, her voice playful. “You mean older?”
Raven narrowed her eyes, the movement barely visible in the moonlight. “Well, yes. That, too.”
