Page 59 of Crossroads

I explained about the teacher in the lobby, and the others, and her eyes widened.

“What does that mean?”

“I have no idea.”

“All I know is that I’m tired, though. And I’m glad that Jeremiah will be behind bars, and this part will be over.”

I swallowed hard, hating the finality of those words. Because if this part was over, she would be leaving soon.

I felt her tears along my chest, so I held her close, careful of her bandages.

“I love you, Bodhi.”

I let out a shaky breath. “I love you, too, Kiera.

But I knew that no matter what, love wasn’t always enough.

Chapter 17

KIERA

In the week since the attack, everything had moved far too quickly, yet at a glacial pace. I wasn’t quite sure how that happened, but it seemed to be my lot in life these days.

I was sore, but wasn’t in as much pain as I thought I would be, and the initial attack had been mostly shock, and while I still had stitches and my arm and face hurt, the rest of my body felt fine. I still walked around the property.

“You should be back in bed.”

I leaned against the kitchen counter, a hot mug of tea in my hand despite the heat outside, and shook my head. “I’ve been lying down for a week, other than these small walks you allowed me to have. I’m scratching at the walls, Bodhi.”

He leaned against the island, his arms folded over his massive chest as he stared at me. When he tilted his head, the overhead light glinting off his septum ring, I licked my lips. We were in this odd bubble of time. One more change would come and eventually speed up with every passing moment. I didn’t know what we were doing or where we would go, but if we weren’t careful, we would break each other in the end. I was truly afraid of that. I was truly afraid of where we would go and what would happen when reality slowly settled in. But, for now, I needed to live in this moment. I wondered what the hell we would do with another.

“You were just attacked and sliced with a knife. You should be in bed.”

“And I have been. Let’s go for a walk, Bodhi.”

He moved forward then, took the mug from my hand, and set it behind me. Then he cupped the unhurt side of my face. “Are you sure you’re ready for a walk?”

“We’ve been doing small ones every day. I need this. We need this. The cops no longer have to come here every day to get more statements. My team handled the media. We have enough casseroles in the fridge from the townspeople that you’ll never have to cook for the next year, it feels like. Everybody’s rallied around us. And I just want to go for a walk.”

“Okay. I want to take you somewhere. Well, two somewheres.”

My eyes widened. “Really?” I knew I could do anything that I wanted, and Bodhi wouldn’t stop me if I needed to leave the house. Though perhaps he would throw me over his shoulder in a fireman carry and tie me to the bed, but that would be for something else. He let me have my independence, to figure out what I needed, and I loved that for both of us. But I wanted him to understand me. And he did. We loved each other. Those words have been uttered between us, and it surprised me with every passing moment. Because I didn’t know what they truly meant in the long run. Which should scare me, and it did, but perhaps not as much as it should.

“I want to show you something precious to me. If that’s okay.”

My throat tightened, and I nodded. “Anything. I want to know you, Bodhi.”

“Why do I feel like you already do more than anyone else in my life?”

Tears pricked my eyes, but I didn’t let them fall. We were in a stasis. Where anything could happen in the moment and shatter it all.

The craziness was over. My sister and my ex wouldn’t be bothering us anymore, and it felt like the world was changing, like the town was fully bringing us together. We had time to heal and to think before everything changed. And it felt like nothing could hurt us anymore, other than ourselves.

And I loved that.

“I also plan on taking you somewhere this afternoon, because if I don’t, Teagan will kidnap you anyway.”

My eyes widened. “What do you mean?” Everybody and their mother had been visiting, and I loved it. But I also wanted to leave the property just for a moment. To see more of Ashford Creek before I had to leave. And that was a thought I didn’t want to think of too hard.