Page 116 of Hades

“Brock will love you like he’s guarding the entrance to hell and you are the only thing that has ever made him want to leave it.”

Her breath caught.

I let go of her hand before the moment became too much.

For both of us.

We finished lunch slowly after that. The conversation shifted to safer ground. Plants. Recipes. Cerberus. The chickens. The absurdity of grown men pretending they weren’t terrified of a black dog with better manners than most of them. Lettie showed me the herb beds after we cleared the table, explaining what she used for teas, salves, cooking, soaps. She was animated there, moving from plant to plant with knowledge and affection, her fingers brushing leaves like greetings.

She belonged in this garden.

That was clear.

But she also looked lonely in it.

When we reached a section bordered by an iron gate and climbing vines, Cerberus stopped ahead of us and sat.

Lettie’s hand moved subtly. Almost instinctively. The dog stayed where he was.

I noticed.

I noticed everything.

“What’s back there?” I asked.

Her smile never faltered. But something shuttered behind her eyes. “Plants that need more care.”

That was not an answer.

I had spent too many years married to a liar not to know when someone was choosing words carefully.

Still, I didn’t push.

Lettie had secrets.

So did every person I loved.

Maybe the difference was that Lettie’s secrets felt like armor. Not weapons.

When it was time for me to leave, she walked me to the front of the house with Cerberus padding silently beside us. The sun had shifted higher, warming the porch steps and turning her hair nearly white-gold in the light.

“Thank you for coming,” she said.

“Thank you for lunch.”

“You’re welcome anytime.”

The offer was simple.

Sincere.

Dangerous to a woman who hadn’t realized how badly she needed somewhere quiet to be welcome.

“I may take you up on that when I come back.”

Her smile trembled just a little. “I’d like that.”

I stepped closer. Because I was old enough not to ask permission for every tender thing. I touched her cheek.