Page 120 of A Love Like Candle Light

Chapter 42

Erik

Kylie’s cold hand twitches in mine as we walk through the heavy metal gates.

She’s nervous. Understandable. Hell, I remember how nervous I was when I saw this prison from the inside for the first time. On TV and in documentaries you tend to see the worst of prisons and imagine it to be full of violent people who are ready to strike at any second.

However, in reality, at least at this prison, most of them just want to get their sentence over without an incident. They keep their heads down and mostly to themselves.

Dad is already at his usual table, staring at the bleak tabletop and tracing an invisible pattern. But as we approach, he glances up. And when he sees Kylie, he does a double take.

“Son.” His face lights up and he pulls me into a hug. “And who did you bring?”

“I’m Kylie.” She offers him her hand, but he pulls her into a hug, too. It’s a little surreal to watch. At first she’s surprised, shoulders going rigid because she didn’t expect it. After a moment, she relaxes.

“I’m Anthony. It’s good to meet you,” he declares once he lets her go.

“It’s lovely to meet you too, sir.”

“Ah, cut that out.” He waves his hand through the air, then rounds the table and sits down. “It’s Anthony. So, you’re his girlfriend.” He puts his elbows on the table and props his chin on one of his hands.

“Let me guess. Aunt Molly already tattled.”

“She might have mentioned it.” His lips curl into a grin.

“But also, why else would you bring a beautiful woman in here to introduce to me?” He rolls his eyes. “It was either your girlfriend or…” He gulps heavily, his expression suddenly solemn. “You know.”

A smile tugs at the corners of my lips, my stomach bubbling with excitement. And Kylie’s amused glance drills a hole into the side of my head.

“Yeah, about this ‘you know.’ I come bearing news.”

“Huh?” He blinks at me. “Okay? Do you want me to look at more pictures?”

“You can look at the pictures, but we don’t need you to identify her.” I pull it out of my pocket and slowly unfold it.

“Is it a corpse? Because if it is, I don’t want to see it.” He turns pale and his voice breaks. “You know I’m bad with death. And I don’t really want to hurl into one of the corners here.”

“It’s not a corpse.” I push the photo closer to him. At first, he keeps staring at me, pain washing over his face. “It’s good news. I promise.” He glances at it. Does another double take. And once he takes a closer look, he can’t take his eyes off it. With trembling fingers, he picks it up and holds it closer to his face.

“This is her?” His eyes turn glassy and then the tears overflow. “My Lilith?”

“Yes,” I confirm with a nod. Kylie’s snakes her hand into mine, laces my fingers with hers and gives it a squeeze. “She goes by the name Maya now.”

“Maya,” he mumbles and lets one of his fingers trail over the picture.

“She has your eyes.”

“She does.” He smiles, tears streaming down his cheeks. “How, Erik? After all these years?”

“At least half of the credit goes to Kylie.” I nudge her, watching her cheeks turn fiery red. It’s adorable.

“Not my credit,” she mumbles, shifting in her seat uncomfortably. When she catches my dad’s confused stare, she elaborates.

“I know someone who knows someone who created an aged-up image with a different technique. And it turns out the result was close enough for Erik to find her.”

“You are an angel.” He quickly wipes away the tears from his cheeks. “Thank you, Kylie.”

“It’s really nothing to thank me for.” She shakes her head.