Page 139 of Running to You

Without trust, what did they have? Bad memories and broken hearts.

Sheesh. He sounded like a country music song. Where was the twangy tune?

The only sound came from the crackling embers. The earthy scents of fresh pine and burning logs filled the room. The scent of home.

“Why can’t you sleep?” He kept his voice low, barely above a whisper.

Her eyes flicked his direction but didn’t hold. “You know why.”

He wanted to take her hand. Instead, he clasped his together on his lap. “You want to talk about it?”

Eliza didn’t speak for a long moment. Then, she pushed to her feet.

That would be a no.

He should just let her go. But…“I’m sorry.” He caught her hand as she scooted by him. “We can just… We don’t have to talk.”

But she kept moving, gripping his hand and tugging him up behind her.

He followed, body hoping and brain fearing he knew what she was thinking. He’d have to reject her, and he wasn’t sure he had it in him.

But she didn’t aim for the staircase, for her bedroom. She crossed to a workstation and sat. A jiggle of the mouse, and the computer screen came to life.

He pulled a chair over. “What are we doing?”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Levi.” She opened a browser window and typed, not even glancing his way. “I just…I didn’t know how. And I didn’t want to say it in front of Michael. Or in public.”

“We’ve spent a lot of time together.”

“Not alone. Not since I remembered, when we were with Grant and Jon. And then Michael was with us.”

There were a couple of hours in the car between Concord and York, but that was when she’d told him about the cult. Why she couldn’t have slipped in the information then, he didn’t bother to ask.

A website loaded, and she logged in.

Then, a list of file folders appeared. She clicked on Photos, which loaded more folders. They all seemed to be named by dates.

She clicked one, then scrolled. He was too far away to make out the tiny thumbnails.

And then, a little boy’s image filled the screen. He had a round face and curly blond hair. He was grinning at the camera, showing a line of baby teeth and a little smudge of green on his nose. Frosting, Sam guessed, seeing the cake in front of him. A few slices had been cut out, but the words were mostly there. Happy Birthday, Levi!

Sam tried to find a resemblance to Eliza. But there was nothing. The kid had bright blue eyes where hers were hazel. He had curly hair where hers was straight. He had blond hair where hers was brown…though maybe it’d been blond when she was a kid. Sam’s had been until he was six or seven.

And okay, maybe the color of his eyes was wrong, but he saw Eliza’s in the shape. They were big and round and filled with wonder.

And, wow.

Levi was a beautiful child. Chubby cheeks tinged with pink, a chin that would grow stronger as he matured.

He was glad he didn’t know what Keller looked like. Maybe if he never discovered similarities between the kid and his insane father it would be easier.

He felt Eliza’s gaze.

“He’s cute.” Didn’t exactly sum it up, but what did she expect from him?

“That was his birthday party.”

“I actually put that together all by myself.”