Page 30 of Outlawed

I smile and nod. “What can I say? You’ve grown on me.”

“Like a fungus?” he asks, making me laugh, and his wife groan.

I feel it then as I look out at everyone. I feel like I’m home. “Let’s take tonight to grieve. But tomorrow, we’ll work with Sarah to finish getting the festival ready. Dawn was so excited to be a part of it. She’d be pissed if we canceled, even though it seems like the right thing to do.”

“How about we hold it in her honor? A new dawn festival where the town all comes together? I think she’d have loved that,” Riggs says to the room and gets an excited number of yeses.

I look at Sarah, who nods.

“Then that’s what we’ll do.”

Chapter Ten

Istroke Hannah’s hair as she sleeps, her head resting on the pillow of her new bed in her new room. I worried it would be too much too soon, but I couldn’t leave her out in the bunkhouse alone.

Thankfully, she was more curious than anything. She’s still subdued—of course she is—but she’s being a trouper. We spent some time outside today when I got back from the meeting, planting flowers. When we were done, I helped Hannah pick a bunch she liked and made a bouquet for her mom. We put them in a vase in the center of the kitchen island, where everyone could see them. After she had a bath and I braided her hair, I tucked her into bed and picked up the book her mother had been reading to her, continuing where she had left off.

Looking down at her angelic face, I feel so fucking lost and out of my depth. The fear of messing this kid up claws at my insides. I have no damn business being a mom. I have no idea what to do. How do I not fuck this kid up? She’s already been through far too much, and I don’t know what to do to make things better. Or if I ever can.

I slowly get up from the bed, reluctant to leave. I only trust that she’s safe when I can see her. Sound coming from down the hall has me turning to see Riggs coming toward me.

“How is she?”

“I have no clue. She seems okay. Quiet but okay. Is that normal? I don’t want her sobbing in the corner, but I don’t know if that’s exactly what she should be doing.”

“I think there is no hard and fast rule about grieving, especially not when it comes to kids. We’ll find her someone to talk to. That will help her process everything and give us pointers on how to help. But for now, do what you do best.”

“And what’s that?”

“Love her.”

I sigh when he steps up to me, and I face plant against him.

“Let’s head downstairs and get a drink. She needs to rest, and if we keep hovering around, we might disturb her.”

I sigh again, knowing he’s right. I pull the door to Hannah’s room closed before letting him lead me downstairs. We head to the kitchen just as an awareness pings in my head. I frown when I feel another and another until my head is filled with static. It doesn’t hurt, but it’s confusing. I have no damn clue what the house is trying to tell me.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know,” I tell him honestly and head toward the door. He follows behind me as my power crackles at my fingertips. I’m ready to defend Hannah and Riggs with everything I have, though I’m not sensing hostility. I yank the door open, ready to face the devil if need be, and come to such an abrupt stop that Riggs almost plows into the back of me.

“Whoa, you okay? What’s going on….” His voice drifts off when he looks over my shoulder and sees what I’m seeing. “Jesus.”

People. More people than were at the town meeting earlier are gathering around the porch with candles burning in little glass jars. I feel myself choking up as Riggs wraps his arms around me and rests his head on top of mine.

For once, I’m at a loss for words as people come to pay their respects to a woman who, in life, felt so alone, and yet her death has brought a whole community together. By the time the last people arrive for the vigil, the whole front of the property is illuminated in a warm, comforting glow.

Someone, I don’t know who, starts singing a song I don’t recognize. Something about a person’s light being too much for this world, and I start to crumble until a soft voice calls my name from behind me.

“Calliope?”

I whirl around and find Hannah in her unicorn PJs with her teddy under her arm. I get down on my knees and hold my arms open a moment before she runs into them. I hold her tight, fighting to hold back my tears as the singer’s voice carries on the wind.

“What’s happening?” Hannah asks, her head turning to look at everyone. I have to ignore the people openly crying now, triggered by Hannah’s arrival, or I’ll lose it myself.

“These people came to say goodbye to your mommy.”

“Really?”