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“Thank you. But I think that’s enough for me. At least for a little while. And now that I don’t need to hide any longer, I can live life the way I want without worrying about anyone getting hurt.”
“And you can always live vicariously through me once I’m back out on the street. That is, if they ever stop babying me and let me back out there.”
“They’ll stop babying you once you stop acting like one,” Charlotte quipped.
“You say that now, but wait until I’m back on my feet. I’ll make you eat your words.”
“I look forward to it.” She gave Maddy a sinister squint.
“Hey,” Will said. “I don’t mean to interrupt your little bonding session here, but have you heard from Peter? I wanted to thank him properly. I never got the chance. Things got so hectic in Venezuela, he took off before we had the opportunity to debrief.”
“He had to go home,” Maddy said. “Jemi had a turn.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that.”
“Yeah. I’ve been praying for her nonstop. I really hope God does a miracle there.”
Charlotte and Will both gaped.
“You’ve been praying for her?” Charlotte finally said.
“You should see both your faces,” Maddy laughed. “I’ve been waiting for just the right moment. And it was worth it.”
“That’s not funny.”
“If you saw your face, you’d understand.”
“You’ve never been one to joke about prayer.”
“I wasn’t joking.”
“So you’re serious? You’ve been praying for her?”
“Yeah. Only took my sister being kidnapped and nearly dying for God to finally get to me. It was annoying, actually. I couldn’t get Him off my case, but what can you do?”
“That new information is going to have to sit with me for a while,” Will said. “And I’d love to hear more about it, but I’ve gotta get going.”
“I’m so jealous,” Maddy said.
Will stretched like he was enjoying himself. “Yup. And you should be. Might go for a jog later.”
“Rub it in, why don’t you?”
“As much as I can.”
“If I didn’t like you so much, I’d hate you. But promise me you won’t be a stranger,” Maddy said.
“I won’t.” He looked at Charlotte, but his eyes wouldn’t settle on her. “It was good to see you again, Charlotte. I’m glad everything worked out in the end.”
“Me too.”
“Well…I guess I’ll see you two around.” He offered them each a close-lipped smile, then left the room.
* * *
Charlotte bit her lip as he walked out the door. This wasn’t how she wanted to say goodbye to Will. She probably wouldn’t see him again, but as much as that grieved her, she wanted to say a proper goodbye.
“I’ll be back in a sec,” she said to Maddy, then jumped from her chair.
