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I wait a moment, then with reluctance, admit, “No, you did the right thing. Barren needed time to heal. And you did the right thing with Scarlet, too.” I’ve spent a long time trying to come to grips with Taylor’s decision, but I finally understand his motivation and logic.
“He needed her.”
“We all need her.” I hiss. “Come sit with me, just for a little while. Then I’ll head out.”
He allows me to tow him down to the lounge room. We sit in the dark, not speaking, neither of us reach for the remote to turn on the tv.
I hear them because I’ve been waiting for them, but when Barren gets a good look at Taylor, he inhales on a hiss and sinks down to his knees in front of him. Those deep dark eyes pin Taylor to the spot, and the protective version of Barren comes out.
“Taylor, what have you done?”
Taylor opens his eyes and reaches out, cupping Barren’s cheek softly. “I’m sorry.”
“I don’t care if you’re sorry!” Barren shouts. “I need you healthy!”
I want to tell him off, but Acton makes a motion, and I shut my mouth.
“Get up, get showered, I’m going to feed you, and we’re going to bed.”
“No, I can’t, the search-“
“Gold and Acton can search.” Barren glares at us. “They will handle it. Jet is looking after Scarlet, and I’m going to take care of you.”
I hold up my hands and back out of the room. Acton follows at my back.
“How is she?” I ask.
“She’s good. She and Hazel are getting along great.”
I groan.
“How is the search going, really?” Acton asks.
I shake my head. “Taylor thinks they were hiding out in a cave, but we’ve searched all the caves on the map. There’s nothing.”
I point to the large paper stretched out over the desk.
Acton points to a spot we’ve cleared. “There’s a cave there.”
I look at him, excitement in my eyes. “Really?”
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
It takes us an hour to get up there. The sides are steep, but when we find the cliff, I find a chewie. I pick it up, feeling my heart lift.
Still, it’s not until we crawl inside and we find all their belongings and several of our personal items that I break down.
I sit there in the dark and sob in exhaustion and let the stress and fear leach out of me.
Acton rubs a hand over my back. “It’s over.” He repeats it over and over.
I sit up and rub my eyes.
“Come on, Gold. Let’s get back and end this so we can start our forever.”
The last hook Merry and Art had in our lives is gone. I feel lighter. We collect all their belongings, retrieving our things and the threatening notes, and bury their stuff in a wild, overgrown part of the forest.
When we get back to the house, I go up to the office, pull out all the threatening notes Taylor had been collecting, and walk into the lounge room with a bin and a lighter.
