“Think harder.”
“Did Billy put you up to this?”
“He’s what… four? You think he’d be that cunning?”
“Definitely.”
He snorted.
“Will you tell me about your friend Mark who died?”
His chest heaved in and out, and she knew this was a painful subject for Brad.
“He was the first person I could really be myself with.”
“Branna was that for me.”
“He seemed to cut through my bullshit and see the person inside. He helped me to change. Helped me to see who I wanted to be.”
His voice was deep, and Macy heard his pain. She slipped her fingers into his, and gripped them tight.
“Branna told me I was important. Told me that I wasn’t worthless.”
Macy remembered that dark night when Branna had found her, remembered the words her friend had spoken, that had started her on the path to healing.
“It’s because they believed in us, Macy. That belief gave us strength.”
“Tell me about him, about Mark.”
She rested against him as he talked. The words came out slowly, as if each one had to be forced from his chest.
“Mark was like Ethan is now. Comfortable with who he is, comfortable and confident in his own body.”
“That’s how I see you, Brad.”
His laugh was dry. “I’m getting there, but it takes time.”
“Thank you for telling me about Mark. I know it’s painful for you.”
“Your dad told me that to keep his memory alive I need to do that.”
“Dad said that?” Macy hadn’t always been close with her father, but since his illness their bond had definitely strengthened.
“He did. I hear the helicopter, Macy. You ready to go home?”
She did too, the slow whomp whomp of the rotor blades.
“If he can't land because it’s too dangerous, we may need to climb up, Macy.”
“Oh God.”
“I won't let anything happen to you, honey. You have to trust me and Ethan to get you home to Billy safe.”
“I trust you,” she said, turning in his arms. She touched his jaw. “You, Brad Gelderman, are a good man, and if this was another time and we weren't two people so messed up a psychiatrist would take several years to straighten us out, I'd hold on to you.”
He kissed the sad smile from her lips. It was soft and sweet and they kept the contact until Ethan was close. He then lifted her to her feet and they walked out together.
She watched Brad pull the gun from his waistband and between them they scanned the surrounds.
