“I kept my promise.” He brushed the powdery snow away, crouched, and placed the tulips at the base of the stone. “I found CJ and protected her from Derek Sullivan—turns out he was there that night. Collin’s cousin. He’s in federal custody now. The arraignment happened last month. He’ll go to trial in a few months and then to prison for the rest of his life. You’d be proud of CJ. She did an amazing job bringing a solid case against him.”
The wind rustled through the trees. Birds sang from the skeletal trees.
“She’s safe. That’s what matters, right?” Garrett’s voice cracked. “I saved her. Just like I should have saved you.”
But the cost.
Three months. It had been three months since Claire had walked away from him at that police station in Montana. Three months of silence. Of her refusing his calls. Of carefully worded emails from her attorney—because yes, she’d gotten an attorney to handle any communication related to Derek’s case.
Please direct all inquiries through counsel.
Professional. Distant. Final.
“I screwed up, Lil,” Garrett said. He stayed crouched, staring at the headstone. “I lied to her about who I was. About you. About everything that mattered.” He laughed bitterly. “You’d be so disappointed in me.”
Lily had always been the honest one. The one who told the truth even when it hurt. Even when it would have been easier to lie.
Garrett had hidden. Had told himself it was for Claire’s protection, for the mission, for all sorts of noble-sounding reasons that were really just cowardice.
“I fell in love with her,” he said quietly. “Your best friend. CJ. She’s... She’s incredible. Smart and strong and brave. She saved Dr. Montgomery, the psychologist on my team. Fought off Derek with her hands zip-tied. She’s not the scared kid from that night. She’s—” His voice broke. “She’s everything. And I lost her because I was too afraid to tell her the truth when I should have. I’m not Bobby anymore, and I just couldn’t admit it until it was too late.”
Christmas was everywhere, even here in the cemetery, with pine wreaths and red and green bows. But not in his heart. That was forever frozen in Montana—in the moment Claire had looked at him like he was a stranger.
“I don’t know how to fix it,” he said. “Doc says to give her time. That she’ll come around.” He looked at Lily’s name carved in granite. Traced it with his fingertip. “But what if she doesn’t? What if I broke something that can’t be repaired?”
The cemetery was still quiet. Still peaceful. Still offering no answers.
Garrett stood. Brushed snow from his gloves. “I should go. I just wanted to... I wanted you to know I kept my promise. CJ’s alive. Safe. That has to be enough.”
Even if it felt like nothing at all.
“Bobby?”
Garrett froze.
That voice. He’d know it anywhere. In his dreams. In his nightmares. In every quiet moment of the past three months.
He turned.
Claire stood twenty feet away, holding yellow tulips. For a long moment, they just stared at each other.
She looked different. Thinner, maybe. Tired. Her hair was shorter—cut to her shoulders instead of past them. She was wearing jeans and a wool peacoat, not the professional suits he’d seen her in.
But her eyes were the same. Blue. Guarded. Looking at him like she wasn’t sure if she should stay or run.
“CJ,” Garrett said. Then caught himself. “Claire. I’m sorry. I didn’t?—”
“I come here every year,” she interrupted. “On the anniversary of her death. But this year, I decided it was time to celebrate her life instead. I didn’t know you’d be here.” She looked at the flowers in her hand. “I should have realized you would.”
“I can go,” Garrett said. “Give you space. I don’t want to?—”
“Don’t.” Claire took a step forward. “Don’t go. We should... We should talk.”
Garrett’s heart hammered against his ribs, hope soaring even as he tried to shut it down. “Okay.”
Claire walked to Lily’s grave and placed her tulips next to his. They both stood there, looking at the headstone. At the name. At the dates that were too close together.
“I testified at Derek’s preliminary hearing,” Claire said finally. “You probably know that.”
