Mindy stood. “I need to go do some more research,” she said, then looked at me. “We’re good?”
I nodded. “We’re good,” I said. We both grinned, and then she hurried from the room.
The door closed behind her. Jared stretched. “I should go check in with your mom. She’s been staring at one of Timmy’s drawings all morning. The one with the shadow behind the door.”
My stomach tightened. “The Knocking Man.”
Jared nodded, his face grim. “She’s trying to figure out what Timmy’s seeing. Whether it’s prophecy or just kid stuff.”
“It’s not kid stuff.”
“No. It’s not.” He stood, then bent to press a kiss to my forehead. “Back in a bit,” he said, then headed out, leaving me alone with Zane, a boy I wanted to trust, but wasn’t quite there.
I hoped I was wrong. I hoped when it came down to it, he’d be on our side and not his father’s.
I hoped for the sake of his soul. And also because despite everything, he was a friend. And I really didn’t want to have to take him down.
24
KATE
Laura found me in the kitchen that evening, staring at a glass of wine I hadn’t touched.
“That bad?” She slid onto the stool beside me and reached for the bottle. “Or are you saving it for a special occasion?”
“I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“With the wine or with life in general?”
“Yes.”
She poured herself a glass, then topped off mine even though it was still full. “How are you holding up?”
“I don’t know that either.” I finally picked up my glass, swirled the wine without drinking it. “I should be devastated, right? My husband just moved to another continent. And I’m sitting here feeling...” I searched for the word. “Lighter. Like I’ve been holding my breath for months and I finally get to exhale.”
“That’s not a crime, Kate. Especially not with all you two have been through. First husband back from the dead. Current husband having freakish visions. Neither crime nor misdemeanor.”
I almost smiled but didn’t. “It feels like one.”
Laura set her glass down and studied me. She had that look—the one she got before lecturing Mindy.
“Okay,” I said. “Lay it on me.”
She rolled her eyes. “I was just going to say that you loved Stuart. You still love Stuart. But with that whole oracle thing, you’ve been in limbo for over a year now—longer, really, if we’re counting from when Eric came back.”
I shifted uncomfortably. Because yeah. We definitely had to count from when Eric came back.
“You’ve been trying to be a good wife to a man who was turning into someone neither of you recognized, while the love of your life was sleeping under the same roof.” She raised an eyebrow. “That’s exhausting. Feeling relief doesn’t make you a bad person. It makes you human.”
“When did you get so wise?”
“I’ve always been wise. You just don’t listen.”
“You know me so well,” I said, and we both laughed.
A moment passed. Then another. And another. Finally, I said, “He knows. About me and Eric. That one time. The visions showed him.”
“Ouch. How’d he take it?”
