“I... I let myself hope he was—” Her words broke off on a sob.
“I know. Me too.” His eyes stung as he tightened his arms around her and buried his face in her hair. He wished he could absorb all her pain. That he could carry it for both of them. “I’m sorry this is happening.”
The familiar smell of her hair, the warmth of her body, and the softness of her skin comforted him. For a while there he’d let himself hope he might have his big brother back. Hope his family might be whole again. But it had all been a ridiculous dream.
And now grief was wrecking them all over again. At least they hadn’t told his parents and sister. They’d be spared this second wave of sorrow. He never should’ve let Maggie hope again.
Though he still couldn’t conjure a rational explanation for the Ethan look-alike who roamed Seabrook.
Maggie shuddered as she brought her sobs under control. “He seemed pretty certain... didn’t he?”
Josh hated to remove that last thread of hope, but it would be unkind to allow more false hope. “He did.”
“And you—you believed he was telling the truth?”
“No doubt in my mind, honey. The whole thing left him pretty messed up.” He kissed the top of her head. “We were wrong. We hoped for the best and we hunted down the answers we needed. We did what we had to do.” And now it was over.
Her body shuddered reflexively. “I don’t like the answers.”
“I don’t either.”
She drew back, studying his face in a way that drew heat to his cheeks. She feathered away the dampness on his cheek. “Are you okay?”
He tried for a smile but it wobbled and gave way. “I’ll get there.”
“You always take such good care of me. But who’s taking care of you?”
“We take care of each other. And we’ll both be just fine.”
“I don’t like seeing you so sad.”
“I don’t like seeing you sad either.”
They took each other in, time suspended in a way that sent Josh’s mind back to a December evening when they’d shared that monumental kiss.
Just as quickly, guilt torpedoed the memory.
“We should get Zoey out before the car gets hot.” She withdrew from his arms and wiped her face dry. “Do I look okay? Can you tell I’ve been crying?”
Mouth tipping in a mirthless grin, he plucked a wet strand from her temple and brushed it back behind her ear. “You’re good to go.”
Maggie went to open Zoey’s door while Josh collected his phone. He shut off the rousing strains of “Let It Go” as Maggie helped Zoey from the car.
“Ready to play at the park, Chickadee?”
“Are there swings?”
“There sure are.”
Josh checked both ways, and as they crossed the street, he caught Zoey studying her mom’s face.
“Did your friend make you sad, Mommy?”
Josh traded a glance with Maggie. That daughter of hers missed nothing.
Maggie offered Zoey a smile. “Yeah, honey, I guess he did. But I’ll be okay.”
“That wasn’t very nice of him.”
