“He did,” I wet my lips, “but he didn’t. He just sped up his own downfall.”
“So what does that mean for you now?”
Word clearly hadn’t reached her about Silas and me.
“I’m staying.” The words zap happiness through me, a warmth that makes my whole body tingle. “Silas and I… well, I don’t know what we are, but I’m happy here.”
“Ada was right,” Darcy breathes, “You two are together.”
“I guess so,” I confirm.
“I thought you wanted to travel.”
“I thought so too,” We take a turn in the trail and slowly, the thunderous sound of water falling over rocks reaches my ears. “And I still can if I want to.”
“Wow.” The word sounds a little sharp, and I turn to her, trying to gauge her emotions.
“You don’t seem happy?” I frown.
“No!” She shakes her head, offering me a kind smile, “Sorry! It’s not like that at all.”
“Areyou sure?”
Her eyes soften but I can see the tension at her brow, throwing it off, “I’ve watched that man break time and time again, you know?”
“You were here when his wife left?”
“I was,” she nods, “Saw how bad it hurt him. I wasn’t sure he would ever move on. Guess he just needed the right person. I’m happy for you both.”
“Thank you,” I swallow thickly, returning my attention to Rosie. We make it to the falls, and I hop off Ginger, tying her up to a post so I can help Rosie down from Mars.
“Stay away from the water,” I remind her, making sure she’s looking and listening to me.
She huffs but nods, “Can I find flowers?”
“Only where I can see you,” I tell her.
“Okay, Miss Juni!” She grins and then runs off toward the wildflowers growing at the edge of the tree line.
Darcy lowers onto a rock just before the water’s edge, looking toward the falls.
“I’m in awe of you, Juniper,” she says quietly when I join her, positioning myself so I can see both her and Rosie picking flowers.
“What? Why?”
“Anyone else would have disappeared. But not you. You faced it and overcame it. That’s brave. I think I would have run the moment I was found.”
“I’ve never felt safe,” I admit, “not growing up, not with Cal. Until I came here. Even with the threats, I felt safe. Running seemed like a bad idea.”
“This place does that,” she nods, “I can’t say I had the easiest ride before I came here.”
“A man?”
“Took everything from me. I found this vacancy online and booked a one-way ticket, praying I’d get the job.”
“I’d say that was pretty brave.”
She chuckles, “Maybe. Or it was running. Either way, I didn’t look back. Just restarted. I have Silas to thank for giving me this job; I think Roman was skeptical. I left everything behind, all my papers, everything, and it was Silas who convinced his brother to give me a chance. So here I was, in a cabin on a ranch that was bigger than anything I’d ever seen and in charge of the care of hundreds of animals. It was terrifying, but it’s been years now and I’m still here.”
