Page 243

I sat beside him while he moved a few toys out of the way. “Well, it’s getting late, and you have school tomorrow.”

He sighed with all the suffering of a child being sentenced to something terrible. “Okay.”

I helped straighten his blankets before he climbed underneath them, then sat beside him and smiled. “Come on. Let’s pray.”

Kaidence folded his little hands, and I bowed my head with him. “Dear God, thank You for watching over us today. Thank You for keeping our family safe, for giving us a beautiful home, and for taking care of Granny. Please continue to protect us, guide us, and help us make good choices. Watch over Kaidence while he’s at school and bring us all home safely tomorrow. Amen.”

“Amen.”

I kissed his forehead. “Goodnight, baby.”

“Goodnight, Mommy.”

I stood and started toward the door, but his little voice stopped me.

“Mommy?”

I turned. “Yeah?”

He smiled. “You’re gonna be happy again real soon.”

My chest tightened.

For a second, I couldn’t speak. “Baby, I am happy.”

“I know,” he said simply. “But you’re gonna be really happy.”

I swallowed. “Okay, baby.”

He grinned. “Love you.”

“Love you more.”

I turned off his light and closed the door behind me, but as I walked down the hallway, I couldn’t stop thinking about what I had heard.

We’re gonna be a family soon.

What the hell did that mean?

I glanced back toward Kaidence’s room and decided I wasn’t doing this to myself tonight. I had worked all day.

My brain had already spent enough time over the last few weeks trying to turn unexplained events into something logical. I needed a shower and some sleep before I started interrogating five-year-old conversations with invisible people.

By the time I made it into my bedroom, exhaustion had settled into every part of me. I kicked off my shoes, stripped out of my scrubs, and headed into the bathroom. The warm shower felt amazing, and I stood beneath the water longer than I probably needed to, letting it work some of the tension out of my shoulders.

Still, my mind wouldn’t completely settle.

I kept thinking about Willow, the party, and everything she had said about me needing to enjoy myself.

Maybe she was right… but Halloween was different.

I couldn’t throw on a costume and pretend it was another random night when every Halloween carried Caspian’s memory with it. The date itself felt connected to him now, whether I wanted it to or not.

I eventually shut off the water, stepped out, dried myself, and wrapped a towel around my body.

Standing in front of the mirror, I shook my head at my own reflection.

“Even if I wanted to go, I don’t have anything to wear.”