It’s not sad.
It’s… alive.
“Helen always said she wanted a celebration,” Caleb murmurs near my ear. “Not a funeral.” His breath brushes my skin and I shiver.
“Yeah,” I manage. “That tracks.”
It does.
It’s exactly her.
And suddenly I’m not just here—I’mback.
Back in high school and late nights and football games and first kisses on this very property.
Back before everything went to hell.
People are starting to notice us. Well, they start noticing Caleb. And looking curiously at me so close beside him.
A petite woman darts forward and throws her arms around his neck. “Where have you been?”
Then she sees me.
“Oh.”
Her entire expression shifts.
And just like that, I remember something else: This isn’t my home anymore.
Caleb gently extricates himself, stepping just slightly closer to me—subtle, but not subtle enough.
“This is Harper. My—” He hesitates. “—stepsister.”
The word lands weird. Complicated. My chest tightens.
Bright curiosity lights the woman’s eyes. She quickly introduces herself as Moira, Caleb’s longtime friend.
More people start gathering around us. They’re clearly also Caleb’s close friends, and the questions start coming fast as they all exchange glances with each other at the strange newstepsisterhe’s suddenly introducing.
It’s clear this is the first they’ve ever heard of me.
And suddenly I’m hyper-aware of everything: my clothes. My body. The way Caleb is standing just a little too close. The way my heart is beating like it’s trying to break out of my chest.
Caleb gestures at the tall man beside the sprite of a woman.
“And this is Moira’s husband, Bane?—”
My darting gaze shifts to her husband, then back to Caleb.
“Silas has a daughter?” the small woman says. “How come neither of you told me?” She looks back and forth between Caleb and her husband.
“I visit him in a professional capacity,” her husband says quietly.
“You know my dad?” I question, frowning. Then I squint a little, my head tilting sideways. Wait—is that thepriestfrom this morning?
“I didn’t think priests could get married,” I blurt out.
“I’m notthatkind of priest,” he says with humor in his eyes. Clearly, he gets this a lot. “I’m an Episcopal priest. And yes, I know your father. I’ve visited him often in the last few months.”