Page 7

“Yes, ma’am. Things are better than fine.” Carlos’s mouth lifted into a cautious smile. “We received a call from a Mississippi police department a little while ago. After I heard what they were calling about, I knew I had to deliver the news personally. It’s about Nova.”

I gasped when I heard her name. His smile said it wasn’t bad, but it was about Nova, so how could it be good?

“ . . . alive.”

I was so into my thoughts that I only caught that one word. “What?” I asked, needing to make sure he’d said what I thought he’d said.

He nodded. “You heard me right, Leah. Your sister’s alive. They found her in a house in Mississippi.”

“Mississippi?” It was Quinton’s voice that entered her space that time. “What do you mean they found her in Mississippi?”

“That’s what Sheriff Walker said when he called. She was in Picayune. Y’all ever heard of it? Or know someone who lives there?”

Leah, Martha, and Quinton all shook their heads.

“What was ...? Why ...?” Martha tried to form a complete sentence, but it seemed too difficult.

Martha’s words sounded like Leah’s thoughts. Jumbled and confused.

“Nova’s alive?” The words tasted sweet on Leah’s tongue. Before now, saying or hearing Nova’s name left a coat of dread over her heart, but now, having it accompanied by the word alive flipped a switch inside her that ignited the good parts of her soul that died so many years ago.

“If you want, we can go inside, and I can fill you in on everything I know.” Carlos looked toward the house.

“My daughter’s inside. We should hear the details first,” Quinton said.

Skye? How would she take the news that, after all these years, her mom was alive?

Carlos continued. “Sheriff Walker said they received a call this morning about a woman locked in a bedroom.”

Leah’s heart pounded. She turned to Quinton, whose hand had covered his mouth. Martha sniffed, and Leah moved closer to her mom and wrapped her arms around her. They’d only heard one sentence, and it was already too much. Could they handle hearing everything?

“Sheriff Walker said she was pretty dehydrated, and the cha—” He paused, then continued. “Her ankle was pretty sore, but he couldn’t see anything wrong with her other than that. Of course, once she’s checked out at the hospital, they’ll be able to tell you more if there’s more to tell.”

Leah heard everything Carlos said, but her mind kept going to the word he wouldn’t say.

“Cha—” Was he about to say chains ? He said her ankle was pretty sore.

Did she have chains on her ankle? Like some kind of animal?

Leah stumbled back. The image of her sister locked in a room with chains holding her in place made every part of Leah weak.

She held her fist so tight that her nails dug into her skin.

“Who did this?” Quinton’s voice was so deep that his words sounded like a low growl.

Carlos reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. “Adam Guidry? Name ring a bell to any of you?”

Once again, they all shook their heads.

“Adam Guidry?” Quinton repeated.

“You know him?” Leah asked.

“No, but ...” Quinton’s brows furrowed, and then he stared at the ground. “I don’t know why the name sounds like I may have heard it before, but I’m sure I don’t know an Adam Guidry.”

“When can we see her?” Martha asked, her voice just as shaky as her demeanor.

“I can call and see what hospital she’s in, and you can go as soon as you’re ready. Or you can wait, and someone will bring her home when she’s discharged. It’s up to you.”

Martha shook her head so hard that Leah was afraid she was going to make herself dizzy.

“No, I’m not waiting. I want to see my baby, and I want to see her now.

” She looked up at Quinton. “I want to see my baby.” Her voice trembled and her body swayed, as if the news was suddenly too overwhelming to hold any longer.

Carlos and Quinton each took one of Martha’s arms and walked her to Leah’s car. They eased her into the passenger seat and stood back so she could get some air. Leah and Quinton stayed near Martha while Carlos stepped away to get the name of the hospital where they were treating Nova.

When Carlos came back, he held his phone toward Quinton. “This is Detective Cox. She asked to speak with you.”

Leah watched as Quinton listened intently, every now and then offering an “okay” or an “I see.”

He gave the phone back and looked between Leah and Martha. “She said Nova’s being checked out by the doctor now, but she’s been asking for us.”

Leah’s trembling hands went to her mouth.

“She wants us to call her when we’re close. She said the hospital was swarming with reporters. She’ll tell us where to park so we won’t be bothered with them.”

“I’ll go so you folks can get going. Give me a call if you need anything, okay?”

“We will. Thanks, Carlos,” Leah said. “I guess we need to go inside and tell Skye,” she told Quinton.

“All of this was going on, and she didn’t come out once,” Quinton said.

“You know she has those headphones over her ears. She can’t hear a thing going on around her, and for the first time, I’m grateful for that. I’d rather she hear the news from us.”

“Can we tell her on the road?” Martha asked. “I want to get going. The sooner we leave, the sooner I can see Nova.” Her eyes popped open as if she’d shocked herself with her words.

“Okay. Come inside and get some water. We’ll grab a few things, then we’ll go. It’ll only take a few minutes,” Leah said.

Martha shook her head. “I don’t want any water. I’ll sit here and wait.”

“Mom, you can’t stay out here. Come on inside,” Leah insisted.

“I’m staying here.” Martha crossed her arms, looking more like a defiant child than a sixty-year-old woman.

Leah held up her hands. “Fine. We’ll be as fast as we can.”

As soon as Leah and Quinton walked through the front door, a thought hit her. “Oh God.” Leah’s eyes locked with Quinton’s. “What are we going to tell Nova about us? She’s going to be devastated.”

“You don’t know that. It’s been fifteen years. You don’t think she expected me to stay single for fifteen years, do you?”

“No, but she also didn’t expect you to marry her sister either. I don’t think we should say anything right now,” Leah suggested.

“So, what are we supposed to say when or if she asks?” Quinton shifted uncomfortably.

“If she asks, we won’t lie about being married. We just won’t tell her it’s to each other. She’s been through so much, and I think it’s best if we all just enjoy the reunion without the pressure of this big announcement.”

Leah followed Quinton upstairs. He knocked on Skye’s bedroom door, but she didn’t answer. He knocked again. Still no answer.

Quinton turned the knob, and Skye was lying across her bed with her headphones over her ears, scrolling through her phone. Quinton touched her leg, and Skye screamed before snatching the headphones off.

“Geez, Dad. Are you trying to kill me?” She sat up and scooted to the edge of the bed.

If it were a normal day, Quinton would’ve given Skye a speech about having headphones on and not being aware of her surroundings. He’d then ask, what if he was an intruder coming in? But since the day was far from normal, he didn’t say any of those things.

“Leah and I need to talk with you.” His voice was somber.

Skye’s long lashes fluttered as she looked from Leah to Quinton. “What’s wrong?” Her voice lacked all the attitude it held a second ago.

“It’s about your mom ... um, Nova,” Quinton said.

“My mom? What about her?” Skye glanced at Leah, then back at Quinton.

Leah didn’t understand why Quinton needed to clarify who he referenced as Skye’s mom.

It had been clear from the beginning of their marriage that Leah was Skye’s aunt and, technically, stepmom, even though Leah hated that term.

The uniqueness of their situation made every decision a big deal.

They had to think about things that most people didn’t, like would Skye introduce Leah to new friends as her aunt or her stepmom.

Then there were even simpler things that they had to explain when asked, like why Skye said Teeah instead of Leah .

Leah usually resorted to a half truth. She’d been in Skye’s life since she was a baby, and when she started talking and tried to say Leah , it came out as Teeah .

The part Leah conveniently left out was that Nova had tried to get Skye to say Tee-Leah , which came out as Teeah .

But for the past fifteen years, Leah had been more than an aunt. She was the only mom Skye knew. Until now, anyway. Leah’s chest constricted at the thought of sharing Skye. What’s wrong with you? Nova’s Skye’s mom. You should be overjoyed that they’re about to be reunited.

“She’s alive?” Skye asked.

Her words alerted Leah to the fact that she’d missed Quinton breaking the news to her.

“Yeah, and she’s in a hospital in Mississippi. We’re about to go there now, so I need you to throw some things in a bag real quick so we can get going. Your grandma is outside waiting.”

“Wait. B-b-but . . .” Skye stammered.

“We’ll fill you in on all the details in the car, okay?

” Leah told her. “Just do as your dad said.” Leah was about to leave when she turned back around.

“Oh, and before I forget, we’re not telling her that your dad and I are married.

Not right away. We have to wait and see when we feel she’ll be ready for that news. ”

Skye nodded, then scooted off the bed and went to her closet.

Leah and Quinton went to their room and quietly did the same.

They moved around, both caught in their own bubble of disbelief.

Leah was pushing the last of her things in her overnight bag when she looked up and saw Quinton staring down at his bag.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

Quinton lifted his head, and his eyes were filled with tears.

For a second, Leah just watched. Nova was her sister, but she was also his wife.

As much as Leah hated to admit it, there was always a tinge of insecurity that resided in her when she thought of Nova and Quinton.

Theirs was a love story that felt like it should’ve been from a romance novel instead of a small town like Bayou.

When people thought of Nova and Quinton, they used words like soulmates , greatest loves of all time , a once in a lifetime kind of love .

No one ever described what they had like that.

Theirs was a love that grew from grief. But now that Nova was back and there was no loss to grieve, what did that mean for them?

Dammit, Leah, stop it!

She went to Quinton and leaned her head against him. He wrapped his arms around her and held her so tight she could hardly breathe. “Can you believe this is actually happening?”

“I can’t.” For a brief second, Leah closed her eyes and allowed herself to imagine the reunion with her sister. That image wiped away everything else she’d thought about. The only thing she cared about was holding her sister and never letting her go.