Page 247 of Beyond the Blue Horizon

I swiped away the tears as I stood and set my half drank wine onto the table. Joy rushed as I wheezed, “I need to go.”

Hope was in full bloom, and it was time I ran with it.

Charleigh frowned. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. More than okay. Because of all of you. Because of this place. Because of Theo. And he needs to know. He needs to know all of me.”

Raven squealed. “Yes, girl! Give it to him! All of it, Piper Poo!”

An excited laugh bubbled out through the chaos. “I plan to.”

I dug into my purse so I could grab some cash.

Emery shooed me away. “Don’t even think about it. We have this covered. Go.”

I nodded again, and I slung into my coat before I rushed around the table and hugged each of them. “Thank you so much,” I told them as I went.

They all nodded and smiled those gleaming smiles, hope and joy radiating from them as I tossed the strap of my purse over my shoulder and started to scramble across the bar for the door.

“Then be sure to get yourself some of that good dick afterward!” Raven shouted behind me.

I barely fumbled a step, choking over a laugh, before I rushed out into the winter cold, whispering under my breath as I stepped onto the sidewalk, “I plan to.”

Night had fallen, and holiday lights glowed from the buildings.

People bustled about as they dodged and weaved.

A buoyant vibe clung to the chilled air.

Christmas was right around the corner, and I couldn’t wait to experience it here.

The heels of my boots clunked against the wooden planks as I hurried to where I parked about half a block up on a little side street that cut between two buildings.

Vapor puffed from my mouth as I nearly ran, relief and joy pressing at my heart as I thought of what I was about to do.

A full giving of myself.

Succumbing in a way I thought would be disastrous, but now I knew, it was the only thing I could do.

The only thing Iwantedto do.

It was the only way to give my son the life he deserved.

The only way to give us a chance at joy.

A real existence.

It was the only way to fully give into this love.

I ducked around the corner, and a rush of bitter cold swarmed me. I hunkered down against the bite of the wind, and I lifted my shoulders to my ears as if it could keep the chill away.

But it only intensified.

It took me a moment to process the sensation. The eerie clawing that slicked like ice down my spine.

That sickening sense of dread that slithered across my flesh and lifted the fine hairs at the base of my neck.

I whipped my attention around, searching into the shadows of the street and along the buildings.