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Sydney spent the night at Stella’s, and Sean went back to his apartment. Sydney slept late the next morning and felt like a new person when she awoke. She and Stella piddled around the house and had breakfast together. Then Stella accompanied Sydney to the police station where she filled out a seemingly never-ending barrage of paperwork. Next the two drove into Glendale and had a late lunch at the Mexican restaurant. There was only one thing left for them to do before they could close this chapter of their lives. They needed to visit the cemetery.

They drove up the hill and were greeted by the giant magnolia trees holding their bare branches high in the sky. In an unspoken agreement, they walked the distance from the jeep to the graves in silence. The only sound they heard was the crunching of their feet through the brown leaves on the ground. When they reached the tombstones, they heard the hum of a vehicle and looked back at the road. Sydney and Stella watched Sean open his door and stride toward them.

Sydney was surprised, but Stella seemed to be expecting him. “Sorry I’m late,” he said.

Sydney looked to Stella. “He called this morning while you were still asleep. I told him that we were planning on going to the cemetery, and he asked if he could join us. I thought it would be okay. He’s as much a part of this as we are.”

Sydney considered this for a minute and then relaxed. “Okay.”

She turned and looked at the tombstones. Everything else around her seemed to disappear as she read the tender inscriptions. She felt again the incredible peace that she’d felt the day before. She remembered her last visit to the cemetery and the hatred she’d felt. She didn’t know how or even when it had happened, but the hate was gone. She didn’t hate Walter or Kendall for what they’d done. It was the closest that she could come to forgiveness, and somehow it was enough. The Lord, in his infinite wisdom, had accepted her feeble gift, and in a way that she didn’t understand, He’d made up the difference.

The song started as a sigh in her heart, barely discernible to her consciousness, and then it began to swell until it filled her being. “God Be With You Till We Meet Again.” Though she spoke no words aloud, she knew that her song had reached heaven on the wings of her spirit. She looked at the still, silent graves of her parents and knew they weren’t there. They lived—just as she did, and she also knew that she would be with them again someday. It was that knowledge that gave her the strength to let them go. “God be with you till we meet again,” she whispered.

Sean put his arm around her, and Stella took her hand. “You never have to be alone again,” Stella said.

“I know,” Sydney said. “I know.”

They stood for a few minutes in silence until Sean looked up at the sky that was brushed pink and purple in the setting sun. “Would you look at that sunset?”

Sydney looked at Stella and smiled. “It looks like a cotton candy sky to me.”

Stella smiled back. “Yes, it certainly does.”

Sean looked at Sydney. “Would you mind walking back to the truck with me? I want to show you something.”

Sydney shrugged. “Sure.” She turned and waited for Stella to go with them.

Stella shooed them on. “Y’all go on. I want to stay here by myself for a few more minutes.”

Sydney and Sean walked to his truck. He took her hand and linked her fingers through his. She still hadn’t gotten over the fact that he’d broken into her house and stolen the journal. She thought about jerking her hand away, but let it ride.

When they reached the truck, he let go of her hand and retrieved Avery’s journal from the seat. “I believe this belongs to you, ma’am. The articles are tucked inside.”

She clutched the journal with both hands and held it to her chest. “Thank you.”

He leaned against his truck and took one of her hands and pulled her to him. “So where do we go from here?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. You tell me.”

He traced the curve of her cheek with his finger. Her face grew warm under his touch. No matter how hard she fought it, she never could overcome her strong attraction to him. His hand moved to her hair, and he took a section and wound it around his finger and then let it go.

“I don’t even know who you are,” she said, her breath coming a little faster when his arms encircled her waist. “Are you really this Sean Corbin, or whatever you said your name was?”

He laughed. “Yes, I am.”

“Are you even from Texas?”

He nodded, a glimmer of amusement sparkling in his dark eyes. “Yes, I’m from Texas, but Austin, not Houston.” He grew serious. “Sydney, I meant what I said to you yesterday. I love you.”

She searched his eyes. “Do you really?”

“How could you even question it?”

She withdrew herself from his arms and shook her head. “I don’t know. I don’t even know who you are.”

“Oh, I understand, Sydney … or is it Cindy?”

Her eyes grew large. “Wait a minute! That’s not fair. I had a very good reason for concealing my true identity.”

He nodded. “Bingo!”

“Okay, maybe you’ve got a point. But what will you do now? You’ve solved the case. Won’t you go on to someplace else?”

“Yeah, that’s the plan.” His eyes met hers. “Unless I decide to change it.”

Those words kindled a hope that surprised her. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve spent the last five years hopping from life to life, always undercover. This never bothered me until I met you. I always knew the right girl would come along someday.” He paused. “Look Syd, I don’t have all the answers. I just know that I want you to be a part of my life.”

Oh, how she loved hearing those words.

He put his arms around her waist again. This time he linked his fingers so she couldn’t get away. “Are you telling me that you don’t have any feelings for me?”

A tingle ran up her spine.

“Well?”

She was warm all over. “Okay, I do feel something for you. It’s just all so confusing right now.”

He looked hurt for a second. “I guess I can live with that.”

She tried to explain her feelings. “I’ve always been attracted to you, and I’ve spent the last few months trying to rid myself of those feelings.”

He chuckled.

Her eyebrow arched. “Oh, so you think it’s funny, do you? It’s like this: A part of me wants us to be together, but the other part of me thinks that maybe I’d be better off if I got rid of you.”

He smiled. “Is that right?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, Syd, you’ll never be rid of me.”

“Well, aren’t I the lucky one?” she said as her lips met his, and for the first time, she meant it.

The End