Page 68 of The Women of Wild Hill

“Why did you wait so long?” Brigid asked.

“I figured I didn’t stand much of a chance while my father was around.”

“You’re probably right,” Brigid confirmed.

“So far, I’ve been right about everything,” he told her. “You’re exactly what I was hoping for.”

FUCK. IT HAD ALL BEENtoo good to be anything but bad.

“I should go,” Brigid announced, though there was nothing she wanted more than to stay.

Liam watched as she slid into her underwear and fastened her bra. “Will you come back soon?” he asked.

“When?” Brigid asked.

“How about tomorrow? I’m throwing a little goodbye party for my father. All his fancy-pants friends will be there. Bring your sister and niece.”

“I’ll ask, but I doubt either of them wants to hang around with a bunch of old fascists.”

“There will be young, hot fascists, too,” Liam promised.

“I’ll be sure to tell them.”

Liam rolled over and kissed her. “But you’ll come?”

Brigid couldn’t believe what she was about to say. “I wouldn’t miss it,” she told him.Follow the path you’re on, her mother had told them.

“May I brag that you’ll be my date for the evening? A movie star should increase attendance dramatically.”

“You think?” Brigid slipped her dress back on.

“Oh, I know,” Liam said.

“Then brag away.”

“By the way, I left a gift for you on the table in the foyer,” Liam told her.

SHE KNEW WHAT IT WASthe second she saw it. He’d given her his father’s journal. Just to make sure it was the right one, she flipped to the first page.Investor meeting set for the morning. James says the board wants to discuss the vision for AMN.

The handwritten entry was dated May 2, 1993. The day Calum and Flora first met.

The Others

Sibyl and Phoebe stood under Ivy’s giant oak. Two dozen ravens looked down from the branches above. When they saw Phoebe, they began to dance while the biggest croaked out a song.

“They act like they know you,” Sibyl said.

“They do,” Phoebe told her.

“You haven’t been here in thirty years. How long do ravens live?”

“A little over a decade. But they share memories within their community. These guys will have heard about me from their parents and grandparents.”

“How do you know that?” Sibyl asked and received the side-eye in return. “I’m not questioning your amazing abilities. I’m just wondering! Sheesh!”

Phoebe sighed. “To be honest, I read a book about ravens. I know lots of fun facts. But this is what we’re here to discuss.” She pulled out the key that dangled from a thin gold chain around her neck. The sight of the key sent the birds aflutter. “Any of you know what this opens?” she called out to the corvids.

AFTER BRIGID HAD DISAPPEARED FORthe day, the downed tree had been carved up and stacked in neat piles in the woodshed, and the wrecked boat dragged away from the rocks, Phoebe and Sibyl found themselves alone on Wild Hill.