Chapter 24

twenty-four

PAUL

Later that night, long after Amy had gone to bed, I handed Liam a mug of hot chocolate. "I didn't add extra sugar."

"That's okay. I'm sweet enough."

I smiled. "I know one exhausted little girl who'd agree with you. Thank you for making Amy's day special."

"You're welcome. Amy was easy to keep entertained. I'm not so sure about her uncle, though. Sometimes he didn't look as though he was enjoying himself."

"I enjoyed everything about today, except the sled ride. Barreling down the side of the mountain on a thin piece of wood isn't my idea of fun."

"But you did it."

"Because a certain someone twisted my arm."

Liam tilted his head to the side. "Was it worth it?"

I thought about the excitement on Amy's face, the thrill of doing something together that was a little out of the ordinary. "It was more than worth it. Tomorrow will seem incredibly quiet after today."

"There are more gadgets in Jacob's garage. Or we could make snowmen. Amy would enjoy decorating them with stick hands and carrot noses."

"She would." I leaned my head against the back of the chair. "Is there an easy way to contact Jacob? I'd like to thank him for letting us stay here."

"I'll give you his email address in the morning, but don't send your message until the FBI has found the terrorists. We don't know if anyone's monitoring your email account."

"I still can't believe we got caught up in an FBI investigation." I looked at the flames dancing in the fireplace and sighed. "Where would you be if you weren't looking after us?"

Liam took a sip from his drink. "Unless another assignment arrived on my desk, I'd be in the Boulder office, working with the County Sheriff's Office and other law enforcement groups."

"Do you like living in Boulder?"

"I do. It's much better than living in a large city. What about you? Do you think you'll ever move from Milwaukee?"

"Not at this stage. Amy starts school after Christmas and I'm finally earning enough money to make a decent living. Or I was." For the last few days, I'd been thinking about ways I could rebuild my client base when I went home. It wouldn't be easy. For people in regular jobs, they'd see the time they were away as an enforced vacation. For me, it was a disaster. Especially at one of the busiest times of the year.

Liam added another log to the fire. The wood crackled and hissed as the flames leaped across its surface. "I hope being here doesn't make a huge difference to your business. "

"So do I." I didn't want to think about what would happen if people stopped ordering cakes from me. I had some savings, but they wouldn't last forever.

I turned to Liam. Thinking about my business was depressing. "Looking at the stars made Amy's birthday extra special. How did you know she'd like the telescope?"

Liam smiled. "It was easy. Every picture she draws has at least one star in it. Even if it's in daylight, there's a star. Buying her a telescope seemed like a good idea."

"It was. Looking at the stars is her way of staying connected to her mom. When Christine died, Amy didn't understand what death meant. She kept asking for her mom and crying when she didn't come home."

"It must have been heartbreaking."

I nodded. "Do you believe in heaven?"

Liam didn't seem surprised by my question. "Before Lacey died, I believed there was a God, that there was good and evil in the world. But heaven was hard to imagine."

"And after your daughter died?"

"I didn't believe in anything for a while. I was angry. I blamed myself for what happened, for not reacting sooner to the car coming toward us. And then I wasn't angry. I was empty." He placed his mug on the coffee table. "Mom used to have a poster on her wall. It said, ‘Heaven is a beautiful place because they've got you.' I'd forgotten all about it until Lacey died. She was such an incredible little girl. I needed to know she was still part of our lives, watching down on us. Does that make me a fraud for only believing in heaven after she died?"

"It makes you human. Our family was different. When I was younger, Mom and Dad took us to church. Heaven has always been somewhere that gives me hope. When my sister and parents died, knowing they were still part of our lives helped me get out of bed each day. They'd be proud of what we did for Amy's birthday."

"You should be proud, too. Amy was happier than she's been all week." Liam studied my face. "How do you feel? Has the sadness from this morning gone away?"

I nodded. I missed my family, I always would. But after Liam's hug, I hadn't felt any of the soul-numbing sadness that snuck up on me and left me exhausted.

"I feel…content."

"Is that good?"

I smiled. "It's very good. We've had an amazing day. I'm sitting in front of an enormous fireplace in a beautiful home. There's music playing and we're drinking hot chocolate. What more could I want?"

Liam's eyes filled with warmth. "You've got me."

"Only for a few more weeks." Regret and something more filled my heart. "I really like you, Liam, but Amy's my main priority."

The hopeful light left his eyes. "I understand."

"It doesn't mean we can't be friends."

"No. It doesn't. I shouldn't have said anything."

I sighed. It wouldn't have mattered whether he'd said anything or not. I felt the same tug of attraction, the same sense of being right where I needed to be. But I was scared that when this was over, what we felt for each other would disappear. I couldn't risk having my heart broken or hurting Amy.

I looked at Liam, hoping he understood why being more than friends wasn't a good idea. "We have completely different lives."

"We do." He picked up his mug. "I should go back to my office. I need to catch up on some paperwork. I'll see you in the morning."

I didn't know what to say. "Okay. Thanks for everything you did today."

"You're welcome." He hesitated in the doorway. "I want you to know…"

My gaze locked with his. The air became supercharged as unspoken words swirled between us.

"I want you to know you're safe here. I'll check the locks and security system on my way upstairs."

I tried to hide my disappointment. "Thanks. I'll stay in the living room for a few more minutes."

Liam nodded and left.

I stared into the fire and hoped we wouldn't be spending too much longer in Sunrise Bay. For everyone's sake.