She frowns. “A car?”
This house is pretty much out in nowhere-land. Whoever comes along these roads is either visiting her or her neighbor. But who in the world would be traveling in the middle of the night? Except me, of course.
“Yeah,” Daisy says. “I went to the window to look outside and see who it was, and I saw an old lady standing on the side of the road. Near the gate.”
Lillian’s eyes widen while I grab Daisy by the shoulders. “The farm’s gate? What did the old lady look like?”
“Um …” She touches her lip and looks at Lillian, who nods in agreement. “She had a yellow scarf, and her hair was up high.”
Fuck.
This is definitely not good.
“That’s my neighbor,” Lillian says. “What’s she doing here in the middle of the night?”
“What was she doing there?” I ask Daisy in a hurry.
“I don’t know. I think she was on the phone,” she says.
Fuck. Definitely fuck.
“That woman saw me in a shop downtown the other day,” I explain, rising to my feet.
Lillian’s face turns white as snow. “You mean …?”
I nod.
She covers her mouth with her hand.
“She’s calling the cops. Who knows how long she’s been standing there.”
“Shit but that means they’ll be here any minute now,” Lillian says, her voice unsteady.
She’s right. “My car’s on that road too.” I run my fingers through my hair. I’m not worried. I knew this would happen eventually. It was only a matter of time.
“You can’t leave,” she says, shaking her head.
“I know. I’ll stay,” I say resolutely. “I’ve known this was the only outcome for a long time.”
“What?” Her lips part. “But that means you intend to go back to prison? No. They’ll put you away forever if they catch you.”
“I deserve it,” I say, licking my lips, thinking about the time I could’ve had with her. Thinking about all the kisses I’ve missed and all the touches we’ve had to forfeit. I don’t regret it for a minute. Not even a chance. Because she’s alive. Daisy lives.
So I grab Lillian’s face and press my mouth to hers, claiming her one final time. I want her to know I won’t leave her. At least not in the heart or mind. I’ll be there every step of the way. “I love you,” I say. “You’ll never know how much this one night meant to me.”
“No …” She sucks on her bottom lip, barely able to keep it together. “Stop, please.”
“You knew as well as I did that it couldn’t stay this way forever,” I say. It was a wish we both knew would never come true.
“This can’t be happening,” she says, hugging me tightly. “Not again.”
“You know they’ll never let me stay with you,” I say.
“But I finally know why you did what you did. You saved her … and now they’ll take you away again? It’s not fair!” she says, trying not to explode in rage in front of her little girl. “I’m sorry, I just …”
“What’s wrong, Mommy?” Daisy asks.
Her voice alone is enough to pull Lillian back down to earth. She smiles at her little girl, and says, “Nothing, Daisy. It’s all right. We’re just talking about our options here.”
“There are no options,” I say. “You and I both know that.”
Lillian’s face turns sour. “Don’t say that. Not after dropping all that on me here. After all this time …” She hiccups from the bomb I just dropped on her.
I can tell it’s hard for her to grasp. For her to accept what’s about to happen.
I grab her face again and make sure she looks me straight in the eyes. “I’m not going anywhere.” I press my finger onto her heart. “I’ll be there. Always.”
“That’s not enough,” she whispers.
I feel the same way, but I know it’s not going to happen. No matter how much we dream about it.
“It has to be enough. For our little girl,” I say.
“She didn’t make this choice, dammit!” Lillian paces around the kitchen, getting more agitated by the second. “Is she going to lose you again?”
Her words cut into me like a knife through butter.
“There’s no other outcome to all of this. I knew that when I escaped that prison, Lil,” I say.
She keeps pacing around, ignoring everything I’m saying until she abruptly comes to a stop.
“There is,” she says, not even looking at me while she utters the words.
My brows draw together. “What?”
When she gazes up at me, the look on her face has shifted to something more ominous. Like she’s suddenly a whole different person, and it brings chills to my spine.
“Daisy …” she says, approaching her. “You have to say goodbye now.”
“Why? Is he leaving again?” she mumbles, rubbing her eyes.
“It’s time for you to go to bed soon …” Lillian says, smiling at her and running her fingers through her hair. “Mommy wants a hug and a kiss now.”