Page 33 of One Merciful Moment

He grabbed the back of the couch and lowered his head between his arms. "Copper can."

"How?"

He met her gaze. "Because Copper's one of the people who found Everstill. He knows how it works."

Her legs gave out. She sank to her knees.

Every ounce of hope for a storm fled. She might not be able to go home.

Chapter 19

Ashley

––––––––

Ashley ripped out the weed and tossed it into the bucket. She gazed down the row, hoping she'd missed some. Destroying invasive plants had always been therapeutic for her. But she'd pulled every single one.

Picking up the bucket, she carried it out of the garden and dumped the weeds into the debris pile.

She couldn't stop hearing Copper's voice from last night. He believed she couldn't go back home.

The worry pressed down on her chest until she couldn't breathe.

Bending at the waist, she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, but a knot sat at the base of her throat, blocking the air. All she wanted was to go home. She could take Boone with her and show him everything would be okay in her world.

A soft crunch of footsteps reached her ears. She wiped her face, forgetting her hands were covered in dirt.

Kallie walked toward her. "Hey. You're out here early."

"Just keeping busy." Ashley brushed her hands on her jeans.

"You okay?" Kallie frowned. "You look upset."

"Some of the men were arguing outside our house last night. Copper told them that nobody can leave Everstill." She pried her dry tongue off the roof of her mouth. "Is it true? Because I need to go home. I don't belong here."

Kallie blew out her cheeks and exhaled slowly. "As far as Finn and I understand it, if the veil opens, you would be able to go through."

"But Copper said—"

"He said no one was going back," Kallie interrupted gently. "But Copper doesn't control the veil. He... interprets it. Or thinks he does."

"What about Boone? Would he be able to go too?" Ashley's chest ached.

Kallie grimaced. "I don't know."

Ashley hugged her middle. Not knowing made everything feel ten times worse.

"I'll be honest with you. When Finn went through the first time, he thought he was going to die. He didn't tell me until afterward, but he planned to die so I could go home." Kallie's voice softened. "From what we can figure out... because he was with me, he didn't die."

Ashley tried to absorb the details and form her own plan. Her respect for Finn grew. She couldn't imagine someone willing to die for her. It was the most extreme act of unselfishness she'd ever heard.

"The same happened with Moe and Jillian," Kallie said. "Copper told Moe he wouldn't survive the crossing. The storms were wicked. But Jillian held onto him, and he made it."

Ashley stared at the ground. "So maybe Boone would be okay with me."

"Maybe." Kallie paused. "But no one knows for sure. The veil doesn't follow rules. It follows... something else."

Ashley groaned. It was all too much. She couldn't risk Boone getting hurt, or worse.