Page 56 of One Merciful Moment

"She's thinking about leaving," he said quietly.

Finn followed his gaze. "She has a life on the other side."

"She loves you, Boone. But she's scared," Moe said. "We're all scared."

"I don't want her to stay because of me." Boone rubbed the back of his neck. "It's not fair to her."

"But you want her to stay." Finn's voice was gentle.

Boone nodded, staring at her.

Whatever choice she made would kill him. Maybe then, he wouldn't hurt anymore.

Chapter 33

Ashley

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Boone stared at Ashley. She didn't realize she had stood until Kallie's hand brushed her arm. Jillian looked up at her too, brows pinched.

"Are you going to him?" Jillian asked.

She nodded. The girls understood, probably better than she did, that her feelings for Boone ran deeper than fear. Deeper than love.

She stepped off the courthouse lawn onto the sidewalk. The street stretched out before her. Crossing it felt like a decision she wasn't prepared to make. Once decided, she couldn't undo her choices.

Boone stood beside Finn and Moe, but he seemed unaware of them. His eyes were locked on her.

She pressed her hand to her chest and crossed the street, her pulse loud in her ears. Boone didn't move. He just watched her come closer.

When she reached him, she flung herself at him, wrapping her arms around his waist, pressing her cheek to his chest. Boone's chest hardened, and then his arms came around her slowly, as if he was afraid she might disappear if he held her too tightly.

His warmth sank into her. His heartbeat steadied hers. She inhaled deeply, filling her lungs with him, and closed her eyes. For a moment, the world stilled.

Nothing was changing at that moment. They were together.

Behind her, the others talked, but she paid them no mind. Boone's arms were around her, and that was all she wanted to feel.

She didn't know how long they stayed like that. Long enough for her breathing to match his. Long enough for her fear to quiet. When she finally pulled back, Boone didn't let go right away. His hands stayed on her waist.

She lifted her gaze to ask if he wanted to go back to the house and spotted Copper at the far end of the street, near the invisible barrier, gazing up at the sky.

"Boone..." She pointed. "What's he looking at?"

"I don't know." Boone frowned.

Finn walked out into the street and pointed. "Look."

Ashley raised her gaze to the sky above the tree line where the deer lingered. A dark cloud hovered. Small, dense, and unmoving, it looked like the kind of cloud that should bring rain. Everstill's sky never looked like that. It was always clear in the mornings, soft in the afternoons, and cloudless.

"Why isn't it moving?" Boone asked.

"It wasn't there earlier." Ashley looped her arm around him. "It looks like it's getting darker."

Kallie and Jillian stepped up beside her, shading their eyes, staring at the sky with matching apprehension. Ashley looked at Boone. He stared down at her. They were both thinking the same thing.

Was this the beginning of a storm?