Page 5 of One Merciful Moment

"We just want to know if she's real." Wade frowned. "Where did she come from?"

Ashley bumped against his back, staying behind him. Boone kept his eyes trained on the men until they finally stepped away.

They might not know if she was real. But he did.

She was the beginning of something the town hadn't had before. Kallie and Jillian had arrived in Everstill in different ways.

Ashley arrived like the rest of the men.

She would soon learn there was no escape.

"Let's walk." He stayed close, not taking a chance that the others would try to approach her.

Every few steps, she glanced over her shoulder, checking the distance between them, checking the street, checking for any chance to slip away.

The end of their walk would come fast enough.

They reached the far end of town, where the road stretched out toward the world Ashley still believed she could return to. He stopped in the middle of the road and held out his arm, keeping her from going farther.

"Step up beside me." He lowered his arm, encouraging her to move.

She hesitated, then stepped forward, eyes narrowing at the empty stretch of road. "Why isn't there any traffic?"

"There never is."

She frowned. "That's impossible. I was driving—"

"Step forward and touch it."

"Touch what?" Her head snapped back.

"Reach out and touch the air." He turned toward her. "Go on. Try it."

She flung her hand out to her side and instantly recoiled, jerking like she'd hit a wall she couldn't see. She stumbled back, staring at him.

"What is that?" She rubbed her hand. "There's nothing there."

He shrugged.

She reached out again, touching the air until her hand pressed against a solid barrier. He slid his hands into the front pockets of his jeans and studied her. Better to let her experience the veil than try to explain something he didn't understand himself.

Ashley slid her palm along the barrier, searching for an edge, a seam, a crack. He followed her as she stepped off the road and into the field at the edge of town.

It took her several more minutes to understand what he was showing her. He'd done the same thing once.

"This isn't real," she whispered. "I'm dreaming or hallucinating or on drugs—"

"You're not on drugs." He chuckled.

If there was one thing he understood, it was drugs. He'd been a successful dealer before coming to Everstill. If he were out there, he could have her spinning out of this world or flat on her back with no worry in her head.

She turned wild eyes on him. "I walked up the road. My truck is out there somewhere."

"It's on the other side." Boone inhaled heavily. "But you're not able to get to it."

She pressed her hands against the barrier again, harder this time. Unafraid, she used her strength to try to move the veil. If he didn't stop her, she'd hurt herself.

"It was the same for me when I first came. I didn't want to be here either." He stepped closer, keeping his voice steady. "I beat on the veil until my hands were bloody."