Page 119 of The Outpost (Jamison Valley 4)
“No, thank you,” he said. “I should probably get going. Thank you for a wonderful dinner.”
“I’m so glad you could join us,” Dad said. “It was a pleasure meeting you.”
“Same to you.”
We all stood from the couch. Mom and Dad shook Henry’s hand, then Mom went to get more wine and Dad slipped into my room for an early bedtime.
“Thanks for coming over tonight,” I said. “It was nice to see you.”
“You too.”
I walked him to the door, but before he could leave, I called his name. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“Why did you call Felicity the night I killed Anton?” I had replayed that night a hundred times, and with every rewind, I wondered why he’d called Felicity instead of my parents.
He sighed. “Because I didn’t want you to have to tell her what had happened.”
“Right,” I said, though I was still confused. Why hadn’t he done the same with my parents? Having to explain everything to them had been awful. Before I could ask, he answered my question.
“And I knew Felicity would call Holt and he’d come to you.”
“You did? How?”
“Because that man loves you, Sabrina. Which is why I’m surprised he isn’t here.”
Beau loved me? Then why wasn’t he here with me? Why had he left weeks ago without a trace?
Curses.
Because I’d pushed him away.
I was such a fucking moron.
Henry chuckled. “I can see you’ve got a few gears turning. I’ll say good night.”
“Oh, sorry,” I said, snapping out of my head. “Thanks again for stopping by.”
He bent to kiss my cheek. “Good-bye, Sabrina.”
“Bye, Henry.”
When the door clicked shut, my hands immediately went into my hair.
“Uh-oh,” Mom said when I walked back into the living room.
“I messed up.” I sank onto the couch and pressed a pillow over my face.
She jerked the pillow away and handed me my wine instead. “Would you like to talk about it?”
I nodded and took a healthy gulp. I had told my parents about Beau and my time at the outpost but I’d kept it fairly vague and PG-rated for my dad. Now that it was just me and Mom, I spent the next hour giving her the full story, all the way from meeting Beau in Silas’s kitchen to the bomb Henry had just dropped.
“There. That’s the whole story. You don’t need to read my next novel because I basically just recited it for you, except I gave my characters a happy ending.”
She laughed. “I’m glad you shared with me, dear.”
“Me too.” I was still upset but it had helped to talk it over, especially with Mom. “I’m glad we’re closer these days,” I admitted. “I’ve really missed you and Dad. Kameron and Kellan too.”
