Greg had never had a chance, and he had never had a chance of stopping it.

In that instant of understanding, the only thing anchoring him to this moment was Mandy’s touch. He looked at her, saw tears glistening in her eyes. Or maybe they were his own tears, because she was a little blurry. Right now it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered except that the burden had lifted. And he finally understood what he was feeling was lightness, the absence of the soul-crushing weight he had carried for five years.

And hope.

Chapter 37

They spent two days mostly at Foxworth in intensive research and planning and verifying, until even the man known worldwide for having those ducks in a row, Gavin de Marco, was satisfied they had what they needed. But he still insisted they wait another day. Mandy could sense Adam didn’t like the idea, but he didn’t say anything.

Gavin apparently sensed it, too. The man didn’t miss much, which wasn’t surprising. You didn’t build the kind of reputation he had by not being able to read people. But when he explained why he wanted to wait until Thursday, it was clear Adam not only understood, but approved.

It was amazing how much lighter her world seemed. They went back to her place, to enjoy a day dropped out of time, it seemed. As if in appreciation it dawned bright and sunny, in that severe clear way that made living here worth all the clouds and rain the rest of the time. The mountains were out, all of them, from Rainier to Baker to the Brothers, and all of them wore a fresh coat of snow, so bright white it almost didn’t look real.

But part of that lightness came from the change in Adam. She had seen the moment when he had finally realized there truly hadn’t been anything he could have done that night to prevent what happened. And when he had looked at her, for the first time with open, pure hope in his eyes, her heart had soared.

He’s going to be all right, Dad.

The moment she had the thought, she felt a burst of warmth that felt so much like approval that it had her wondering about messages from beyond.