I glanced over at Caelyn. “But no one else is asking about me, right? Just longtime locals?”

She was silent for a moment before she answered as if trying to pick her words carefully. “No one I haven’t known for years. What’s this about?”

My lips pressed into a hard line, the lock to keep all of my secrets back. “Nothing, really.”

Caelyn reached out and squeezed my elbow. “You know you can trust me. My past isn’t an easy one, but letting people in, letting them help me instead of shouldering it all on my own has made all the difference. I’d love to help lighten your load if I can.”

My eyes burned at her genuine kindness. I’d known Caelyn since I first moved to Harbor. She’d been working at The General Store the first time I’d gone in for supplies. She’d been warm and welcoming when I’d been scared and homesick. But we’d never gone past that first layer of pseudo-friendship. Yet I’d grown to know her character over the years, and it was that of a person I could trust.

“I have a family member that I don’t want to know where I am. It’s a long, complicated story. But what matters is that I’ve been safe here. And I’ll stay that way just as long as I can remain as anonymous as possible.”

Caelyn tried to read between the lines of my statement, assembling guesses that I knew wouldn’t be correct. “I’ll do whatever I can to help. And I’m always here if you need to shine a light on the ghosts. Maybe exorcise them a bit.”

I grinned. “Are you going to burn some sage around me?”

“Don’t judge it till you try it.”

I held up both hands in surrender. “I wouldn’t dare. And, Caelyn?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you. You have no idea how much your kindness has meant to me over the past few years. I don’t think you realize the impact you have on people’s lives. They pass through the store, and you light up their days. Give them a touchpoint when they might not get that anywhere else.”

Caelyn’s eyes glistened in the afternoon sun. “Why do you have to make me cry like that?”

“Because I’m evil.”

She bumped her shoulder with mine. “You really are.”

“But now you’re stuck with me,” I chirped back.

“I guess I’ll just have to struggle through it.”

This was friendship, I realized. One freely given. Not hampered by a brother who would rage and hurt if he thought I might have another playmate. One where I could simply be without worry or fear. And it was one of the greatest gifts I’d ever received.

15

Brody