Mercy’s cheeks flamed and she took a horrified step back. She hadn’t realized that Farrah could smell what they’d been doing.

“Leave her alone, Farrah,” André said. He leaned in to kiss Mercy’s cheek. “Go back inside now. We don’t want you anywhere near the door when we go out.”

Mercy frowned. “I hate that you’re going to the airport alone.”

“We’re not,” André assured her. “Rafe’s brother Damien is going to drive us in his car, then he’ll come back later to return the rental.”

“He was worried that the rental’s been in the driveway all this time,” Farrah explained. “Especially after Burton planted the trackers on Erin’s SUV and Sasha’s Mini.”

“Has Damien been sitting outside all this time?” Mercy asked, worried about him now. “He can’t have gotten any sleep.”

“More sleep than you did,” Damien said, coming down the stairs. “The Fed Molina sent watched my car so that I could get some shut-eye. I slept on Sasha’s couch.” He winced. “Tell Rafe that the floors are really thin.”

Mercy covered her face with both hands when his meaning sank in. “Oh my God.”

Damien chuckled. “I’ll be back later, Mercy. Tell Rafe he can make it up to me with pancakes when he finally wakes his ass up.”

“I’ll tell him,” she managed to splutter, then hugged André and Farrah again. “Call me when you get home, so I know you’re safe.”

Farrah cupped Mercy’s cheeks, her smile sweet. “I will. Please be careful, but more than that, be happy. You’ve earned this, Mercy Callahan. You’ve earned happiness, so grab it with both hands.”

Mercy’s throat grew thick. “I was so lucky the day our paths crossed,” she whispered. “Love you, Ro.”

Farrah’s eyes filled. “Love you, too.”

André cleared his throat. “Ladies, I hate to cut your lovefest short, but we do have a plane to catch. Go inside, Mercy. I’ll make sure Farrah gets home just fine.”

With a teary wave, Mercy obeyed, leaning against Rafe’s door and listening for the front door to close before she headed to bed. But the sight of Rafe’s bulletin board stopped her in her tracks. She stood for a long moment, staring at the photos of Ephraim Burton and Edward McPhearson, a.k.a. Harry and Aubrey Franklin. In her mind she added the images of Pastor, who they now knew as Herbert Hampton, plus Waylon and DJ. All of them except for DJ had been there at Eden’s founding.

I was so lucky the day our paths crossed. The words she’d just said to Farrah rolled around in her mind, but now they bothered her. Like a name or a word that hovered on the edge of memory. The day our paths crossed, she thought again. And then it hit her. Her path had crossed Farrah’s at college, that first day. Mercy was there because her half siblings were there, even though she hadn’t met them yet. Farrah was there because everyone in her family had gone to that university.