She nodded, and his touch became less hesitant. In just a short time, they were learning to read each other. She wondered what it must be like to have a lifetime with someone, if eventually you didn’t even need to speak to communicate. Or maybe, she thought, it had nothing to do with time. Maybe with the right person, you just knew.

In the distance, a bird called, and Leelo forced her mind back to reality. She pulled away from him and took a deep breath. “I could get lost in you,” she whispered, and for a moment, she was afraid. She remembered what her mother had said, that it wasn’t the falling that killed you. Leelo was undeniably falling for Jaren, and while in the moment it was wonderful to experience all these new feelings, she knew it wouldn’t last.

The fall would end, and what would be left of her then? A broken heart amid a pile of shattered bones?

“That’s funny,” Jaren said, twirling a strand of her hair around his finger. “I feel like I’m finally found.”

And for the moment, Leelo forgot to be afraid.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

The next few days passed in relative peace for Leelo’s household, although on the inside she felt as though she were scrambled up, every part of her vibrating and alive in a way she didn’t recognize. She wasn’t sure how no one else in her family noticed. It was a wonder she didn’t come apart at the seams, sending all those jumbled-up feelings exploding out of her like a flock of startled birds.

Sage was back to her grumpy old self, but at least she wasn’t lying in bed all day or clinging to Leelo. She had recovered some of her focus, which meant she was taking Watcher duty seriously again. Every now and then, doubt or worry would flicker over Sage’s face, but Leelo could see the wheels turn in her cousin’s head, how she brought herself back to the present moment by shutting everything out other than what they were doing. It made her particularly critical of Leelo, but Sage must have assumed that she was thinking about Tate, because she never questioned her.

Miraculously, Fiona seemed to be growing stronger by the day, and Ketty was more cheerful than Leelo could ever remember her being. Of course, she had everything she had ever wanted. Tate was gone, and Sage was engaged to a boy who would provide them with the kind of security they’d been lacking since Kellan and Hugo died. The Hardings were helping sheer the sheep this year, a task that was almost impossible for Ketty to accomplish without Fiona.