I moved in closer to him, pressing my cheek to his chest and closing my eyes, wishing I could silence those doubts inside me forever. “This feels too good to be true, Henry. Too much, too soon. Is it?”

“You’re safe with me, Sylvia.” His voice was deep, calm, and reassuring. “I promise. Everything is going to be okay.”

For the moment, I believed him.

* * *

We put ourselves back together, retrieved the bag of sparklers from the kitchen, and started down the path toward the barn, our breath visible in the icy dark. When we reached the door, through which the loud music blared, Henry turned to me. “Wait a second.”

“What?”

He put his hands on my shoulders. “It’s almost midnight, but I’m not going to be able to do this in there.”

I smiled. “You mean kiss me?”

“Yes.”

“So do it now—I’ll have the memory at midnight.”

He slanted his head over mine, and our lips met fully and openly. When he would have pulled away, I put a hand on the back of his neck and drew out the length of the kiss, my body warming as his arms moved from my shoulders to wrap around my back. We kissed deeply and intimately, but less impatiently than in my bedroom—this kiss was the beginning of something. A new year, a new life, a new hope. I felt the ropes of doubt and distrust that had been strapped so tight around my heart begin to loosen.

Suddenly the music got louder, and a voice rang out. “Mom?”

Henry and I jumped apart, and I opened my eyes to see Whitney standing in front of the open barn door, Keaton and Mack’s girls filing out behind her.

“Whitney!” I exclaimed, exchanging a frantic glance with Henry. “What are you guys doing out here?”

“We were coming to look for you. You said you’d be right back with the sparklers, and it’s been like an hour.” Her face registered shock and dismay as she looked back and forth from me to Henry to me again. “What’s going on?”

“Oh, well, we went to get them, uh, Henry and I did, and—and I couldn’t remember where I put them. We had to find them.” I could hardly think. My heart was hammering in my chest. Had they seen us kissing?

I had my answer a second later, when Whitney shook her head and said. “Just friends, huh?” Then she swept past me and took off running toward the house.

I whirled around and watched her moving farther away. “Whitney, come back! It’s freezing and you don’t have a coat on!”

“I don’t care!” I heard her yell.

I faced the confused, shivering kids again and shoved the bag at Keaton. “Here are the sparklers. Take them inside and divide them up, okay? I need to go talk to your sister.”