I scowled at the guy’s back. Caelyn widened her eyes at me. “See you tonight?”

Her words swallowed my scowl right up. Because they made it seem like Caelyn was mine, and a part of me, one growing by the day, wanted her to be.

I eased down onto the grass and leaned against the trunk of the tree. It had taken me a long time to settle on this spot. It was a decision I hadn’t been ready to make at sixteen. It wasn’t until I’d returned to Anchor, to the farmhouse, that I knew their final resting spot had to be here. I’d mixed ash with dirt and buried a family photo in honor of the bodies I didn’t have to put to rest, hoping that somehow my family’s souls would feed the growth around me. That they would become a part of the trees and the grass and wildflowers that grew on the outskirts of the pond. The place that had been a favorite for all of us.

As the bark of the tree bit into my back, I could almost convince myself that they were still with me. “Sorry it’s been a while.”

I plucked up a long piece of grass, making a small tear down the center. I could see my dad trying to teach Beth and me how to whistle through it. Beth had picked it up right away, but I’d struggled, sounding more like I was suffocating than whistling. When I finally got it, she had tackled me to the ground, happier for me than she’d ever been for herself for picking up the trick.

There were millions of those kinds of memories. Ones I’d buried in my mind because so many of them had been stolen and displayed for all the world to see. But things were changing. I was sharing the farmhouse with Caelyn, Will, Ava, and Mia. And I found myself wanting to show them Beth and my parents, too.

I already was, even if they didn’t know it. The magic trick my dad had taught me. My mom’s favorite bench. The pond my sister begged me to visit daily. Little by little, I was letting my family out of the tightly guarded box I kept them in. And I didn’t feel as though I’d lost them by doing it. In fact, their presence felt even stronger.

“I’ve been bringing some people around.” I twisted the blade of grass around my finger. “Mom, you would love Ava. The two of you would probably spend hours in your garden on that bench talking about your favorite books. Beth and Mia would be hell on wheels, giving us all daily heart attacks. And, Dad, Will is your kind of kid. He soaks up everything you teach him.”