I didn’t know what to say anymore. Honestly, I was relieved he had cameras set up. But why hadn’t he told me until now? He knew before we had two cars that I was nervous being home alone. He’d even taught me how to use a gun instead of just telling me there were cameras. ‘I figured you knew’ didn’t seem like a good excuse to me. But he was right. We didn’t want Alice to overhear us.
Miller rewound the footage and paused it.
“It’s so blurry.”
He zoomed in a bit more but it didn’t help.
I looked over at him and he was squinting at the screen. “Do you really think that’s her? Why would she dress up as you?”
“Because she’s a crazy person.”
He switched to a different still, but it was equally blurry. “But why would she come here after all these years?”
“I don’t know.” It had been twelve years since I’d died. Twelve years and no word about anything from the life I left behind. Nothing from Isabella. Nothing from my dad. “What if my dad found us? And Isabella somehow figured it out? Saw something she wasn’t supposed to see?”
“We’ve been careful. This is pretty much the only place we come.”
“And she showed up here. The one place we’ve slipped.” I stared at the picture again. It had been a long time since I’d seen Isabella. Would I even recognize her now? Even if the picture wasn’t blurry?
“You heard what Alice said, though. That she realized it wasn’t you. She was just slammed. She didn’t even get a good look at her.” He pulled out his phone. “And if she knew where we lived and had gone to the house, I’d have an alert by now.”
I took a deep breath. “You really think it was a false alarm?”
“I hope so.”
Me too. Now that I’d had a few minutes to calm down, Miller’s words made sense. I didn’t want to move again. I didn’t want to start over. I put my hand on my stomach. This was where I pictured raising our kid. I wanted to give our baby the life we’d lived here. Long summer nights and lazy winter days. I wanted all of it.
“Stay here today. We’ll go home together after my shift ends. You can sit in a booth and…”
“Can I help you cook?” The last thing I wanted to do was sit around being nervous.
He smiled. “Of course.” He pulled me into his chest. “It’s going to be okay.”
It was easy to believe him when his arms were around me.
***
Miller had checked every inch of our home. We’d taken a walk around the lake, searching the perimeter of the woods for anything amiss. And then he’d checked the house for a second time. There was…nothing.
He handed me a cup of hot chocolate and joined me on the couch, lifting up the blanket to drape it over both of our laps.
I blew on the top of the mug. I’d had all day to calm down. All day to think about the blurry face in the surveillance footage. There was no reason why Isabella would suddenly think I was alive. And no reason why she’d dress like me. Or dye her hair to be blonde like mine. None of it made any sense. Isabella thought I was dead. She was out there somewhere living her life. I wasn’t on her mind anymore. Surely I didn’t haunt her dreams the way she’d haunted mine.
I took a sip of the hot chocolate, letting it warm my cold bones. “Why’d you think I knew about the cameras?”
“Because it’s my responsibility to protect you, kid.”
“You’re missing a key word there. Was. It was your responsibility to protect me.”
“No. It was my job to protect you when I didn’t know you. It’s my responsibility to protect you now. As your husband. As the father of our child. As the love of your life.”
I didn’t need the hot chocolate to warm my heart. He’d already done it. “You really think we’re safe?”
“I would never put your life in jeopardy ever again, Brooklyn.” He put his hand on my stomach.
I loved when he did that. Like his love radiated through to the baby growing inside of me. We’d decided we didn’t want to know if it was a boy or a girl. That it would be a surprise we’d wait for. But I had a feeling it was a boy. And I prayed to God it came out looking exactly like Miller.
I took another sip of hot chocolate, and his words finally registered in my head. “Wait. What do you mean again?”
“At homecoming. When Isabella…”
I laughed. “You’re joking. You can’t possibly still blame yourself for that. Isabella injected you with something and locked you in the closet. That wasn’t your fault.”
“I left my post because I was pissed. I walked out of the ballroom of that stupid hotel because I needed air. If I hadn’t left…”
“Trust me, I would have left too. If I’d seen you dancing with a bunch of other girls.”
He laughed. “I would never.”
I set my hot chocolate down on the coffee table and straddled him. “Never huh? You only want to dance with me for the rest of your life?”
“Us against the world, Brooklyn.”
I leaned down and kissed him. I kept thinking that one day he might push me away as my belly swelled more. That he might be repulsed by the sight of me. But that never happened. If anything, he loved me more.
Chapter 45
3 Months Later - Sunday
Miller rowed the boat out slowly as if he was worried I might burst.
“He’s not coming today,” I said. I propped my bare feet up on one of the benches. Everything hurt. Miller was not at all excited about the idea of bare feet on the wooden rowboat. But I swore if I tried to put on shoes I’d cry. Besides, the summer heat was finally here. I was unbearably hot. And my stomach was unbearably large, despite the fact that my son wasn’t due for another month.
“You keep saying ‘he.’ I swear we’re having a girl.”
“I don’t think so.” I put my hand over the edge of the boat, letting my fingertips glide over the water.
Miller rowed a little farther until we were in the middle of our small lake. I loved coming out here. When all I could really hear was the water. I closed my eyes. It reminded me of the beach house. It reminded me of falling in love with Miller.
I put my hand on my stomach when I felt a kick. “Henry’s kicking again.”
Miller groaned. “We’re not naming our kid after a tomato plant.”
“But…”
“You’ve named every single one of your plants Henry. Or Henry Junior. Or Henry VIII, which I’m not fond of at all. It’s not happening.”
“Henry is a really good name. Our Henry won’t kill all his wives. Besides, all my Henrys live now.”
“The baby is healthy. You have nothing to worry about.” He reached over and placed his hand on my stomach. Henry kicked him immediately.
“He’s trying to tell you to stop trying to rename him,” I said.
Miller smiled and removed his hand from my stomach. “You really want to name our kid after a tomato plant?”
“Yes. Like I said…all my plants live now. I want Henry to have a long and healthy life.” Despite what Miller always told me, sometimes I still worried I was bad luck. I didn’t want that to extend to my child. I needed him alive and healthy. I couldn’t wait to meet him. I already protected him fiercely. Especially his rightful name.