Page 63 of Feels Like Home

“She is,” Iagree.

Her head turns to theside.

“She was beforebut…”

“Now she’s happier,” I tell her, knowing it’sfact.

She graces me with a smallsmile.

“Correct.”

Her lips purse tightly and she points tome.

“You’re the reason forthat.”

Now it’s my turn to smile, only it’s notsmall.

I shrug. “I’d like to thinkso.”

“You’re happy,too.”

“Iam.”

“She’s the reason forthat.”

I can’t argue withthat.

“She absolutelyis.”

She narrows her eyes and attempts to look threatening. It would probably work on someone who wasn’t so inherentlynice.

“You’re not going to screw it up?” she asks, far more like a statement than a question,however.

“Man, I sure as hell hopenot.”

“She’s aunicorn.”

My eyebrows kiss myhairline.

I guffaw. “Pardon?”

“She’s happy and sunshine and rainbows and she’s just… unique. There’s very few like her around. She’s aunicorn.”

“Um.Okay?”

“No. You’re not understandingme.”

“Carly, with all due respect. I do understand you. What you’re saying are things I already knew about her. Do you think I’d be spending time with her if Ididn’t?”

“Well, I don’t know you very well, so I can’t reallysay.”

“Babe,” Jamesinterrupts.

Carly’s eyes shift to James and then back tome.

“I trust you. But from someone who hid a major part of her past from everyone around her for a long time, I recognize the signs. She’s happy. But at one time, she wasn’t. And it’s more than Todd’s passing. But I won’t pressure or push because like I said, I know about as much as anyone how important keeping your past private is. That being said, I have a feeling you already knew that,too.”

I don’t confirm or deny that, but I also don’t break eye contact with her,either.

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