Page 87 of The Lightkeeper

“Frankie… I don’t…” I closed the journal, unsure what to say—what to think.

“He loves you,” she blurted out, reaching for my hand. “He loves you, Aurora. He just needed to realize that he was wrong—that he’s not a burden. That no one’s better off without him.”

Emotion welled so suddenly and strongly in my chest I struggled to breathe, my heart racing to keep up with every new piece I fit into this puzzle.

“If you don’t love him or want to be?—”

“I do,” I said instantly. “I do love him.” I flipped back through the pages of the journal, my mind already playing tricks on me that the drawings weren’t real—that none of this was.

The first time I looked through the pages, I was struck knowing that he watched me—drew me. But by the time I reached the end, it wasn’t the fact that he’d drawn me that stunned me… it was how he saw me that had my heart pounding in my chest.

Every image I recognized. I recognized the fullness in my cheeks, the frame of my glasses, every curve and roll of my skin… and while I loved myself, I never looked at myself the way he did. The woman in these drawings was mischievous and tempting. Beautiful and utterly seductive.The woman in these drawings was someone he loved.And it was as evident as every line and stroke of his pencil.

“So, you’ll come back for the gallery show tomorrow?” Frankie asks, the gleam in her eyes shining with hope.

Yes.The word was right there on the tip of my tongue but I held it back, looking at her, thinking about what that show meant to Kit, and then gave my answer, “I have a better plan.”

It definitely didn’t feel like an hour had passed by the time I watched Frankie descend the steps out front to her car and close the door behind her.Tomorrow.There was so much to do. To pack. To think about.

To talk to Dad.

I couldn’t leave him. Not so soon after what happened. But to ask him to move… or to commute back and forth… I didn’t know what I was going to do.

“Aurora…”

I turned, too lost in thought to realize Dad had woken up. As he came over to me, I saw the tears in his eyes.Shoot.I wished I could’ve come up with a plan before needing to have this conversation. I didn’t want him to have any stress right now.

“How much did you hear?” I asked softly.

He smiled and pulled me in for a hug. “Enough to know that we’re going on a trip.”

“We?”

He drew back, incredulous. “You think you’re going to leave me behind? Absolutely not.” He chuckled. “They always say the sea air is good for your health. I think I could be easily convinced to live in a small seaside town in Maine for the next few months while I recuperate.”

“Really?” A small cry slipped out.

“Well, they do have my favorite blueberry jam there,” he mused warmly, and then with a twinkle in his eye, added, “And the man my daughter loves.”

I let out a sob and wrapped my arms around his neck.

“I love you, Dad.”

“Love you, too, sweetheart.” He patted my back. “I do have one condition though…”

I tipped back and looked at him. “What?”

“I want to be part of this plan.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Kit

“Hey, Kit.”Mom’s neighbor, Brian, patted me on the back, and when I felt the ripple of tension run through me, I didn’t try to fight it.

I hadn’t tried to fight it for the last two weeks. Every time I felt the hum of panic or the chill of fear, I let it in. When I went to the Maine Squeeze each morning for a cup of coffee. When I stopped at the grocery store, the art supply store, and even at Mom’s, I didn’t fight the darkness. I let it come… and then I let it fade against what burned inside me.

The light she’d lit. The need to be better. To understand.To want more.

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