Page 114 of Homecoming

“We’ll have this fight when I get home.”

“I can’t wait.”

Kara showedhim Thunder Hole and Sand Beach before directing him to drive the Jeep up Cadillac Mountain. She’d forgotten how incredible the view was from the top of the mountain and loved watching Dan experience it for the first time.

“This is really something.” He made a slow circle to get the full effect. “And the drive up was cool, too.”

“It’s funny how you take something for granted when it’s just there your whole life, but then you come back and see it differently.”

“That’s true. I feel that way about LA when I’ve been away for a while. I notice things I used to drive right by without seeing them.” He put his arm around her and brought her in closer to him to snap a selfie. “We need to come to Maine more often going forward.”

“Yes, we do. I want to spend as much time with Bertha as I can while I can.”

“I do, too. I just love being around her. She’s one of the most incredible people I’ve ever met.”

“Thank you for seeing that. Matt used to phone it in with her, and of course she could see right through that.”

“His loss, babe. She’s worth taking the time to get to know.”

“Tell me about how it went with Keith.”

“I had a nice chat with him earlier. He gave me a lot of useful information.”

“You know what the best part of that is?”

“What’s that?”

“He dumped Matt for you.”

Dan roared with laughter. “He did indeed, my vindictive little she-cat.”

“Me? Vindictive? Never. But I hope he went home and told Kelly all about how my brother threw him over for the much more successful—not to mention sexier?—”

“Not to mention…”

“Dan Torrington, Esquire. This is truly a moment to relish.”

“I want you to enjoy every freaking minute of it.”

“Oh, I will. Don’t you worry about that. Did you see Kirby, too?”

“I did.”

“How is he?”

“Not great, but he promised he’s hanging in there and keeping the faith.”

Her deep sigh said it all. “I hate this for him. He’ll never get over being accused of such a thing.”

“He will. In time. I’ve seen people convicted of heinous crimes come back to live productive lives after being exonerated. It doesn’t happen overnight, but it can and does happen. And he’s not going to get anywhere near a conviction.”

“Are you sure of that?”

“As sure as I can be about an unpredictable system.”

“Those words ‘unpredictable system’ make my stomach hurt.”

“Don’t think about it. We’re doing everything we possibly can to get them out of there, and I’m confident that we’ll introduce enough doubt at the hearing to get the charges thrown out.”

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