Page 146 of Where Broken Wings Fly

Albie jabs his finger at me, but his forced smile drops when he spots the woman sat opposite Lola, conversing over cups of coffee and homemade breakfast cookies.

“Oh, erm. Hi, Katie. Nice to see ya.”

She waves at him. “Morning, Albie. How are you?”

“Good, good. I’ll leave you ladies to talk. I just need Lola to sign off on these contracts.”

Startling her out of a daze, Lola quickly gathers herself. “Sure.”

After getting her scribbled signature, Albie makes a hasty retreat from the kitchen. His light squeeze of my arm on his way past does little to reassure me. I’ve been abandoned in the world’s stickiest situation.

“Did you find what you were looking for?” Lola asks tightly.

I clear the lump in my throat. “I uh… yeah.”

“What was it?”

“I left Arianna’s baby box here. Got it now though.”

Katie’s eyes lift to mine. “I don’t think we’ve met before.”

She’s smiling politely, but a small frown creases her brows as she studies me. All I can do is stare at that scar, disfiguring her wrinkle-lined features. Lola looks unnerved, but she soon smooths her impenetrable leadership mask back into place.

“Katie… this is, well, she’s Briar Valley’s newest resident.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” Katie begins.

“Melody.” I finish for her. “And likewise.”

“I hope you’re settling in well, Melody.”

Lola tries to offer me a calming smile, but I feel like the whole world has fallen out from beneath my feet, leaving me to free fall. In an anxious trap, I lose grip of the baby box tucked under my arm. It hits the floor with a crash, and everything spills out.

“Oh, shoot. I’m so sorry.”

Dropping to my knees, I quickly shove everything back inside and slam the lid a little harder than necessary. I hope Katie doesn’t notice the violent tremble of my hands. Every inch of me is starting to tremble with nerves.

“You want a coffee?” Lola offers.

My first instinct is to say no, but as I stare at Katie’s friendly face marred by such a devastating scar, I’m overwhelmed by the need to look at her forever in case she suddenly disappears again. I find myself nodding back.

“I could stay for a drink.”

Moving on autopilot, I end up sitting in the chair opposite her. Lola fixes my drink and hands it over, retaking her own seat at the table. Taking a gulp to distract myself, I nearly gasp as the hot liquid burns my throat.

“Careful,” Lola warns.

Katie sips her own drink, somehow oblivious. She clearly hasn’t been told that I’m here. Am I supposed to come out and say it? Do I even want her to know who I am? I’ve done everything in my power to not think about her for months.

“Katie has another family looking to move to town.”

“Oh?” I grind out.

Katie spares Lola a brief smile. “We have a recently bereaved father with two children. I was hoping this would be the place for him to start fresh. He has no other family.”

“Our last spare cabin has already been earmarked.” Lola frowns to herself. “Unless I can move some things around, make a few adjustments.”

“Aalia has a spare room,” I interject.

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