At the Quiet Edge(29)

When she’d opened her phone to call the cops, the door had flown up, and a small woman overwhelmed by a cascade of wild black curls had nearly fallen outside to beg Lily not to kick her out. That had been the start of all this. That and Lily’s own craving to prove that she could be strong again. She could be brave.

But she wasn’t brave, not like Zoey.

“You know I want to keep helping,” she said, her voice dark with guilt. “I really do. I just got scared.”

“You’re amazing,” Zoey said as she reached to squeeze her hand again.

Lily huffed a laugh. “Come on, Zoey. This is your whole life, and you’re never scared. You’d take on the entire world if you could.”

“Bullshit. I get scared all the time.”

Lily didn’t think that was true, but she held her tongue. When that first woman had confessed to camping in her storage unit because a boyfriend had promised to shoot her if she left him, Lily had known exactly who to call. Unfortunately, at that late hour all three bedrooms in Zoey’s county shelter had been occupied. It had been Lily who’d thought of the RV, the only one in the complex that she had the keys to, thanks to a forgetful owner now living overseas. Lily was the one who’d volunteered to break every facility rule and let her stay.

Zoey had asked for her help only twice since, and Lily squirmed with regret at begging off now. “It was honestly nothing,” she said.

Zoey screwed up her face in a grimace. “Nonsense. You have to trust your instincts. You know I tell people that every single day. I won’t ask again. I’m sorry.”

“It’s . . .” She blew out a long breath. She couldn’t live her entire life as a mouse, could she? A cowering victim afraid to step out of place? “Please ask,” she finally said. “You can ask, and if it doesn’t feel right, I’ll say no.” Zoey shook her head, but Lily nodded back. “I know you won’t ask if it’s not necessary. I can make my own decisions.”

Zoey didn’t commit, but she let it drop and moved to sharing news about long-delayed local funding that had come through and the testimony she would give in the statehouse later that month.

She’d become a hairstylist after high school, but all that had changed when Zoey had lost her sister, Moira, to murder. Moira’s husband had shot her when she was six months pregnant, and Zoey had agonized over every single thing she might have done or seen before that final, terrible attack.

She’d started her organization just a few months before Lily had moved back to Herriman. They’d both been too busy for much more than a chat when they ran into each other in town. But when the news about Jones had exploded in the town paper, Zoey had reached out to offer help, and Lily had finally accepted.

Zoey had been through so much worse than Lily had, dealing with her only sister being assaulted and abused and finally murdered, and she’d only grown stronger, more sure of herself. Lily was desperate to do the same.

“I think someone winked at me today,” she said to change the subject.

Zoey raised her eyebrows. “You think?”

Shrugging, Lily raised a cocky brow in response. “I mean, I’m ninety percent sure. Maybe eighty-five.”

“Was he cute?”

“Cute enough.”

“I still can’t believe you don’t meet guys out there all the time. Aren’t people always asking their big, strong friends to help them move shit? Tell me it was a big, strong himbo.”

Lily snorted. “No, it wasn’t a big, strong himbo. This guy was normal sized and seemed nice. And he’s only in town helping his uncle, which is perfect for my taste.”

“Your taste for not actually dating, you mean?”

Lily rolled her eyes.

“How are you ever going to meet a soul mate like that?”

She ignored the question, because she’d already answered it a hundred times. As if she’d ever trust a man again. “How the hell are you still a romantic with the kind of work you do?” she grumbled.

Zoey grinned. “I met my soul mate, didn’t I?”

She groaned at Zoey’s smug smile. Yes, Zoey had somehow met her perfect match the old-fashioned way, just going about her business at the natural foods store two towns over. The beauty of their three-year-old relationship was supremely annoying, and Zoey had somehow become an evangelist for real dating, in direct opposition to Lily’s refusal to even consider it.

“Come on, Lily. You’re still young.”

“Old enough to know it’s better to be single than deal with an asshole.”

“Well, obviously I’ll drink to that.”

They clinked water glasses and dug back into their food. “This is nice, Zoey. It’s been too long.” Lily leaned her head back to let the sun glow over her face as she chewed.

“Jesus, girl, it’s half-price sandwiches with county highway sounds included. You need a vacation.”

That part was definitely true. A couple more years and she might actually be able to afford one.

By the time Lily returned home, she felt like she had been on vacation, complete with the slight warmth of a bit too much sun on her arms. She put more swing in her step as she stowed her purse in the office and headed back out to make the rounds. Bring on the detective’s questions about her ex. It wasn’t like she hadn’t dealt with them a hundred times over, and she was tired of being scared.