Page 69 of Montana Silence
Brynn looked where I was looking, and I saw her tense up. Liam noticed her, and her reaction, and took the long way to get to me. I stood and let him pull me into his arms. “Hey,” he murmured.
“Hi.” I felt Brynn’s eyes on us. “Um, this is Brynn.”
“Hello,” Liam said.
“Enjoy your drink,” she said, excusing herself back to the counter.
Liam sat and pulled me down with him. “Who is that?”
“Evie and Lena were talking about her at dinner. New in town. Needed a job, so Lena’s giving her a shot.”
“Seems nervous.”
I leaned my head on his shoulder. “New in town and alone. It sounds familiar.”
“Yeah.” He snaked his arm behind me and curled around my hip. “We’ll keep an eye on her.”
“She wants to have coffee. Be friends.”
He laughed. “After one meeting? Look at you, making friends.”
Leaning forward and picking up my drink, I shook my head. “No, I met her the day the veil arrived. She’s one of Rayne’s clients too. I was…panicking, and she ran into me outside the office.”
“The day the veil was delivered?” Liam looked over our shoulders. “That’s odd.”
The drink she madewasgood. No difference from when Lena made it that I could tell. “Why?”
“Probably nothing,” he said. “But someone you’ve never met before running into you on the day you get blindsided with an anonymous package from your past? It’s a bit convenient.”
I hadn’t even thought about that. “I don’t think she arrived in town the same day. It’s probably a coincidence.”
“Maybe.”
Before I could ask him what he wanted to do, my phone rang. Claire’s name was on the screen.
“Let’s go outside,” he said.
We stepped into the afternoon sun, and I put the call on speaker. “Claire?”
“Hey, Mara. How are you holding up?”
I looked at Liam and smiled. “I’m doing really well, thank you.”
“I’m glad to hear it. Look,” she sighed. “It is good news. They haven’t made a decision about Malcolm’s parole because they feel like the hearing was compromised. They’re reconvening next week.”
Hesitating, I looked at Liam, and he looked confused too. “If it’s good news, why don’t you sound happy?”
“The panel is offering you another chance to testify, especially in light of the second package sent to your house. But Mara, what happened last timecan’thappen again.”
“It won’t.”
“Are you sure? Because I would rather risk a hearing without your testimony than another meltdown.”
A frustrated sound leaked out of Liam, and I put my hand on his arm. I locked eyes with him. This didn’t scare me right now. He was with me. My friends were with me. I could do this. “As much as I love to hear you be sympathetic about what I’ve gone through, Claire, I can do this. Please email me all the details and expect me there.”
Silence stretched out over the line. “Shit, I’m sorry, Mara. That was really insensitive.”
“Yes, it was.”