Thirty – 04

[This post is from Marin’s point of view.]

We stood in silence for a few seconds before I managed to gather myself. I wet my lips and looked toward J.T. “You had something you wanted to talk to me about, too.”

“Oh.” He took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. “Yeah. I…I might have asked Carolyn to marry me.”

My heart lifted and I smiled. “Jay, that’s great.”

“Well, sort of,” he said. “She hasn’t exactly said yes.”

I arched a brow. “She hasn’t said no, has she?”

He shook his head. “No. She said she needed to think about it. Then all of this happened and we haven’t really broached the subject since.” J.T. shot me a weak smile. “And somehow I don’t think pushing for an answer is going to work in my favor.”

“You have nothing to worry about,” I said, and meant it. “You guys are great together and she’s not going to say no.”

“You’ve seen something,” he murmured.

Wincing, I nodded. “A few somethings, anyway. She loves you, Jay, and she knows that you love her, too. It’ll be okay.”

He finally looked at me again, tearing his gaze away from the ravine. “Everything’s going to be okay with Matt, too, Mar.”

“I know,” I said softly, then smiled, reaching over to squeeze his arm. “I have to trust him.” Glancing back, I saw Ériu was still lurking nearby, watching us. “I do believe you, Ériu.”

She nodded slightly. “You said that you did. I trust you.”

“Do you think you could find them?”

J.T.’s question startled me, but it didn’t seem to faze her in the slightest. She simply shrugged.

“I don’t know,” she said. “But even if I could, I won’t leave. My place is here, with Marin and Neve and the children. I can’t abandon them.” Her gaze flicked toward me and she smiled weakly. “Besides, I don’t think she wants me to.”

Now it was J.T.’s turn to be startled and he looked at me with a raised brow. I shrugged slightly.

“She’s right.”

“But—”

I sighed. “Think about it, Jay. If Ériu goes and we figure out where he is and it’s true and she’s really just damaged and needs help, our knowing where she is would just cause more trouble. People want to kill her and I can’t blame them for it. I’m sure Matt’s fine. If he was dead, I’d know.”

I’d know. I’d have to know.

My eyes slid shut.

“It’s time to stop looking. We have other things to worry about. He’ll come home when the time is right. I know that he will.”

I’ve seen too much to believe otherwise.

I left them on the bridge and walked away.

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