Chapter 21
The hail and rain stopped.
The cabin echoed silence at first, then Zoë’s shallow breathing. I looked through my tears to her sprawled across the nook’s bench. I didn’t know what to do. If I reached for the gun, would I pick it up in time?
I still couldn’t look at Declan. If I did I was sure I’d be dead.
It hurt my eyes to look that far to the left without turning my head. Declan wasn’t moving.
They say your life flashes before your eyes when you’re drowning. They forgot to mention it also happens just before you’re shot dead. I thought of my mother and how many times she’d pushed me away when I needed her. Why? To make me stronger? More self-reliant? I’d become that woman. That was for certain. But at what cost? Was I any more prepared for this moment? I was fifty years old
