Having Braden had saved me. No one cared until Braden. Somehow I’d won the loyalty of this bighearted person who I could never thank enough.

“Do you think I’ll end up like my mother?” I asked because it was my biggest fear. Especially now.

“No. I don’t. I think your mother suffered a trauma while she had a newborn and that mixed with the post-partum depression she was suffering at the time. Remember that was found in her records. She had issues and then she lost her husband and son so tragically. No one was there for her. No family. Nothing. She just had this little baby and yes she snapped. Most humans would in her position. If there had been family to check on her and see her spiraling out of control then I believe she would’ve gotten better. That your life would have been much different. But it didn’t happen that way. She was alone and she got lost. That won’t happen to you. Because you have me and I won’t ever leave you alone. You have family.”

I wanted to believe her. I wanted there to be a reason my mother hadn’t been able to come back to me. That it hadn’t just been inevitable.

“What about my grandmother? She was in a mental home,” I reminded her. That fact haunted me.

“Do you even know why? Have you ever researched that? You don’t know why or if this is even true. Your mother told you this and she wasn’t mentally there, Della. I think you’ve lived believing some things that aren’t true. They terrify you. But in all honesty Della, if you were gonna snap sweetie, you would have when we walked in on your mother with the razor in her hand and the slits on her wrists. You didn’t snap. You made it through that and you were brave enough to learn to live. You can do this Della. You can live a happy full life. One that your mother deserved but was cheated out of. Don’t let your fears keep you from it. Please.”

I wanted that. I wanted to live. For the father and brother who I never knew and for my mother who was cheated of a life of happiness. I wanted to live for them. And I wanted to live for me.

“Why don’t you call him?”

I didn’t have to ask her who “him” was. I knew who she meant. She wanted me to call Woods. I wanted a life with him. I loved him. But how could I come between him and his father? His father hated me. I would stand between him and his family. If Woods wanted me more than the life he’d been born to have then he’d find me. I wasn’t going to confuse him by calling him. He needed time to decide if losing his family to have me was worth it.

“I think I’ll wait. He knows where I’m from and he knows your name. If he really wanted to find me, he could easily enough. There is a lot at stake for Woods. I’m not sure I’m worth all that.”

Braden put her arm around my shoulders and rested her head against mine. “How many times do I have to tell you that you’re special? Anyone who meets you and doesn’t want to get to know you and be a part of your life is stupid. I saw it when I was just a kid.”

I smiled. “No. You thought I was a vampire and you wanted to be my friend so I wouldn’t eat you.”

Braden chuckled. “Well, that too. But I found out soon enough you weren’t a blood sucker and I still liked you.”

We sat in silence for a few minutes lost in our thoughts.

“I took off work today. Let’s go shopping,” Braden finally said.

“Okay. That sounds good.” Anything to get me out of this house and my mind off Rosemary… and Woods.

Woods

I hadn’t slept all night. But I had figured out a few things. If Della had been forced to leave without time to think about it, the only place I could think of that she would go back to was Georgia and her friend Braden. That was the only person I knew of that she was attached to.

I’d called Josiah at six this morning and had him run a search for a Braden, female around twenty years old in Macon, Georgia. That was all I knew. Within ten minutes he had a name, phone number, and address. Braden Fredrick lived in Macon, Georgia with her husband Kent.

I called the number that Josiah had given me and I got the voice mail twice.

I dialed Josiah again. “Get me a number for Kent Fredrick. He has to work somewhere. There has to be a work number.”

“Okay. Give me a second,” Josiah replied without question. I heard the tapping of keys. “Ah, here it is. He’s a lawyer. Fredrick and Fredrick. It looks like his father is the other Fredrick. 478- 555-5515”

I wrote the number down. “Thanks,” I said and hung up to dial the new number.

“Fredrick and Fredrick attorneys at law. How can I direct your call?”

“I need to speak with Kent Fredrick,” I replied.

“Hold on just a second. I believe his line is busy. Oh, wait. It’s free. Just a moment and I’ll transfer you.”

I waited while classical music played over the line. I couldn’t stand still. I paced back and forth across my back porch. I was close.

“Kent Fredrick,” a man’s voice said.

“Kent. This is Woods Kerrington—”

“It’s about time Mr. Kerrington. I don’t like seeing my wife upset and when Della is upset so is my wife.”

He knew where she was. I stopped, almost afraid to hope. “Do you know where Della is?”

“Yeah, she’s at our house. Arrived yesterday in a complete mess. Your father needs his ass kicked. And the jury is still out on you.”

She was there. I began to move. I started walking around the porch and then broke into a run as I hit the steps and went to my truck.