Jake’s mouth went dry. Swallowing, he glanced back to Gabe, incredulous.
His friend watched the women approach, hands in his pockets.
Jake’s attention shifted back to Zoe. The soles of her tennis shoes—not her boots—softly padding against the pavement, and the black t-shirt she’d been wearing most frequently—not her favorite purple one—were just a few of the many reminders that she was different from the woman he’d first fallen in love with. Or was she?
After a few seconds of silence, Gabe met Jake’s gaze again and shrugged. “It just sort of happened,” he said, and even though Gabe smiled, it wasn’t cocky and confident like it usually was.
Jake felt uneasy. If Gabe wasn’t sure exactly what had happened, maybe it wasn’t entirely a good thing.
“Just go,” Gabe said, pointing toward her.
Wiping his shaking hands off on his pants, Jake took long, slow strides in Zoe’s direction. Her eyes were locked on the ground, and he could faintly hear the sound of her voice as she chatted with Chris.
He couldn’t tear his eyes away from Zoe, hope and guilt mixing into a poisonous concoction inside him. If Gabe was wrong, Jake wasn’t sure he’d be able to forgive himself for hoping she’d returned to the person she used to be, for letting this Zoe feel his disappointment.
Fisting his hands at his sides, Jake stopped in the middle of the highway. He needed more time to process what might be happening. But the moment Zoe’s gaze met his, her steps faltered until, like him, she was still. He searched her face for recognition, for some indication of what was going on in her head, for proof that she’d returned.
His brow knitted together as he watched her bright eyes widen, her dark eyebrows raise, and her mouth open slightly as if she were about to say something. Three agonizingly long heartbeats passed before she moved.
At first, she seemed to hesitate, like she was trying to compose herself, but she quickly gave up and ran to him. A choked sob escaped from her throat as she jumped into his arms, wrapped her legs around his hips, and encircled her arms around his neck, gripping him so tight, so unrestrained, and with so much emotion he thought he must be dreaming.
Stunned into disbelief by the woman trembling against him, Jake wrapped one arm around her back, pulling her away from him slightly with the other. He needed to see her to understand.
Searching her eyes, Jake found the old spark he’d missed, the determination and tenacity he’d seen only on rare occasion over the past weeks, but most importantly he found recognition of the two of them and everything they’d been through.
Her teal eyes, red-rimmed and swollen, were no longer cast in uncertainty and frustration; instead they were cisterns of unbridled torment and longing, filling with so much emotion he couldn’t deny the truth: she was back.
In his silence, her eyes frantically searched his.
“How…” Jake couldn’t tear his gaze from hers, didn’t want to. “I didn’t even know…”
Pushing against his hold, she wrapped her arms around his neck again, leaving not a hairsbreadth between them. “I didn’t want you to know,” she sobbed. “In case it didn’t work.”
For the first time in weeks, he could feel her, his Zoe. She was more real to him now, shaking in his arms, than she’d seemed in weeks.
Though he tried not to, Jake’s mind sifted through their more recent time together, some of the memories knotting up and burning deep in his gut. Suddenly, everything that had happened between them while her memory had been gone felt…wrong.
“Don’t,” Zoe said softly, her lips brushing against his neck. “Don’t think about it, not right now.”
Squeezing her tighter, Jake breathed her in, the scent of her hair, the feel of her body against his…this felt right, and he let himself revel in the moment.
“I don’t understand how that’s possible,” Sarah shrieked. “How’d she get her memory back? And if she did, the last thing she’s gonna want is all of you fussing all over her.” Her voice echoed among the trees lining the road as she drew closer, the mumbling of the others drowned out by her scolding.
Hesitantly, Jake opened his eyes, reluctant to let Zoe go.
She leaned back, a fierce glint in her eyes as she looked at him. He never wanted to look away, never wanted to leave the sanctuary he found in her familiar gaze.
“You didn’t give up on me,” she said, offering him a brief smile before she pressed a hungry kiss to his mouth. “I’m so sorry I ran off. I didn’t mean to. Clara tricked me. I heard Dani’s voice, and—”
“Shhh…” Holding her against him with one arm, he wiped the drying tears from her cheeks with his free hand. “It doesn’t matter anymore.” Cupping the back of her head, Jake brought her mouth to his once more, his kiss slow and deep and reassuring, showing her all that he couldn’t say. But then he stopped and frowned at her. “But please, don’t do it again.”
She smiled and made a disparaging noise at first, but then she frowned. “My mom—Dr. Wesley came to save me…but I killed Clara…”
Jake brushed a loose strand of hair from her face. “I know. Now she can’t hurt you anymore,” he said, trying to offer her a beacon of light in the darkness shadowing her eyes.
Hearing the others approaching, Jake released her, allowing her to ease her feet down to the pavement, and was relieved when he felt her fingers lace through his.
He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “Will you be alright?”
Zoe nodded, eyes lazily blinking closed as she let out a deep breath. “I’ll be fine. It’s just a lot to take in.”
“Zoe!” Sarah squealed, stopping short behind Jake, with Harper, Biggs, and some of the others in tow. The click of Cooper’s nails on the asphalt preceded him as he loped toward them.
Zoe rubbed the top of his head. “Hey, Coop.”
Gabe called the husky back, giving Jake and Zoe their last few moments together before the swarm.
Cooper obeyed, and Zoe straightened, quickly wiping any remaining wetness from her face and taking another deep breath.
Jake offered her a sympathetic smile and nodded behind him toward the bickering voices. “I’m not sure I’m ready to lose you to the mob yet.” He wished he could hold her a little longer…forever.
Stepping into him, Zoe rose to her tiptoes and pressed another long, promising kiss to his mouth. “I’m not going anywhere,” she whispered. “After all,” she added, “we have to make up for lost time and all that…” Her eyes drifted to his mouth as she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth.
Jake groaned and squeezed her hand tighter. “Jesus, Zoe.”
When she stepped away, she smiled impishly, making his heart squeeze with extreme happiness. But despite her playfulness, Jake could still see the tumultuous emotions roiling behind her stormy eyes.
“Zoe?” Sarah called again.
As the seconds passed, and Zoe didn’t move past him to greet their friends, Jake leaned down, his lips brushing against her ear as he asked, “What are you doing? They’re waiting for you…”
She let out a nervous laugh. “I don’t want to start bawling again.”
“Zoe! Are you ignoring us?” Sarah huffed. “You better not be. I’m not as nice as I used to be. I might just freak out or something.”
Jake smiled and moved out of Zoe’s line of sight so she could see her friends. “She was just collecting herself,” he explained as he turned around to face them as well.
“What’s the point?” Sarah asked, throwing her arms around Zoe. “We’re just going to make you cry again, anyway.”
Jake smiled as he watched the two women hug, but their interaction was different than he’d expected. It was no surprise to him that Sarah was sobbing within seconds, but even though Zoe was trying to comfort her, she seemed a little hesitant.
“It’s not that I didn’t like the other you,” Sarah blathered. “But it wasn’t the same, and then I thought about the babies, and I know Harper needs you, and I need you. I’m…” She let out a des
pondent wail and sobbed harder.
“It’s alright, Sarah.” Zoe gave her another squeeze before pulling away.
Biggs smiled at Zoe, offered her a nod, and wrapped Sarah in his arms to soothe her.
Jake watched Zoe slowly grow more and more comfortable around everyone as they bantered back and forth, doing their best to make her feel at home and welcome once again.
What must it have been like for her over the past month and a half? He could only imagine how much more difficult it had been for her than for the rest of them…so much so that she’d been trying to get her memory back in secret.
Ky wandered up and said hello and teased her, but only until Harper came pushing through the crowd and swooped her up into his arms. “It’s about time, Baby Girl. I was beginning to worry I’d never have you back again. I need another pair of hands.” Harper smiled at Jake as he spun Zoe around.
Cooper barked and scampered around excitedly as they twirled, and Jake laughed at the sight of them, feeling like everything might actually be falling back into place.
With a final squeeze, Harper set Zoe back on her feet, then smiled and kissed her forehead. “Hurry up and say your hellos, I have work for you to do.”
“Gee, thanks.” Zoe returned his smile, but faltered when she noticed Sam and Tavis standing on the outskirts of the group.
Jake’s heart skittered a bit. He was surprised when Zoe simply nodded to Tavis, then shifted her attention to Sam as a broad grin filled her face.
Excitement enlivened Sam’s eyes, though he offered her a casual smile.
“Drawing tonight?” Zoe asked him, and Sam gave her a quick nod before they were swallowed up in the excitement of the group. Sanchez offered Zoe a tight-lipped hello, allowing a slight smile to curve her lips, and Sarah rejoined them after she’d had a moment to compose herself.
After a few minutes passed, Chris came to stand beside Jake. The two of them watched the crowd of their friends with their happy faces and listened to their incessant chatter as they asked Zoe questions about what had happened to her, what it had been like, and what Gabe had done to help her.
“Any idea where Jason and Dani are?” Jake asked Chris, knowing they were the two people Zoe needed to see the most.
Chris placed her hands on her hips. “Sanchez contacted everyone; they should be here soon.”
“Thank you for helping her,” Jake said quietly. When Chris looked at him, he gave her a grateful nod.
Resting her hand on Jake’s arm, Chris said, “I’m just glad I could be there. I—”
When she paused, Jake followed her gaze. Jason was wading through the group, his face uncharacteristically expressive as he drew closer to Zoe. Just as she noticed him and turned around, Jason wrapped his arms around her, and everyone grew silent, watching. Even Jake found it difficult to look away.
Jason’s eyes were closed as he held onto his sister. “Don’t ever do that to me again,” he said so quietly that Jake could barely hear him.
Zoe wound her arms around her brother’s back. When Jake noticed her body quaking in Jason’s arms, Jake, Chris, and everyone else turned to leave the siblings in a silent reunion that was long overdue.
22
DANI
MAY 7, 1AE
Lake Tahoe, Nevada
“But I don’t want to!” Annie whined in my head. “It’s cold!”
I knelt in front of her on the sandy beach and reached for her little hands. We were both wearing swimsuits; mine was a purple-and-white-striped bikini and Annie’s a one-piece covered in inch-wide neon polka dots. I’d “scavenged” them from the tourist shop in the lodge, thinking that “going swimming”—ahem, washing the months of filth off Annie—would be the perfect way to stay out of Jason’s hair while he, Grayson, and Sanchez spent the morning meeting with Holly, Hunter, and a few others from the Tahoe clan. They were discussing the possibility of setting up some sort of self-reliant, self-sustaining community together on the coastal farmlands.
As I stared out at the lake, I was just grateful that it was a moderately balmy day. Not that the high-sixties air temperature did anything for the extremely cold water, but the sunshine was a nice perk. I’d stuck my toes into the lake, and I had to agree with the little girl; it was freezing.
“Annie, sweetie, remember to use your words,” I told her. She’d only spoken out loud a few times since I’d practically adopted her the previous afternoon, and even when she had, she’d only used one or two words at a time. I feared that the months she’d gone without actually speaking had hindered her ability to use human language…but not as much as I feared that she’d lost her humanity completely.
It was clear that she’d embraced being a drifter wholeheartedly, but she didn’t feel quite so far gone as Scott had, like she’d somehow managed to find a happy medium between embracing the ability to drift into other creatures’ minds and rejecting drifting altogether—something Ralph had believed impossible.
“Cold!” Annie said, crossing her arms and stomping her foot. Zoe—old Zoe—would have backed her up, possibly arguing that dirty and stinky was better than clean if frigid water had to be involved in the bathing process.
I sighed. “Believe me, Annie, I know. But I promise, I’ll be right beside you.”
Annie stuck her lower lip out in a pout. When I didn’t react, didn’t relent, she sucked it in between her teeth. “Snowflake”—I assumed she was referring to the female wolf I’d met in the woods who’d been more or less taking care of Annie—“says I have to do what you say.”
At least I’ve got the wolf’s support… “Great! Awesome! Okay, let’s get cleaned up, hmmm?”
I released one of Annie’s hands and stood, walking with her to the water’s edge, where I’d set my handy bottle of all-in-one shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. It smelled like tropical fruit, which was a whole lot better than Annie’s current eau-de-wolf-musk scent.
I glanced over my shoulder, giving Carlos a quick thumbs-up; he was sitting on the beach about a dozen yards back, his partially restrained and still-filthy sister, Vanessa, sitting beside him chattering nonstop to her imaginary friends, which seemed to include her mom, her other brother, Jesse, and someone named “Rosie”—all of whom Carlos assured me were deceased. Which wasn’t creepy or anything…
Looking down at the little girl holding my hand, I raised my eyebrows and grinned as widely as I could to show her how excited I was. “Alright, we’re going to run in, dunk our heads, then run back out as quickly as we can, okay?”
Smiling wide enough that her chubby cheeks appeared even fuller, Annie nodded.
“Okay! Ready…” I crouched down like I was getting ready to run a race. “Get set…” I met her eyes, grinning with genuine anticipation. I was actually starting to have a little fun. “Go!”
Giggling and squealing and gasping, we lunged into Lake Tahoe side by side, ducked our heads under the water to wet our hair, then scrambled back out of the lake.
“Oh my God…oh my God…oh my God,” I said, shivering and rubbing my arms.
Annie was doing the same, all the while looking up at me and giggling.
I bent over to retrieve the bottle of suds and flipped the top open, squirting a hearty dollop onto my palm. “Let me get your hair soaped up first, okay? Then I’ll let you do the rest while I wash myself.” I didn’t really think I needed to explain the whole bathing process to her—Annie was a little wild and young, but she wasn’t an imbecile—but I wanted to speak to her as much as possible, to help her remember what it was like to interact with people who weren’t Vanessa. Everyone was wary around my brand-new, unrequested wild child, and I desperately wanted her to fit in, to be accepted, and to not be alone for the rest of her life.
Annie nodded, accepting my washing routine without argument.
It seemed to take ages to wash her hair. I lathered the liquid soap up until it formed a grimy, fruity helmet around her head, then dropped my hands to my sides and sighed. “I hate to say it, kiddo, but we m
ight have to have a round two.”
Annie didn’t seem upset by the idea; she simply stared up at me and blinked her big blue eyes every few seconds. I thanked my lucky stars that she wasn’t a complainer. The whole insta-kid situation would have been a lot worse if she had been.
About ten minutes later, we were in the middle of our final, icy rinse, when Sanchez’s voice reverberated in my mind. “Come to the highway…we’re between the lodge parking lot and the campground parking lot. Zoe’s back.”
Head barely above water, I froze. Zoe’s back…from where?
A heartbeat later, I thought, maybe, that I understood. Does she mean that Zo—my Zo—is back? Heart racing, I spun around to look at Carlos. “Did you hear—”
“Sanchez? Yeah.” He stood, brushing off the back of his jeans before reaching down to grab his sister’s wrist bindings and pulling her up to her feet as well.
“Do you think—does she mean…?”
Carlos shrugged. “Only one way to find out.”
“Come on, Annie. Time to go.” I captured her hand and pulled her back to the beach, ignoring my shivers as we raced across the sand toward Carlos and Vanessa.
“Can you take her?” I asked, holding Annie’s hand out to Carlos. I glanced at his sister, who was quiet for once as she stared down at the freshly clean little girl I’d uncovered under all of the dirt, then back at him. “Dry her off and—and—” I shook my head, incapable of thinking clearly. I was just too damn excited. Zoe’s back….Zo is back!
“Yeah, it’s fine. Go,” Carlos said. He pulled Annie’s hand out of mine and gave my shoulder a little shove, pushing me in the direction of the lodge’s parking lot. “I got this.”
“Thanks!” I called over my shoulder as I started to run. I didn’t think my legs had ever moved so quickly, especially not on bare feet.
Every other member of our group was clustered in the middle of the highway, looking like they were starting to disperse. Jake and Chris were walking away, toward the campground, Gabe close behind them, and Harper, Sarah, and most of the others were headed to the lodge. And between them, in the middle of the highway, Jason was embracing Zoe in a fierce hug.
Out Of The Ashes (The Ending Series, #3) Page 26