Into the Fading Twilight (Starlight Grove, #2) (31)

As she lifted her head, I saw her suck in a breath, her gaze locking onto me. But then her expression softened, and her eyes went misty. She shoved up from her chair and crossed toward us.

She pulled Brae in for a quick hug and then turned to me. “Nova?”

I nodded, a little uncomfortable that she knew who I was.

“I’m Alma. Been a member of this group for a long time. My daughter, Maya, she …”

Her voice trailed off, but I could’ve finished the sentence for her. Her daughter Maya was one of Travis’s victims.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered.

“It’s not for you to be sorry for,” Alma said quickly. “I’m so glad to meet you. So glad you’re here. That you got out.”

My throat burned as I watched the kids who looked so much like Alma running and jumping and yelling. Kids I knew belonged to Maya, who would now grow up without their mom. But I was grateful they had a grandmother who had clearly stepped in. “Thank you,” I rasped.

“Brae!” a woman called, a smile on her face. “It’s so good to see you. It’s been too long.”

The woman wore cropped jeans and a pale-purple button-down shirt and had her blond hair pulled up in a casual twist with a clip. She looked to be in her late thirties with just a hint of some smile lines around her eyes. This had to be Holly.

Brae had told me bits and pieces about the Compass crew, and I’d met her friend, Aster, several times before. But I’d never met Holly.

“It has been too long,” Brae agreed, giving her a quick hug. “Holly, this is Nova. Nova, this is the president of the Juniper County chapter of Compass, Holly.”

The woman’s eyes flared ever so slightly, but she covered it quickly. “Welcome, Nova. We’re happy to have you.”

“Thank you.” I forced a smile. This might’ve been a mistake. Two people in, and I already felt like there was an ice pick chipping away behind my eyes.

But then I saw Cora. She stood a little off to the side, talking quietly with Aster. Her arms were curled around herself, her shoulders slightly slumped. I instantly knew why I had come.

“Excuse me,” I mumbled. “I see someone I need to say hello to.”

I crossed the grass, feeling eyes on me, but I shoved that knowledge down. Instead, I focused on Cora. She wore jeans that looked a little too baggy and a shirt she was drowning in. I wondered if she wasn’t eating normally with all the stress. I wouldn’t say a word about it, though. Because I knew exactly how that felt.

“Cora,” I called as I walked up.

Her head jerked up, green eyes widening a fraction before a soft smile graced her face. “You came.”

“I did.” I scanned the group, each member looking away the second I caught them staring. Everyone except for one man. He had dark eyes and hair with a little silver at his temples. He might’ve been in his mid-forties or a touch older. He didn’t stop staring in my direction.

A little chill went down my spine, but I forced my attention back to my small group. “Hi, Aster. It’s good to see you again.”

“You, too,” she said with a genuine smile.

I really liked the woman. She had an ease to her. Nothing seemed to rile her. Maybe it was her skills as a therapist that kept her so even. She could deal with anything and everything, and she had more style in her pinky than I had in all of me.

Today, she had some of her pale-blond hair pulled back in a boho braid with the rest hanging in loose waves. She wore wide-legged jeans with a turquoise belt, and her artfully faded blouse was covered in tiny flowers. Cowboy boots I knew got some real use on her grandfather’s ranch peeked out from under the hem of her jeans. But the real showstopper was her eyes. The blue of her irises was so pale they almost looked translucent.

Aster held my gaze, not looking away like most did. “You look great, Nova.”

I was sure I looked a hell of a lot better than when she’d first seen me, a week or two out of rehab and still jumping at every little sound and movement, not much more than skin and bones. Gaining the weight I so desperately needed had been a difficult task. When I was in the hospital and the rehab center, everything had been carefully monitored. If I’d eaten too much, too quickly, there could have been potentially deadly repercussions.

“Thanks. I’m feeling good,” I told her honestly. I could feel myself getting stronger with my bike rides and swims. But I craved more. Things that reminded me I was alive. Maybe a self-defense course.

“Hey, Aster,” Brae said as she walked up. “It’s so good to see you.” She pulled her friend into a quick hug. As she released her, Brae’s gaze moved between the two of us. “You guys should talk. Aster might have some therapist recs you would like, Nova.”

Everything in me hardened to stone. It felt like a slap—no, worse. Like the slice of a blade, cutting into all the progress I thought I’d made.

Aster sent Brae a gentle smile. “Nova knows I’m an open door, anytime she needs anything. But she needs to be the one who decides that.”

Brae’s cheeks flushed. “I just—”

“Nova, why don’t you come with me?” Cora cut in. “I’ll introduce you around.”

“Thanks,” I said quickly, heading toward the group of strangers, even though it was the last place I wanted to go. But I’d take gawking strangers over my best friend thinking I needed to head back to a shrink any day.