Page 97 of Beyond Redemption

Chapter Nineteen

Liis

A month to the day after we’d returned to Falls Church, morning settled quietly over the house, and the peace felt earned.

Not that it was quiet. Between the low hum of the refrigerator, the soft clatter of dishes as Thomas moved through the kitchen, Stella banging on her highchair tray, and the muted sounds overhead telling us Olive was still getting ready for her breakfast date with Bodhi, it was busy—but it was home.

Standing at the counter with my sleeves rolled just enough to keep them clear of apple sauce or suds, I watched Thomas crack eggs into a bowl with one hand while scanning something on his phone with the other. He had already showered, shaved, and put on the version of himself the Bureau expected to see. His suit jacket hung over the back of a chair, waiting for him. A tie lay folded beside it, untouched for now, as if he was holding off on that final step for as long as possible.

“Coffee?” he asked without looking up.

“Poured,” I said, lifting my mug slightly in acknowledgment.

He nodded, setting the eggshell aside and reaching for the whisk. The pace was ordinary, unhurried, two things we no longer took for granted.

Behind me, Stella let out a small, impatient sound from her chair as Olive maneuvered into place, one hand steadying Stella while the other dug through her backpack.

“Have everything you need?” I asked.

“Yes,” she said, flustered. “I’m just not sure about my paper for Educational Psychology. I had to find time to write it while juggling observation hours. Brutal.”

I laughed. “I don’t miss those days.”

“Wivvy!” Stella demanded.

“There it is,” Olive murmured, relieved. She turned, immediately brushing a piece of hair back from Stella’s eyes with her fingers, smiling. “Breakfast is coming, cranky pants.”

“Wowfuls!” Stella demanded. “Stewa wowfuls!”

Thomas grinned, still focused on the eggs. “You used to talk like that.”

Olive rolled her eyes, a reluctant smile forming. “So I’ve heard.”

She’d been different since we’d returned to Falls Church. Nothing specific that I could pin down, and not that I blamed her after surviving the shooting at Marymount only to find herself in the middle of a full-blown war. I’d worry more if she hadn’t changed at all.

“You’re going to be late,” Thomas said, glancing toward her briefly.

“No, I’m not,” Olive lilted, reaching for the small bowl we had set out earlier. “I plan for Stella delays.”

“That’s optimistic,” he said with a chuckle.

“She’s got my back today, don’t you, baby girl?” Olive said, though Stella immediately proved otherwise by reaching for the bowl before it was fully in place.

Olive caught it just in time. “Okay, maybe not.”

I watched the exchange, the ornery grin on Stella’s face, comforted we hadn’t lost this sooner than planned. Olive could’ve just as easily chosen Colorado or Illinois. Had she not been in the middle of her college career and fallen in love with Bodhi, she might have.

“What do you have planned today?” I asked, turning back to the counter, feeling a bit overwhelmed with gratitude.

“Classes until two,” Olive said. “Then I’ll pick up Stella from Brightwood, and we’ll go to the aquarium.”

“The aquarium,” Thomas repeated, glancing up again.

“She likes the fish,” Olive said simply.

“She likes pounding on the glass,” he corrected.

“She likes both,” Olive said, undeterred. “And I promised her before… well, you know, before.”