Page 46 of One Merciful Moment

"Who was at the door?" She rolled up her sweatshirt sleeves.

"Copper and Finn." He held out his hand. "They came to talk to you."

"Oh no." Her shoulders drooped. "What happened?"

"I guess we'll find out." He laced his fingers with hers and opened the door.

Copper waved frantically. "You need to come to the garden."

She glanced at Boone. He nodded, trying to support her. But if the crops were worse, all hope was lost. Even Ashley couldn't bring something back from the dead.

"Is it bad?" She hurried toward the street with Boone beside her.

He wouldn't let her face the garden alone. If the men sensed starvation ahead, they'd become unpredictable. Now that they were regaining emotions and memories, it could get dangerous for Ashley.

They reached the edge of the garden. Boone stopped dead.

Ashley stumbled. He caught her before she fell.

The garden had changed.

He blinked hard, thinking maybe he was seeing it wrong. But every detail was real.

The squash leaves, wilted and dragging yesterday, now stood tall and full, edges crisp and green. The tomatoes glowed with deep color, their curled edges smoothed out. The beans stretched upward, vines twining with renewed strength. The soil looked rich and dark, soft beneath the morning dew. New shoots poked through the earth.

He stepped forward slowly, afraid the sight would vanish if he moved too fast. He knelt beside a row of herbs Ashley had worried about yesterday. Today, they were vibrant, fragrant, alive.

"What the hell..." he whispered.

Ashley knelt beside him and brushed his shoulder. Her eyes widened. "Boone... look at it."

"This wasn't here yesterday."

"No," she breathed. "It wasn't."

"It's fucking impossible."

She touched the soil, her fingers sinking into the soft earth. "It's us."

His head snapped toward her. "What?"

"Everstill reacts to you," she said. "To what you feel. And you've been letting me in."

His chest tightened. That made no sense. He had nothing to do with Everstill. No one understood the emotions inside him.

Before Boone could argue, footsteps sounded behind him. He stood as the others reached the garden.

"Well, I'll be damned." Mace whistled low.

Vaughn squinted at each row. "This is unreal."

"It's alive again. It's actually alive." Rex laughed.

Boone reached for Ashley's hand. The men looked at him, then at her, then at the garden. The heaviness that had hung over Everstill for weeks lifted, replaced by relief.

Copper stepped up to Ashley. "You did it."

The others swung their gaze toward her. Boone brought her to his side, not trusting anyone, but the men drifted away, moving through the garden, touching leaves, murmuring in disbelief. Their voices rose as they took in the crops.