Page 54 of One Merciful Moment

Ashley couldn't look at Boone for long. Not today.

Kallie nudged her lightly. "You're quiet."

"I'm thinking." Ashley sighed loudly. "Or maybe trying not to overthink."

"About the veil?" Jillian rolled onto her side, hair falling across her cheek.

"That, and..." She paused. "About Boone."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Kallie asked, her frayed hem forgotten.

Ashley pulled her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. "I don't want to leave him." Her eyes burned. "But he can't live outside Everstill, and I understand that. I really do. I just..." She pressed her forehead to her knees. "I think I'm going crazy even contemplating staying here."

"Have you talked to Boone about it?" Kallie asked.

She shook her head. It hurt too much. Because in his mind, there was nothing to think about. He believed she was leaving, and he was staying.

"Well, I don't think you're crazy. You're in love." Jillian touched Ashley's arm. "It's scary, even without everything happening here."

Ashley couldn't deny it. She was in love with Boone. That made the decision on whether to leave or stay harder.

She glanced across the street. Boone still sat on the curb, shoulders hunched, staring at the ground while the men talked behind him. Her chest ached. They were both miserable when they were apart.

"I get it," Kallie said softly. "It's not just the idea of the veil opening again. It's everything about Everstill. It's not normal here."

"Especially not aging," Jillian added.

Ashley was relieved they brought it up. "I still don't understand that part. Boone doesn't want to talk about it. It's like some messed up supernatural stuff."

"You're right, but none of them can explain it that way." Kallie hesitated, then said plainly, "The fact is, the men don't age here. At all."

"Seriously?"

"Not that we've seen." Jillian sat up. "Copper's team didn't age either. Not while they were inside Everstill."

Ashley pressed her fingers to her temples. "Do we age?"

Kallie shrugged. "It's too soon to tell."

"We've only been here a year. Maybe less. It's hard to track time without any way of doing so." Jillian laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. "God, I miss having a phone."

"Same." Ashley rubbed her arms. "I'm twenty-five. You?"

"Twenty." Jillian looked at Kallie. "We're the same age, right?"

Kallie nodded, then shook her head. "No. I must've had a birthday. It was in September. That's so weird. I missed my twenty-first birthday."

"We're all young. But if the men don't age and we do, then staying here means you'll eventually be older than Boone. A lot older. Unless he goes through the veil. He'll age fast to catch up with his birth certificate." Jillian gazed up at the sky. "Shit, we do sound crazy. Can you imagine sitting like this back home and talking about this?"

"Well, I don't care about the age thing." Ashley stared at the grass, her fingers digging into the earth.

"We know," Kallie said softly. "But it's something you have to think about."

Ashley looked across the street again. Boone had finally lifted his head, eyes scanning until they found her. Even from this distance, the intensity made her heart flutter.

"I worry about him being here without me." Her voice trembled.

"Then you need to decide if you can live in a place that might never let you leave." Kallie leaned closer. "And if you can live with a man who might never grow old."