Page 149 of Veil of Silence

“I was wrong about one thing,” she said. “Being afraid of what I feel doesn’t make it untrue.”

Something shifted in Austin’s face, but caution remained. “What exactly are you saying?”

Nora stepped close enough to rest her hand against his chest. His heart beat steadily beneath her palm. “I’m saying I trust you. Maybe I don’t trust myself as easily as I used to, but I trust what you’ve shown me.”

Faith had never promised that she’d read every person correctly. Maybe discernment wasn’t certainty. Maybe it was the willingness to keep seeking truth—and to act on it when God finally placed it in front of her. The silence between her family and the truth had nearly buried them all. She wasn’t going to build a life on more of it.

“There’s one more thing.” Her fingers curled into his shirt. “When you asked Prine to keep me away from the farmhouse, I was angry.”

Austin didn’t look away. “I know.”

“I was angry because I recognized exactly what you were doing. I’ve spent my whole life deciding what my family could handle. What Mom could hear. What Wren could carry. I called it love.”

He offered a half shrug. “It was love.”

“Some of it. The rest was control.” She pressed her palm flatter against his chest. “I don’t want that from you. And I don’t want to do it to you.”

Austin was quiet a moment before slowly nodding. “I should have asked you instead of asking Prine.”

“Yes, you should have.”

“I’d just lost my dad. The thought of losing you too—” He stopped. “That’s a reason. It isn’t an excuse.”

“Then promise me you won’t decide for me what I can handle.”

“I promise.” One corner of his mouth lifted. “As long as you promise the same.”

“Deal.” She drew a breath. “And I don’t want whatever this is between us to exist only because of this case.”

Austin covered her hand with his. “Neither do I.”

The last of the distance between them disappeared.

Austin touched her cheek, giving her a moment to change her mind.

She leaned closer.

Then he lowered his mouth to hers.

The kiss was gentle at first, shaped by grief, exhaustion, and everything neither of them had been able to say. Then Nora slipped her arms around his neck, and Austin pulled her closer.

For the first time in days, the fear inside her loosened.

It didn’t disappear. Christian was still missing. Someone had ordered Jeff’s murder, and Cross had been only one piece of something much larger.

But Nora no longer felt as if she had to face any of it alone.

When they drew apart, Austin rested his forehead against hers. “Are you sure?”

Nora thought of all the doubts that had followed her through the past few weeks. Some would take time to overcome.

This wasn’t one of them.

“Yes,” she whispered. “I’m sure.”

Chapter

Sixty