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Which was why she was, once again, with Molly and the girls, this time in Silverton, an old mining town turned tourist destination north of Durango. They’d ridden the famous coal-powered train together, soaking in the view as they chug-chug-chugged from the red-tinged hills of Durango to the alpine peaks of Silverton. Once they arrived, Molly snapped a few pictures that Liv expected she’d see on the ’gram in the next couple days.
After that, Molly pocketed her phone. They strolled down Silverton’s Main Street with the girls, passing pastel false-front buildings and Old West-style shops and restaurants. Thanks to the 9,000-foot altitude, the air felt cooler, almost crisp—a welcome respite from the heat of Durango.
Getting to know Molly had been a surprise for Liv. She’d expected Molly to be constantly on her phone, taking pictures or checking her social media alerts, but she was present and down-to-earth. And so damn nice. So genuine and friendly, like she truly wanted to get to know Liv. Weren’t influencers supposed to be superficial and fake?
The only fakeness in their relationship was on Liv’s end, which made her feel... well, not quite guilty, but certainly aware of her own duplicity. The fact that she followed Molly online had created an odd intimacy between them, like Liv knew Molly better than she knew most people in real life. This made it easy to guide their conversation to topics she knew Molly would be interested in: Taylor Swift, obviously, but also home renovations, the girls’ activities, and the upcoming school year. To keep the focus off herself and on Molly.
The best part of spending time with Molly’s family was, of course, seeing Ella. Liv wished she could have one-on-one time with her niece, but Chloe was always there, chattering away.
“I have a squirrel friend at home,” Chloe was saying to Liv as they walked down the street together. Her small, perpetually sticky hand was clamped tightly around Liv’s. “He lives in our backyard, and he likes me.”
Ella, on the other side of Liv, chimed in. “He’s eating all the birdseed from our next-door neighbor’s bird feeder, and Mr. Robison is very upset.”
Such a simple moment, a simple conversation, but a balloon seemed to be expanding inside Liv’s chest. Letting go of years of anger and guilt had given her space to fill herself up with other emotions. Contentment, for now. Maybe, someday, happiness. Still, there would always be a shadow, not just because she missed her sister, but because she’d missed the past nine years of her niece’s life. She didn’t think she’d be able to forgive Scott Wander for that.
After a while the girls ran off down Main Street and Liv and Molly walked together.
“Is Ella’s mother in her life at all?” Liv asked, hoping she didn’t sound too forward. But she wanted to know what, if anything, Scott had told his wife about his past.
“No,” Molly said, sounding surprised. “She passed away when Ella was a baby. It was really hard on Scott.”
Probably less due to real grief and more because he had lied about pretty much everything, Liv thought.
“Why did he end up here? Does he have family in town?” Liv asked. She assumed he didn’t, but she wanted to know what Molly knew.
Molly shook her head.
“And Ella’s mother’s family? Where are they?”
Molly pushed her pink sunglasses up on her head and gave Liv a quizzical look. Liv realized she had gone too far. “I’m just so sorry about Ella’s mother,” she said, smiling and hoping she looked nonthreatening. “Ella seems like such a sweet girl.”
Scott may not have been a murderer, but he’d still stolen Gabriela from the family that loved her. Liv should have spent countless summer afternoons like this, watching her grow up.
Molly nodded, her face turning thoughtful. “Yeah, she is. She has trouble making friends, though. Trouble trusting people—me in particular.” She laughed self-deprecatingly. “I want her to like me. Pathetic, right?”
“It’s not pathetic,” Liv said. She understood the impulse. She wanted Ella to like her, too. But Molly’s comment about Ella’s difficulty with people worried her. How much of that was Ella’s nature, and how much a result of her unstable childhood?
“Excuse me?” The voice came from behind Liv, and she turned.
Two women, one redhead and one brunette, stood holding their phones and grinning at Molly like they were meeting a movie star on Hollywood Boulevard. They were decked out in head-to-toe athleisure—leggings and strappy tank tops—and pushed expensive strollers.
“You’re Molly Sullivan, right?” the redhead said.
“I sure am!” Molly said, her one-sided dimple winking as she grinned.
“I am such a big fan,” the redhead gushed. “I’ve been following you since before Clover could even walk.”
The brunette nodded eagerly. “Me too!”
“Oh, that’s wonderful,” Molly said. She gave them each a hug. “I’m so glad to meet you both. Tell me your names and a little about yourselves.”
Molly seemed in her element, and Liv turned away, watching Ella and Chloe up ahead. They’d stopped at a candy shop and were staring inside, faces pressed against the glass.
Then, slowly, Liv realized the conversation behind her had shifted.
“I mean, I’m a huge fan,” one woman was saying to Molly, “but I have to say that the content seems...”
“Different,” the other woman supplied. The brunette, Liv saw as she turned. “Not necessarily bad...”
