Authors: Anne Greenwood Brown
Promise Bound (32 page)
“Maybe I’d believe that,” she teased, “if you could say it in rhyme.”
I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her as close as I could without crushing her. “Now you’re pushing your luck.”
We lay there quietly, listening to the muffled voices of Lily’s parents in the house, waves crashing on the shore, pine boughs groaning overhead, the occasional
pop
of an errant firecracker going off at a faraway campfire.…
“So you forgive me?” she asked.
“Let’s see … for sending me away to find my mother, only so you could try to kill her the first chance you got?”
I could see Lily pale in the darkness.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “That wasn’t funny. You have to know I could never live without you. I need you with me.”
“Need?” she asked. “Or want?”
“Is there a difference?” I asked.
“Slight,” she said. “After what happened on the water yesterday”—she swallowed hard, remembering—“I understand what you mean by
need
, but it’s not very romantic somehow.”
“Then I
want
you, Lily Hancock. Always. Forever.”
She smiled, and I could feel our heartbeats quicken in perfect synchronicity.
“And about the other thing?” she prompted.
“And yes, I forgive you for everything that happened. I was just as much to blame.”
She sighed, and the light spiraling out of her mixed with the electricity in me. Together, it hummed like an aurora borealis light show between our two bodies, starting with our locked gazes and traveling across our collarbones, then down our arms and tangled legs.
“What’s that thing you told me the first time we lay in this hammock?” I asked.
“Forgiveness,” she said. “It’s the thing that frees the heart.”
W
hew. We’ve come to the end, and I’ve been so humbled by the experience. When I woke up in the middle of the night with Calder White’s voice in my head saying, “I hadn’t killed anyone all winter, and I have to say, I felt pretty good about that,” I had no idea where that one line would take us. This series would not have been possible without the enthusiasm of readers, librarians, teachers, and bookstores. Thank you! I also have to thank, in no particular order, Françoise Bui, Rebecca Short, Paul Samuelson, Sonia Nash, and Random Buzzers; my wonderful agent, Jacqueline Flynn; Beta Readers Heather Anastasiu, Lauren Peck, David Nunez, Li Boyd, Carolyn Hall, Nina Badzin, and Kristen Simmons; and the Apocalypsies, Michelle Krys, the helpful staff of the Thunder Bay Public Library, my parents, and all the talented and inspiring kids at SAHS and SJHS. Finally, thank you to Sammy, Matt, Sophie, and Greg. Fire up the grill. It’s time to celebrate!
ANNE GREENWOOD BROWN
is the author
of Lies Beneath, Deep Betrayal
, and
Promise Bound
. She is terrified of high places, deep places, falling from high places into deep places, and fish of all sorts. Other than that, she’s game for anything. You can find her here:
annegreenwoodbrown.com
; and here:
facebook.com/annegreenwoodbrown
; and sometimes here:
@AnneGBrown
; but most often with her nose in a book.
