Chapter 7
Darius could not speak immediately.
Maya kept looking at the water.
“That part matters more now.”
The desert wind moved gently across the lake.
Darius put his arm around her shoulders.
For a long time, they sat without needing words.
Some peace comes from forgetting.
This was not that kind.
This was the peace that comes when the truth has been named, the danger has passed, and the person who matters most is still beside you.
Darius Hale had spent his life carrying weight.
Duty.
Marriage.
War.
Regret.
Fatherhood.
Some of it would always remain.
But sitting beside his daughter in the wide quiet of the Mojave, he understood something his father had taught him long before he had language for it.
Love is not proven by what you promise when life is easy.
May you like
It is proven by where you go when someone calls.
And Darius had gone.
