herself, her hands rubbing her upper arms as if she were freezing.
Angela’s maternal instinct had her reaching for her sister-in-law. But no. Eva must know she was serious. If they were going to live together in close quarters for another three months and have any chance at successfully completing this ultra-marathon, Eva had to know where she stood.
Otherwise, all of this might just fall apart—if it hadn’t already.
17
Eva glanced at the clock. It read 2:37 a.m.—a new year.
Another year without Brent. Without a purpose beyond this race.
The whole house echoed the silence. Everything had been quiet for hours once they’d returned home from the botched zip-line attempt. They’d skipped the New Year’s Eve party in Queenstown and had driven straight home, retreating to their rooms after a quick dinner. Apparently no one cared about ringing in the New Year together anymore.
Well, that wasn’t true. Marc had offered a walk, but she’d refused, claiming she wouldn’t be very good company. It’s not like he hadn’t seen her vulnerable many times before, so why was this different?
Eva slid from beneath her comforter. Her feet padded along the wooden floors of the hallway, down the stairs, and into the kitchen. The moonlight streaked in through the windows, leaving patterns on the countertops and floors. She pulled a glass from the cabinet and poured herself a cup of coconut milk. Then she rummaged in a ceramic jar for one of Sherry’s cherry chip cookies.
She dunked the cookie into the milk and took a bite. The tart cherry flavor danced on the tip of her tongue. Amazing. The best part about all of this training? She’d burn this cookie off tomorrow when she went running with Marc and Angela. After over a week of training with all three of them, they’d started to find a rhythm. The upcoming marathon would give them some sort of measure for how they’d do in a competitive race environment.
Maybe it would even help Angela figure out why she was really there. Because Eva couldn’t figure it out for the life of her. If nothing else, the events of this afternoon proved that they were not necessarily here for the same reasons.
She polished off the cookie and drained the last of the milk. As she headed back toward the stairs, something on the deck outside caught her eye. Someone was sitting in one of the chairs. A short someone, so it wasn’t Marc. Eva slid open the back door, cinching her robe tighter around her at the sudden chill. She stepped out to find Sherry gazing across the lake, which was dotted with lights that appeared to pirouette across the undulating water. The sky was a blank artist’s canvas if she ever saw one, speckled with brilliant gold and white paint. And though the mountains were barely visible in the dark, Eva sensed them rising around them, strong and steady. Ever present.
Sinking into the seat next to her mother-in-law, she laid her head on Sherry’s shoulder.
Sherry didn’t say a word, but her arm slid up and under Eva’s chin, patting her cheek.
“Couldn’t sleep again?” Now that Brent wasn’t here to take care of his mother, it fell to her and Angela. But Sherry could never be a burden—she was the only part of Brent that Eva had left. Besides that, her mother-in-law was so consumed with serving everyone that she tended to let her own health fall last on the priority list.
“Something like that. I was getting a glass of water in the kitchen and couldn’t pass up this opportunity.”
“Opportunity?” Eva snuggled closer to Sherry, who smelled of flour and sugar.
“To worship. The Creator has done beautiful work here, hasn’t he?”
A chorus of cicadas seemed to sing in agreement, growing louder, then softer again.
Nature had always been a draw to an artist like Eva, but though she’d grown up going to church with her family and believed in God, she’d not thought much lately about his creative heart. The concept put a small smile on her face. “He sure has.”
If only she could create something so beautiful—even half as much. A quarter. But she feared her days of creating were gone forever.
“What’s on your mind, sweet girl?” Sherry’s hand squeezed Eva’s knee. “Are you thinking about today? I hope you don’t blame yourself. Your intentions were good. Angela will see that in time.”
“I do feel like I keep messing things up without meaning to. Even begging her to come to New Zealand. Maybe that was a mistake.”