Chapter 3
That’s the last thing he says before we’re flying down the streets of Singing River. Liam did not, in fact, go slow. He took off like a bat out of hell, while I let out a shriek, squeezing my eyes shut and wrapping my arms more tightly around his solid torso.
A thrill runs through me; unlike anything I’ve experienced before at the feel of my chest pressed firmly to his back, so close I might as well be fused to him. I’m acutely aware of every touch point, my thighs bracketing his hips, the way his muscles shift beneath his shirt as he handles the bike.
We ride for at least twenty minutes like this, up one street and down the next, my heart lodged in my throat.
Finally, I’m brave enough to crack one eye open.
It’s unnerving seeing the pavement zip past so quickly, the houses we pass reduced to a blur.
But then my grip loosens as we cross a bridge, beautiful silver moonlight reflecting off the water below like liquid mercury.
A lone sailboat floats along the edge of a rocky bluff, and for a second, I forget to be scared.
“You okay now?” Liam yells over his shoulder.
“I think so,” I yell back, loosening my death grip. “Or getting there.”
Liam takes a right turn, and we’re climbing a hill, winding up a street that overlooks the bridge we crossed seconds before.
Veering onto the grass, we come to a gnarled willow tree and Liam cuts the engine.
The absolute quiet after the roar of the bike is almost deafening, ringing in my ears.
My pulse still races, adrenaline fizzing in my veins.
Liam dismounts first, takes off his helmet, then begins working the chinstrap of mine with nimble fingers. He lifts it from my head and extends his hand to help me off the bike. It seems, in Singing River, chivalry is still alive and well.
After he’s stored both helmets away, he walks to the tree, and once again, I follow.
“Cassandra, places like this”—he sweeps his arms magnanimously—“are where you find yourself. Under a summer sky that overlooks the most magical river you’ll ever see.”
Liam stretches out on the grass, crossing his riding boots at the ankles and pats a spot beside him for me to do the same. Lying there, he looks completely at ease, like he’s the kind of person who belongs anywhere he wants to be.
I take a seat, the cool grass tickling the backs of my thighs as we sit gazing up. Above us, the night sky holds stars, strewn like jewels tossed across black velvet. And below, the river laps against the rocky bluff. It’s impossible not to be impressed with Mother Nature.
Liam begins to speak, and it takes a second before I realize he’s reciting a poem.
Though my soul may set in darkness,
It will rise in perfect light;
I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.
My nose starts to burn at how lovely it all is, not just his words but also this impossible night. Rather than voice that thought, I bump his elbow with mine. “You’re a regular Shakespeare,” I quip, causing Liam to laugh, a low rumble.
“Nah. Just a guy who knows a poem or two,” he deflects, but his tone says otherwise.
“Cassandra, these days everyone is looking down. But in my experience, it’s nice to look up, look around you.
Pause in your busy life to stare at the stars every once in a while.
We all need a reminder of how small we really are.
I’ve spent many nights up here.” Liam pauses, his voice rough-hewn.
“And sometimes, darkness doesn’t tell us lies the way the light of day tends to. ”
His words cause a stab in my chest, sharp and sudden. How many times have I thought something similar? I’ve lain in bed, enveloped in complete darkness, and only then had the courage to untangle my jumbled thoughts, to admit things that only come under the cover of night.
“What makes it magical?” I gesture to the water. “The river, I mean.”
“There are stories. How it hums and sings, guiding your feet where you belong.”
“And you believe them?”
“With all my heart. It’s happened to too many people.
” He’s still looking out at the view below us, the town spreading out like a constellation of streetlights, twinkling to match the stars overhead.
Then Liam turns, eyes searching my face.
I like hearing him talk, voice deep with a Southern lilt.
There was a time my voice had a similar lilt, but after staying in the city after college, that’s another thing I lost along the way, I suppose.
And I especially like how Cassandra sounds, falling off his lips.
“It might happen to you, you never know.”
I scoff. “I don’t even know who I am or where I belong anymore.”
His eyes drop to my lips but dart back up to my eyes so quickly I’m sure I imagined it. “Close your eyes and focus.”
I tilt my head, confused, and his brows rise. With his forefinger and pinky extended, he reaches up and gently closes both my lids, his touch featherlight. Together, we fall silent, listening to the sounds around us.
An owl hoots in the distance mixed with a chorus of crickets and frogs.
I listen more intently, hoping to hear something, anything from this magical river.
At first there’s nothing. But then, a whisper.
And for the first time since I left Dallas, it truly hits me with a force so strong I suck in a sharp breath.
I might not know much at present, but there is one thing I know with absolute clarity.
I’m free. I’m truly free to do and be whoever I want.
“You’re thinking something,” Liam murmurs. “I saw it cross your face.”
Blinking my eyes open, I meet his. “I’m free,” I say on a tremulous breath.
The next thing I know, Liam jumps to his feet, hauling me up with him.
“Yell it.” He leads me closer to the edge, meanwhile my fear of heights sinks its claws in. I tug my hand back, planting my feet.
“What? I’m not yelling at nine p.m. I’ll wake someone.” I grab his wrist, pulling him away from the edge. “And come back here. You’re too close.”
Liam hitches a thumb at the only house in sight. “That house is empty. There’s no one to wake. Now, go on.” He places one large hand to the small of my back. “Yell it.”
Sucking in a lungful of air, I take a tiny step forward, but not too close, and shout into the starry sky. “I’m free!”
“With your whole chest, Cassandra! Say it like you mean it.”
Turning a quick grin to Liam, I close my eyes, and this time I shout so loudly it echoes. “I’m free!”
Liam lets out a whoop, a grin spreading across his lips. “Thatta girl.”
I settle back onto the grass, breathless and exhilarated, to admire the glittering night sky and the water below.
Everything about this view is spellbinding.
The moonlight, casting light across the surface of the river, and this man who I’ve only just met, yet he’s already challenging me to do better, be better.
Right now, anything really does seem possible.
Lowering my eyes, I realize Liam has moved to lean against the tree, one leg crooked so the sole of his boot rests against the trunk.
Seconds later, a bright orange glow flares in the darkness and silver smoke billows into the air, the acrid scent of cigarette smoke wafting my way. So much for not smoking tonight.
“You do know those will kill you, right?” I say into the night air.
Liam’s face, illuminated by moonlight, clouds over. Gone is the easy-going expression he’s worn all night, replaced by something dark.
He falls silent for the space of several breaths. Then. “We’re all gonna die eventually.”
The words hang between us, broken and heavy.
I read people well. It’s literally a big part of my job.
And by Liam’s rigid posture and clenched jaw, I know right now what he needs is a moment of quiet to let the stars and moonlight work their magic.
Not me pestering him about the dangers of smoking.
Instead, I watch him and wonder where that darkness comes from.
“So…” Liam’s voice cuts through the silence a few minutes later, marginally lighter than before.
He stomps out his cigarette and pushes off the tree, striding my way.
His shoulders are more relaxed when he drops to the grass beside me and I can tell that whatever he was working through minutes ago is fading.
“How’s it gonna work? The whole finding yourself thing,” he tacks on when my eyes narrow.
I lift a shoulder. “I haven’t gotten that far. I’m only on day one.”
“What if you make a list? Things you want to accomplish that would remind you who you were before the shit bag ex. Or hell, you can reinvent yourself entirely if you want.”
I turn the suggestion over in my mind, and decide I like it. It feels concrete. Like forward momentum. “This is actually a great idea.”
“I’m full of great ideas,” he interjects, tapping me on the nose.
“And,” I continue, more than a little flustered by that tap, “I reserve the right to change things on the list if I want to.” And sensing he might be battling something of his own, I look over at him with a challenge. “And you have to complete the list with me.”
Liam pauses, eyes taking a full sweep of my face and something flickers across his features, gone so quickly I’d have missed it if I weren’t paying close attention.
“Deal.”
We shake on it, his hand warm and calloused in mine, and I grab my phone, swiping to my notes app.
Somewhere in our brainstorming, I realize we've shifted closer. I don't know which of us moved or if we both did, but his shoulder is now pressed to mine and the warmth of him radiates against my bare arm. But he doesn't make to move, so I don't either.
After thirty minutes of back and forth, my list goes as follows:
Cassie’s Path Back
Do something that terrifies me.
Make some friends.
Sing in public.
Do something low-key illegal
Volunteer in the community
Witness something beautiful
Get to know my mom
That last one will be the hardest. When I typed it, Liam didn’t question me, but I could feel him studying my profile.
I never looked up. I’m not about to tell a guy I just met about what my mom goes through.
Or that I haven’t spoken to her in years because shame is a terrible monster she can’t overcome.
But I cling to a ribbon of hope that a day will come when she’s back in my life.
We sit staring at the stars for another thirty or so minutes, conversation winding around a little of everything. I notice that when I talk, he listens with a kind of rapt attention I’ve rarely felt the glow of.
But after several stifled yawns, Liam offers to take me home.
He doesn’t go nearly as fast as earlier, but I still have to yell directions over the drone of the engine.
We arrive at the end of Penny’s driveway and he lets the bike idle, head cocking to the left, a puzzled expression crossing his face.
“You know Penny?”
I glance at Penny’s craftsman bungalow and then back to him. “Yep. My brother Austin is dating her.”
“I’ll be damned,” he says under his breath.
I climb from his bike, and move to head up the driveway when Liam calls after me.
“I didn’t get your number.” His voice stops me in my tracks and I turn back to him. “If we plan on tackling that list together, seems like something I’ll need.”
Liam unlocks his phone and scrolls to his contact, handing it over to me. I tap out my number, and he takes the phone. Seconds later my own phone vibrates with a text.
Unknown
Your new favorite person.
I immediately make this his contact name, slip my phone in my pocket and look up. Liam grins like the Cheshire cat, and I’m Alice who just got dropped down the rabbit hole. I turn on my heel and head up the drive, unable to stop smiling the whole way.
My new life awaits.