rubbed her arm. The bruises had faded years ago but the wound Ross had inflicted on her heart still hurt.
The theme, A Night to Remember, had fit as perfectly as the tiara placed on Anna’s head when she was crowned queen. But, like so many other moments in her past, that night had become one more thing she wanted to forget.
At least in high school, her wishes and dreams had centered around the plans she and Ross had made for Friday night or on the dress she’d picked out for an upcoming dance. Anna had poured out her heart in a journal similar to the ones Rene Shapiro had handed out to the Sunflowers. Protected her secrets with the turn of a key that fit into a tiny gold lock.
She wasn’t willing to take the chance that Liam—or anyone else for that matter—would see the one she kept locked inside her heart.
“Oh, look at that bird over there! Isn’t it cute?”
The bottom of Anna’s canoe scraped against a rock, warning her that the canoe had drifted into the shallow water. Fortunately, no one seemed to notice she’d broken rule number six—Pay Attention to Your Surroundings—because their attention was focused on the shoreline.
“It’s a kingfisher,” Liam said. “You can tell by the crested head and the color of his feathers.”
“He’s making a funny noise.” Cassie stopped paddling and Anna could read her mind.
Time for another photo session.
“He’s talking to his friends farther down the river.” Liam was already reaching for the camera.
“What’s he saying?”
“He’s saying...” Liam tipped his head to one side and pretended to listen. “Look at those people over there! Aren’t they cute?”
Cassie and Chloe giggled, but it was the grin on Liam’s face that sent Anna’s heart rocking back and forth like a raft caught in a swell.
“It just went under the water!” Chloe exclaimed.
“He’s looking for his lunch,” Liam said as the bird disappeared underneath the water.
“Lunch.” Cassie sounded a little envious.
Her comment reminded Anna they’d been on the river for well over an hour and her daughters hadn’t complained a bit about boredom, achy muscles or empty stomachs.
Liam must have realized it had been a while since breakfast, too.
“Is anyone getting hungry?”
“I am!”
“Me, too!”
Liam looked at Anna, and whatever he saw in her eyes seemed to cast the deciding vote.
“Okay, then.” He dipped his paddle in the water. “Next stop—Eagle Rock.”
Anna had noticed the spot marked on Sunni’s map, but until they paddled around a small, tree-lined peninsula jutting out from the shoreline, she hadn’t realized Eagle Rock was a...rock.
More like a small cliff, from what Anna could see. It jutted over the river, shading a wide stretch of beach like a sandstone canopy.
As they neared the shoreline, Anna spotted a ring of stones and the blackened remains of a campfire, evidence that Eagle Rock was a frequent stop for paddlers.
Liam, a few lengths ahead of her and Chloe, reached the shoreline first. He hopped out of the canoe, reached for Cassie and deposited her on dry land.
“Are we going to have a campfire on the beach?” Cassie asked hopefully.
“We could...” A smile kindled in Liam’s eyes. “But the view is better at the top of the rock.”
He didn’t mean...
Anna squinted up at Eagle Rock. She couldn’t even see a way to get to the top.
Before she could suggest they stay on the beach, Cassie and Chloe bumped their fists together and broke into an exuberant little dance right there on the sand.
“Can you take our picture, Mom? When Ms. Shapiro sees how high we climbed, maybe we’ll get our Be Strong and Courageous pin, too!” Cassie said.
“We don’t know that verse yet,” Chloe reminded her sister.
“I do! It’s in Joshua. ‘Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be...’” Cassie paused, her brow furrowing as she searched her memory for the rest of the words.
“‘Do not be afraid,’” Liam quoted softly. “‘Do not be discouraged. For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.’”
“You have to memorize verses, too?”
Cassie’s open astonishment brought a smile to Liam’s face again.
“I don’t have to,” he said. “But if you know what the Bible says, the verses are... They’re kind of like the signposts on the map we gave you. They keep you going in the right direction. And if you do get lost...well, they can help you find your way back, too.”
Now it was Anna’s turn to stare.
Because she hadn’t really expected Liam to know the verse? Or because the undercurrent of quiet confidence flowing through the words told Anna they were stored in his head and his heart?
“I’d be scared if I got lost,” Chloe confessed in a whisper. “’Cause the bears might find me.”
“I’m not a fan of bears, either.” Liam shot Anna a sideways glance. “Unlike your mom, who chased one off the high school football field once.”
“A real bear?” Chloe clutched Cassie’s arm for support.
Anna had forgotten all about that. And she wasn’t sure how she felt about Liam bringing it up now.
“It was a very small one,” she muttered. “Not much bigger than a cub.”
“But still...you chased it.” Cassie looked impressed.
“Chased it away.” Anna shot a look at Liam. “When I screamed.”
“She shook her pom-poms at it, too.” Liam obviously remembered more about the event than she did. “The other cheerleaders ran inside the school, but your mom stood her ground. Pretty ‘strong and courageous,’ if you ask me.”
Strong? Courageous?
For a moment, Anna wanted to cling to the words even though the girl Liam had just described was long gone.
And the admiration Anna was startled to see in Liam’s eyes would be gone, too, if he knew the truth.
When it really mattered, she hadn’t been either one of those things.
* * *
“Mom was a cheerleader?”
