The Lost and Found by E. L. Irwin

Billy.” I hoped she’d drop it.
    “Your voice changed when you said his name.”
    “No, it didn’t.”
    “And now you’re defensive about it.”
    “No, I’m not.”
    “That’s fine. You don’t have to tell me about him yet. I can wait until you’re ready to talk about Josiah.”
    I gritted my teeth and rolled my eyes. Thankfully the school bell rang and it gave me the excuse I needed to get going. “Hey, The Kid’s out, so I gotta get going. Talk to you later.”
    “Later.”
    I hung up quickly before she could decide to ask me again about Josiah. I’d have to be on my guard for a while, be careful not to slip any more. Agitated, I got out of the truck and stood next to the open door, my eyes trained on the doors of the school, watching for Ethan to come out.
    On the drive home he told me all about his day, his teachers, the classes, the drama. I laughed a little as he relayed those details. Some things never changed, I reflected. The names were different, but the drama remained the same.
     

     
    Josiah
     
    JOSIAH WATCHED HER, NOTING the way Crimson moved. She was getting stronger. Her eyes were warming, like melted honey. Her skin was glowing again. He could see she was still in pain, holding it deep within, but she wasn’t drowning in it any longer.
    Today she wore a black tank and worn blue jeans. He watched her shoulders flex and move as she pulled the rake through the corral dirt. He had a strong desire to taste and touch those shoulders. See if her skin was as soft as it looked.
    They were cleaning river rock out of the soil so the horses wouldn’t be injured when being ridden. He’d taken a wheelbarrow full of rock out behind the barn where they dumped it, and as he got closer to her, he couldn’t help the heat that flared inside when he saw her.
    Even covered in sweat and dirt, Crimson was beautiful. Nothing, it seemed, could dim her beauty. He was so proud of her, of how far she‘d come in the last few weeks. From that first day, when she’d made the decision to live, he’d watched as she’d gone from zombie, to living and breathing, and now she was blooming, opening like some rare flower. Josiah took pride in the knowledge that he’d had a part in her progress; he’d been instrumental in her breakthrough. There was still so much more that she was in need of. Her shoulders, those lovely shoulders, were still heavy with the burden of her pain.
    Josiah could only imagine the extent of it. He knew pain, was very familiar with it. He knew betrayal and he knew fear. But he also knew that each person responded to that kind of pain in his own way — that Crimson would have to find the courage to face and defeat hers all on her own. He’d gladly take it from her, but Crimson would have to offer it first.
    He thought back to the day she woke up, when she’d suddenly appeared at his side, after he’d dumped her in the pond. He’d decided then to keep his mouth shut, not wanting to spook her. Not when she’d just made the decision to return to life. He remembered thinking she was little, so tiny compared to him. Too tiny for the work she was attempting. Yet, she had worked hard. She’d worked out her anger and fear that day, never saying a word to him, just worked alongside him, sweated and strained. Josiah had been so proud of her, but he’d kept his smile hidden, that pride hidden.
    Josiah recalled the bitter, tangy scent of the alcohol on her when he’d lifted and carried her out to the pond. It was a familiar scent he’d never thought to find here at the L&F. It brought back memories he’d preferred dead and buried. He thought maybe he’d made a mistake, but then he’d caught a mild trace of it again later that day as she’d sweated beside him. He’d intended to question her, but Crimson had already moved on toward the house and he didn’t have the heart to call her back. She’d been darn near exhaustion that first day, and he knew she needed to rest. He’d have to wait and