Chapter 23

A year later, a plane touched down in Jormoose City. A lean woman with short hair and tanned skin walked out of the terminal. There was a lift in her step and a bright steadiness in her eyes. It was Maya. Her one-year contract with Doctors Without Borders had finished, and she was home. A short distance behind, Cole and Carter emerged as well. They looked different than they had a year ago. After seeing so much life and death and serving something bigger than themselves, they had found a kind of direction. What hadn't changed was the way they felt about Maya. For a whole year, she had treated them like strangers, cooler than she was with coworkers. Yet, the more they watched her, the more they respected her, and the deeper they fell. All through that year, the Hale family urged them over and over to return home, but they still insisted on staying by her side, holding on to a hopeless love. Maya checked into a hotel first, then went straight to Belinda's grave. She brought flow