Beautifully Broken Life (Sutter Lake #2)

by Catherine Cowles

Name five things you can see, Tessa. Just five things. I searched around me. My lips formed silent words. Grass. Fence. Dumpster. Stone. Car. I let out a slow breath. Name five things you can smell. Tea. Cinnamon. Chocolate. Pine trees. Trash. I inhaled slowly. Name five things you can touch. Jeans. Wall. Air. Steps. Grass.

To see if Sarah had any photos. To ask her to recount every memory she had of Anne in as much detail as possible. Because Anne was my mother.

A surprised laugh erupted from Tessa. The sound was everything music should be. I knew in that moment I’d work my ass off to capture it in a song and make my inspiration repeat the noise as much as possible.

But I was damaged goods. I’d probably never be free of the hold my paranoia had on me. Normal would never be within my reach.

She might not recognize it, but there was a whole slew of people on her team now, and I planned on being the fucking team captain.

“To file a restraining order, you need to report where you live. That means he would know where I live. If he knows where to find me, I’m as good as dead.”

I needed to build a retreat. A true home. Tessa’s face flashed in my mind. I wondered what she’d want in a house. An art studio for sure. Maybe space for her own horses? I shook my head. I was losing it. It might help to have the girl agree to a date before you start building a house with her in mind.

“You’ll find your voice again. And I can’t wait to hear what you have to say.”

“Never apologize for sharing yourself with me. Hard things you’ve been through, amazing things you’ve experienced…I want to know everything. I want it all. Every last piece of you.”

“Sometimes, it takes life breaking apart for it to get you where you’re truly meant to be.”