Finding Eden (Acadia Duology, #2)

by Mia Sheridan

My mom walked through the patio doors a few minutes after we’d wiped our final tears away. “Good morning, girls,” she singsonged. She was fully dressed, coiffed, and looking like she’d been awake for hours. She came over and kissed me on my cheek, bringing her face close to mine and gazing at me with a smile on her face for a good ten seconds. Her powdery, floral scent wafted all around me. I couldn’t help but smile back at her, my mood lifting just a little more. “What?” I asked. “You!” she said, pinching my cheek. “You bring joy to my day. And you’re so gorgeous, even with bedhead.” She grinned.

Unbelievably, small groups the news dubbed “Hectorites” popped up around the country, people who tried to mimic the religion and society Hector had created. I was at a loss with that one. Humanity astounded me sometimes.

Calder bought me romance novels and put them up on my bedside table in towering piles. I laughed, and eventually, I read each one of them. He said it was one of the best investments he’d ever made.

My husband planted a small morning glory bush at the edge of our garden, and when it bloomed, he’d leave flowers for me in places I didn’t expect. I always had one in water on my windowsill and it brought me joy. And I slipped butterscotch candies into his pockets and under his pillow and smiled when I kissed him and tasted the buttery sweetness on his lips.

And as I stood there with my family, I realized, in the end, it was the beauty that had taken over. It was the beauty we looked upon. And when we walked away from Acadia that day, it was the beauty that we attached to our hearts.