Every Last Breath - Jessica Gaffney Page 0,2

was the end of it. Someday she would have to tell Claire the whole truth.

“How are you sleeping? I haven’t had any irrational phone calls at 3am.”

“I’m sorry about that. I am getting better at how I handle them.”

“Vala still coming in to keep you safe?”

“Yes.”

Maggie could talk all day about Vala, but she didn’t. She was not their pet and she needed to remember that.

“A young girl came into the shelter this week. None of the advocates have been able to reach her. Do you think you are ready?”

Maggie froze. She was absolutely not ready. She may never be.

Claire studied her. “Will you at least think about it?”

“There’s nothing to think about. I can’t move ahead if I look back.”

“Move on?” Claire reached across the table. “Maggie the only way you can move on is not by running but by helping someone else.”

She cupped her hand over face and looked for Eli. She watched at the energetic boy climbed through the tunnels, laughing and playing with other kids. “Does she have kids?”

“Three.”

She told herself she’d think about it.

Eli followed his mother into the post office. “Momma, why do we get our mail here, instead of at the house?”

“I like this better. It’s warm in here and the box doesn’t fill up as fast.”

Eli was a curious kindergartener. He questioned everything, which is a double edged sword.

Maggie sorted through the junk mail. She handed Eli a pile of advertisements, catalogs and credit card offers, most of them addressed to the boxes previous recipient. She peeked at the manila envelope with her name and address written out in longhand. The return post mark was from her attorney. In her opinion, big envelopes were never good news. She stuffed the mail in her purse and shut the box. Hopefully she’d make time to go through the pile later.

Eli tossed his book bag in his bedroom and ran toward the TV. “Mom, can I watch my show?”

“First, come walk Vala with me and then we can turn on the TV.”

Eli bobbled across the kitchen as he retrieved her leash. They had a collection of four but the red one was his favorite. Maggie always laughed when he dragged his stuffed animals around the house with the same leash. She wished she could post a picture of it online, like a normal parent, but that was not an option.

Vala got up from her bed and walked to Eli. She knew the drill. He clipped on her lead and headed into the garage. Maggie smiled, the dog never pulled Eli or attempted to runoff. She was a protector; their protector. Maggie opened the garage door even though they had just shut it. She learned two things living in the mountains: one, wild animals wandered wherever they wanted, including garages and homes and two, it was best to close the door as soon as you could to keep the wildlife away from the garbage and the smell of fresh cooked food. All of the neighbors who grilled kept the barbeque on the second floor deck rather than ground level. She understood why when she saw bear prints by her front door. Eli rounded the corner of the house which sloped downhill. She smiled as he trekked past the towering mound of firewood, “We got wood mom,” he hollered.

The Cord piled up over her head. She counted the logs to make sure they hadn’t short changed her. It is known that mechanics were known to hike up the price on females, well in Colorado it was no different they just tried it with oil, wood and hunting gear.

A sense of pride washed over Maggie as she watched her boy and his dog. She had moved on and built a safe place for she and Eli. She needed to be proud of that, even if it was the only thing she had.

Maggie stayed at the top of the hill while Vala walked around. She gave Eli some space, knowing it built his self-esteem, something that was hard to do without a father. The older he got, the less she would be able to say that. Jack however, was never a father at all.

CHAPTER 2

Eli had been sleeping for hours when Maggie closed her book and shut off the light. She let her head sink deep into the feather pillow. She kept her eyes closed, not wanting to deal with the normal routine of falling asleep.

Then there was the issue of the door. She wanted it open enough to