Healing Haven - Book 2 in Haven Series [Complete]

32| Goodbye is never easy

**Please note I made slight changes to the ending of the previous chapter, so if you have read 'Karma' already, you may want to go back and skim over the slight adjustments to the last few paragraphs. After reading all of the amazing comments, I inserted a bit more to flesh out the conversation and Jerry's character.**

Exhaling heavily, Alyssa slumped back. Holy shit. Holy shit! Holy...shit...

A laugh trickled out of Alyssa but she smothered it behind her hand. "Sorry." Like hell she was sorry. Randy had loomed over her family like an ominous shadow of the boogeyman. He was a constant chill on her skin that made her leap and look around for ghosts in the shadows. She could only imagine how much worse that had been for her sister. And now he was gone.

Gone.

"There's one more thing," Jerry said, tapping restless fingers against the table, his gaze skimmed over to Eva as his knee bounced under the table. "The Feds want ya's to come out with me for an on-air interview. Something to help clean up the mess from the last year."

"Why the hell should she?" Marshall snapped. "Eva's been through enough."

"Don't shoot the messenger." Jerry pushed back in his seat, stuck up his hands in defense. "I'm just sayin' the Feds asked me to make the request is all. But think about it, Kiddo. This could bury the entire mess for all of us."

"He's right; you need to go, Eva." Alyssa spoke up, casting her gaze from Eva to Marshall. "For closure. Both of you."

Marshall rolled his eyes. "I don't think—"

Alyssa silenced him with a swipe of her hand. "It's the only way to stop the flood of reporters from swarming to Haven again, camping out on your doorstep. Meet them on open ground, Eva, answer their questions and this will all go away—quickly. That's what you want, right?"

As the weight of Alyssa's words settled around them, Marshall grudgingly nodded his agreement. "Fuck, she's got a point, babe." Stroking a hand over Eva's shoulders, he looked to the woman he loved. "What do you want to do? Whatever you decide, I'm with you on this."

Eva settled under his touch, her body drawn to him and seeing it made Alyssa's heart expand and contract all at once. They loved each other so completely, so fully, it was breathtaking her see.

"How long would we be away?"

"Day or two at most." Jerry jerked a shoulder. "There'll be a press conference tonight, and an interview tomorrow morning. Nothin' crazy-like."

Eva nodded slowly as she processed. "Who'd be interviewing me?"

"Miz Clear from CTV is comin' to handle the coverage."

Marshall's lips set into a thin line. "Of course she is."

[Alyssa processes the name – and sums up the back story for clarification.] "Can't we request someone else?"

"She's the face of big news. The Feds want her."

"I can handle Catherine," Eva said, her voice stony. "If I do this then I don't want to take the girls with me. Hailey only just stopped having nightmares a month ago and Payton's finally talking more...I can't have this all dragged back to the surface."

"When's Nate bringing them home?" Alyssa asked, swinging her sister's attention around to her.

"Tomorrow afternoon," Marshall answered, his hand stroking circles across Eva's back. "I'm sure we can ask him to hold them for another day, babe."

"No, I'll look after them."

"Are you sure you're up for that, Lys?"

"It's my last chance to have some alone time with them before I head back on Tuesday. It'll be fun."