“About our—finding each other being fate.” Laird didn’t answer, leaving her to ask if she’d really expected him to. While “talking” to him, she’d left the relative security of her car and walked to the edge of the Everglades. The vegetation’s hold on her emotions felt almost as strong as Laird’s hold did. Focused as she was on why she’d come here, she barely hesitated before pushing aside tall grass and branches and stepping into the rich-smelling growth. The Everglades’ lushness infused her with strength. At the same time she feared it. “What do you mean, fate?” she repeated. The skin at the back of her neck felt crawly and speaking came hard. Only birds and insects responded. She heard highway sounds behind her, but this dense world, whether she was ready for it or not, had become her existence. “You’re making me crazy, you know.” She tried a conversational tone. “If I had half the sense of a goat, I’d be on a shrink’s couch right now.
