Strangers to Me

"I wish I could tell you about them, but not even I know them," Nedra said quietly. "Selah was here though for several years. I hid her on the island, because I couldn't send her out alone. But I was worried about her every minute of every day. I would get comfortable and complacent, allowing myself to imagine that we could remain like that—just her and I, in our own private little world here."

"She was here? For how long?" he asked, his voice turning gruff. He could have known her—she was here on this island! But Nedra had kept her a secret even then?

Nedra didn't respond, just glanced up at him guiltily.

"That was when you started keeping me away," he nodded, understanding.

"No," she shook her head, denying it. "It was before that. When I was pregnant with her."

"Then…" his eyebrows pinched together. When had Sage been conceived?