I give her time to come to the correct conclusion, to release her guilt and then reform her opinion. My Taran is as intelligent as they come, but sometimes her passion gets in the way of her logic. I trust that she'll find her own truth and that it'll be the optimistic, shining opposite of mine.

She finds me in the bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed, looking over some reports. Her face is pale and drawn, and though she isn't crying there are tear marks down her cheeks. My ...