Miles behind them, seated in the shadowed rear corner of the same aircraft, dressed in a low-profile coat and a dark cap, Jason watched them board. He didn't approach. He didn't try to sit near her. He sat in silence, his chest tight with a bitter, heavy ache, watching over the back of her head like a silent, broken guardian angel. He hated himself for being unable to walk up to her, hold her, and wipe away her tears, but he knew that if he stepped into her line of sight, her grief would turn straight back into rage.

The commercial airliner touched down in the misty, rolling hills of...