“Mine,” I bark.
“Ryder, I’m married!”
I lead the way through the first floor of the barn, and Sana grumbles to herself as she follows me, no doubt having trouble seeing in the dim light.
And as we get closer to the other side, I hear footsteps coming down the stairs. Voices talking easily and light laughter.
As we step out onto the grass, I see Eve and Luke coming down from the second floor.
“Oh, I was just going to walk Luke back to his truck,” Eve says, gesturing toward the road.
“Don’t worry about it,” he says, waving her off. “I think I can find my way back.” He nods as he heads in that direction. “Thanks again for letting me work on this project. Truly a one-of-a-kind job.”
“Oh no, thankyou,” she says easily, waving as he goes.
But when she turns back to me, her eyes don’t quite meet mine. She stares out far beyond me, and I can’t be sure, but think I detect a nervous energy flowing through her. That same energy that took hold of her that first day we kissed in the sunflowers. And again when my grandmother caught us together on her porch.
“Well, I need to check on some tea I’m sending over toTabby today. Just want to make sure no moisture got into the packaging,” she says, quickly stepping around us and heading off toward the bungalow. She walks fast, her arms crossed over her chest and her hair flying out behind her as she moves.
Sana purses her lips. “That was odd.”
“Yeah, my thoughts exactly,” I say.
“Should you…?” Sana starts, gesturing to where Evie disappeared.
I let out a long sigh. “Probably. But do you have those documents I need to sign? Might as well get that over with so I’m not holding you up.”
She nods, leading the way up the stairs and into the barn.
Rohan is seated in one of the armchairs by the water wheel outlet, a book spread open between his thumb and forefinger that he closes when he sees us, standing to give Sana a kiss on the cheek and nodding quickly to me.
“Just getting a signature,” Sana explains, gathering the papers off the coffee table and arranging them into a neat pile.
And as she does so, I get a sudden flash of understanding.
Evie’s inability to meet my eye. Her hasty retreat back to her house.
She was standing right here, likely relishing the excitement that pulses through her veins whenever she shows someone the water wheel outlet, when her eyes fell to the papers scattered in front of her.
Sana hands the stack to me, pointing out the Post-it notes where I’ll need to sign.
And I can’t say anything other than, “Fuck.”
She raises her eyebrows. “You okay?”
I turn to Rohan. “Evie was just in here, right? Did she see these papers?”
Sana’s eyes go wide. “She doesn’t know?”
Rohan shrugs. “She was standing right where you are. Couldn’t tell you if she saw.” He opens his mouth like he’s going to say something else but thinks better of it.
“What are you not telling me?” I prompt.
He shrugs, his eyes finding Sana’s. “I might have suggested that you have some very strong feelings for her, and she seemed like she didn’t quite know how to take that.” He lets out a long breath. “Look, I’m sorry. I thought you guys had a good thing going. I thought she would take it like a compliment, you know? She was so excited to show your guy the outlet and it just seemed like a way to add to that. But she just kind of… froze.”
I wave him off, unsure how to take this information. On the one hand, Eve is prone to running away when things become too much. On the other hand, it makes me nervous to think thatI’mtoo much. “No need to apologize. She does that sometimes.” I turn to Sana, holding the papers between us. “Can I take these and get them back to you later?”
She nods, gesturing for me to leave. “We’ll be here. Go.” As I pull the door shut behind me, she shouts over her shoulder, “And next time don’t keep things from her like a dumbass!”
