A car engine rumbled up the long, dusty drive. I imagined Sarah was back. I got down from the hammock to help her with the groceries, but froze when I saw it wasn’t a red Mini that had pulled up but a gleaming navypickup.
Was her fathervisiting?
When the driver got out and slapped the door shut, the daisy tumbled from myfingers.
In spite of the sunset burning behind the man, darkening his body, there was no mistaking myvisitor.
I supposed I would recognize August in the darkest of nights, his shape as familiar to me as myown.
He eyed me a long moment before opening the backseat of his new car and lifting a duffel bag. “You can run, but you can’t hide, Ness Clark. Not from me,” he said, his back still tome.
Words stuck in my throat as he turned. I wanted to ask him how he’d found me, but did it matter? I dropped my gaze to the bag clutched in his fingers, then looked at the road, wondering if my friend’s car was about to make anappearance.
“Sarah will be back in the morning,” he said, reading my thoughts. “Unless you were looking at that road to assess how fast you could getaway.”
I snapped my attention back tohim.
“We need to talk, so don’t run. Iwillchase you, but I’d rather not have to do it after the last three days I’vehad.”
As he drew the door of the house open, I finally found my voice, “You said that if I broke your heart again, you’d stay away fromme.”
He paused on the threshold. “Apparently, Ican’t.”
I winced when the door banged shut behindhim.
I didn’t goinside rightaway.
I let himsettle.
I let his angersettle.
Even though nothing tied me to him, I could sense his irritability seeping through the grayed plank walls of thecabin.
Pulling down the sleeves of my red silk bomber jacket, I waited for the sun to dip completely and lacquer the woods in darkness before heading inside. The air held a chill that made goose bumps spring across my skin. Granted I was only wearing a bikini under the jacket, having spent most of my afternoon drifting around the infinity pool on an inflatable pizza slice, trying to make sense of my life, of what I wanted to do with it now that I had itback.
A single lightbulb burned in the loft-style living area—the copper pendant over the granite dining table. August was bent in front of the fireplace, coaxing a fire to life. He didn’t acknowledge me when I came in. Didn’t glance over his shoulder as I took a seat on the couch behindhim.
He poked the blackening logs. “When you disappeared with Sarah, I told myself you’d left because I couldn’t give you what you needed, but then, whenno onewould tell me where you’d gone, I realized you’d left to get away from me.” He finally straightened and turned around. “What did I do to make yourun?”
“You didn’t do anything.” Slipping my hands between my knees, I tucked my chin into my neck, hoping the barrage of hair blocked the sight of me. “I left so you could get your lifeback.”
“My life back?” His voice was so shrill it made me lookup.
“You don’t need to take care of me, okay? Nothing binds usanymore.”
His green eyesflared.
“Ingrid—”
“I don’t want Ingrid,Ness!”
I recoiled from the harshness of hisvoice.
“I’m sorry.” He spoke quietly thistime.
Heat snaked under my lids, blurred the cracklingfire.
He came to stand right in front of me. “Thank you for giving me a choice. I didn’t realize that was yourintention.”
