“I’m serious.”
He exhales hard, frustration bleeding into his posture. “Do you know how rare this is? Most artists disappear and the world moves on. You? They’ve been waiting.”
“I didn’t ask them to.”
“No, you didn’t.” His eyes narrow slightly. “What happened?”
I glance around at the land, seeing it with a different set of eyes than Mason.
“I started living again,” I say.
He follows my gaze. “Because of this place?”
“Yes.”
“And?” he pushes.
I hesitate for a moment before responding, “And someone in it.”
His eyebrows lift slightly. “There’s someone.”
“Yeah.”
He glances back at the house. “Does she know?”
“Know what?”
“Who you are.”
“You mean a drunk and a widower? Yeah… she knows who I am.”
He shakes his head slowly. “No, East. I meanwhoyou are.”
“You mean who Iusedto be,” I correct him. “But no… she doesn’t.”
“And what happens when it catches up to you?”
I don’t have an answer for that.
The rhythmic clop of hooves carries from the pasture, and my chest tightens.Teagan.
“That her?” Mason asks, watching her gallop across the pasture.
“Yeah.”
“Then I should probably go.” He slips his sunglasses on and traverses the porch steps before walking back to his ridiculous rental car. “And you should probably tell her.”
“There’s nothing to tell.”
“Call me,” he says over his shoulder, pulling open the car door. “Or don’t. But don’t fall off the map again.”
“I won’t.”
“It’s good to see you,” he adds as he climbs into the car.
“You, too.”
He shuts the door, and the engine purrs to life. The car reverses carefully, then turns down the long drive, dust rising behind it as it retreats toward the main road.
