His bear made a low, unhappy sound.What if she runs? What if we come back tomorrow and they’re gone?
The thought hit so hard it nearly stopped him where he stood. But he forced himself to keep walking, to climb into the truck, to start the engine.
She wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye,he told his bear, trying to convince them both.Not after this. Not after everything.
But as he drove away, with the cottage growing smaller in his rearview mirror, Leo could not shake the dread sitting hard beneath his ribs.
Just hours ago, she had stood beside him at the market, sunlight in her hair, helping him arrange tomatoes as if she had every right to be there. He had let himself believe that meant something solid. Something lasting. Now he could not tell whether that had been the beginning of their life together, or the beginning of the end.
He had given her what she asked for.
Now he had to live with not knowing whether he had just given her room to stay or room to leave.
Chapter Twenty-One – Estelle
Is this crazy?Estelle asked her dragon as she drove out of Bear Creek.
No,her dragon replied.We’re doing what we need to do to keep Adara safe.
But will this actually make her safer?Estelle asked. She had been so certain when she left the cottage.
Now, with the road stretching ahead of her and Bear Creek shrinking in the mirror, certainty felt harder to hold.
I don’t know,her dragon admitted.But we have to try.
“It feels wrong to leave without saying goodbye,” she whispered. “Leo deserves better than that.”
But this is not about Leo,her dragon reminded her.
Isn’t it?Estelle asked.Isn’t he part of this now? Because he’s part of us.
We have to set those thoughts aside,her dragon said.Because this is about ending it. Once and for all.
She glanced at her GPS. Ten more minutes and she would be there.
What if she won’t listen?her dragon asked.What if this makes everything worse?
Then at least I tried something different,Estelle said.
Her dragon went quiet after that, but Estelle could feel her there, close and taut and ready.
The café sat at the edge of town, quiet enough for what Estelle had in mind. She parked and sat for a moment, forcing herself to stay still.
If you tell her what we are and she still cannot accept it...
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,Estelle said.
Her dragon sighed.Let’s do this.
Estelle got out of the car and crossed to the café. The bell above the door jingled softly as she stepped inside.
Margaret was already there, seated at a corner table with her back to the wall. She looked older than Estelle remembered her. Her hair seemed whiter, the lines around her mouth deeper. Both hands were wrapped tightly around a coffee mug.
Their eyes met, and for a moment neither of them moved.
She’s afraid, too,her dragon realized.
The thought was so unexpected that Estelle almost stopped. But she made herself keep walking until she reached the table.
