I blinked. “Scion cuts? Like, in tree grafting?”
Izzy nodded. “They don’t just help the scion survive. Both the rootstock and the plant cutting join together and become something new.” She shifted to face me more fully as she put a hand on her hip. “Love is like that too. You don’t pay it back. It transforms everyone it touches, so that rootstock and graft can grow into something better than before.”
I let out a breath, words spoken long ago whispering softly in my ear.Home is a thing that grows.“You know, Eva said something like that to me once.”
“’Bout time you listen, then, isn’t it?” Izzy cocked her head toward the door. “Let’s go. I have a bag of crinkle-cut fries with my name on it.”
It was a short walk back to the truck. To my surprise, instead of turning onto the road that would lead up to the Moreau farm, Izzy pulled up to the neighboring Walker farmhouse. When she put on the brakes, I turned to her with a frown. “What are we doing here?”
“Dane’s got enough spare rooms for us all,” she said. “And don’t worry. We’ll figure out what happens next, you know, with the wholebreaking out of jailthing. He wants to help.”
I didn’t relish that conversation, but her response hadn’t exactly answered my question.
“But… why aren’t we staying at the cottage?”
“Oh!” Izzy cut in. “You don’t know!”
“Know what?”
She bit her lip as she extricated herself from the vehicle, a brown paper sack full of our food tucked under her arm. “So much has happened,” she murmured, her heels clicking over the pavement. She tried to use her hip to nudge the front door open. “The cottage isn’t… Well, this is a little hard to explain.”
I followed, grabbing the door and widening it for her. The two of us slipped inside. I blinked, struck by the sudden rush of AC. “The cottage isn’t what?”
“Well.” She set down the bags. “It’s not exactly there anymore.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, frowning.
“Do you think Dad and Eva would be upset if we ate without them?” Izzy tossed a fry into her mouth. “I can’t imagine they’re far behind us, but it feels like a sin to let these get cold.”
“Isobel,” I begged.
I’d never said her full name before. I hadn’t thought it would feel natural, but in my frustration it had rolled off my tongue, and to my surprise, it fit.
She sighed. “Come on. I’ll show you.”
Chapter 41
Isobel
Isobel watched Arthur take in the cottage’s ruined state with an ache in her chest. The house, at least, had finally stopped sinking, the front door half buried in moss and soil. They could walk onto the roof if they wanted, though doing so seemed ill-advised.
The smokeless chimney was a lonely beacon.
Isobel could tell by the stiff way Arthur walked that his side was still aching, though he didn’t say so. He never was one to complain.
“You okay?” she asked.
“It’s all gone,” he whispered, a ragged, broken sound that cracked something right in the center of Isobel’s chest.
“Not gone completely,” she said, thinking back to what Dr. Rosen had said about her father. “Just… different. But different can be good.” All of their possessions were buried beneath a thick layer of overturned soil, yes, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t rebuild. Hell, maybe Dane could urge the judge to slap Arthur and Eva with nothing more than a bit of community service, and they could all dig out the past together.
Isobel knew that in the coming days the grief of losing this place would catch up with her, but right now all she felt was aweight being lifted off her chest. She and Dane would need to sit down and talk, once everything calmed down. She wasn’t sure how that conversation would go. Maybe he would sever things between them. She had, after all, spent the last eight years lying about what she remembered from that night, afraid of exposing Eva’s involvement. Maybe her full confession had come too late.
But for the first time, Isobel felt peace. It had been the right thing, telling him. Maybe it had been the right thing a long time ago, but that didn’t dilute her relief at finally having done it.
“How…” Arthur said, a vulnerable sound pushing past his lips. It made him sound younger. “How did this happen?”
“I’m not really sure,” Isobel admitted, sidling up next to him. “The earth just opened up and… swallowed it.” She let out a rueful laugh, hearing the words spoken aloud. “That probably sounds ridiculous.”
