All the best memories of him are tangled up with her.
But I’m not some softy who gets taken by a woman and played for a fool.
There’s a knock at the door. “Come in!”
Pane enters and grabs a hard hat from a shelf. “Hey.”
“Hey. You ready to walk the site?”
“Let’s do it.”
I push up from behind the desk and head out with him. Hercules is still with me. Even though he reminds me of her, I can’t get rid of the lambicorn.
He’s only a baby, and I’m not a monster.
Pane says good morning to the guys as we pass them. All I can offer is a nod in greeting. This isn’t a good morning. I don’t see myself experiencing a “good” morning for the next hundred years.
Not without Coco.
Not without my sun.
Stop it, Stone. She lied to you.Repeatedly.Even when she had the chance to tell the truth, she still lied—happily, so that she could save her town and apparently her own ass.
Those two things were always more important to her than I was. And that’s what hurts most of all. I gave her every part of me, and all she wanted was her town.
I don’t miss her. In fact, I’m better off without her. I was fine before her, and I’ll be fine again. Maybe. At least that’s what I tell myself over and over until it’s almost believable.
Much as I’ve tried repeatedly to push these thoughts away, they continue to creep in.
“The build’s going great,” Pane says. When I don’t answer, he sighs. “You okay?”
“Fine,” I reply curtly.
I’m such a liar. The ley lines thrum happily. Well, maybe not happily, but they’re pulsing and alive thanks to the changes we made to the resort.
“I was worried when I first heard about the materials shift, but this looks good. It’s strong.”
“How’s Rhett?”
“He still not talking to you?”
I grunt.
“He’ll get over it.” Pane kneels and runs his palm over the limecrete. “This is perfect. Not one crack. It’s hard to find that. Well done. Looks like the materials switch was worth it. Otherwise, if you’d kept using the other stuff and this town lost its magic, we’d be screwed. No tourists, no need for the resort.”
I rub the back of my neck. “Yeah, I guess.”
“You should congratulate yourself.” He rises and slips his hands in his pockets. “Mom called me.”
My mom. Pane explained that whole clusterfuck to me, too.“Yeah?”
He nods. “Yeah. She’s sorry. I think she really wants to try.”
“Good luck to her.” I’m too raw to even consider talking to anyone about emotions or feelings or their long-lost cousin who’s been living in a swamp.
Hercules runs past, kicking up his hind legs with glee. Glad someone’s happy.
He munches on grass that sprouts on top of the ley lines, and when he turns around, his horn is glowing this weird iridescent purple. It reminds me of the color of that flower Coco picked in the meadow during the full moon.
