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I didn’t know this side of Juliet exists, but can’t say I mind it.

Securing the truck, we leave it behind and head down the dark road. “Sorry about this,” I say again. “I wasn’t a boy scout, so I’ve never been one to be prepared.”

“Don’t worry about it. It feels good to stretch my legs. Anyway, this’ll make the evening longer.”

“Is that a good thing?”

She smiles up at me. “I’d say so.”

I tuck my hands into my coat pocket. My fingers aren’t cold, but they’re itching to reach for Juliet’s swinging hands right beside me.

I don’t think there’s such a thing as business-hand-holding either.

“You’re probably wondering what that was back there,” Juliet says. “I’m not usually a blubbering mess. That movie just...brought up some things.”

The movie. Of course. A single dad, his only daughter, a mother who died. Yet another example of my idiocy tonight. “Sorry. I should’ve thought.”

“How were you supposed to know a kid movie about animated vampires starring Adam Sandler would cause me to become emotionally compromised?” she jokes. “I’ve been under a lot of stress, and I think the similarities just tipped me over the edge. And the whole fact that things are changing.”

I should’ve guessed that, too.

“It’s inevitable, really,” she continues. “I’m happy for my dad to be with another woman, but who he’s chosen is gonna affect my entire life. Shouldn’t I get a say in his if he gets such a strong say in mine?”

I think carefully before responding. “You’re not wrong. You’ve had his sole attention for a long time. Now that it’s shifting—and yours isn’t allowed to—it feels unfair.”

She looks at me, validation in her eyes. “Exactly. And this whole stupid school situation is just wearing on me. I keep putting off talking to him because I know he’s gonna be so disappointed. I guess my mom always had high hopes for me, so Dad took it on himself to make sure I dreamed big. They wanted me to move on from Autumn Ridge and to find a life of my own.”

“But that’s something you don’t want?”

“Not even a little. I feel lost when I’m away. I’m so much happier here. And not just because it’s comfortable or what I know. It’s just...”

“Home.”

She looks at me with a nod, her animation settling. “You get it.”

“I do. I bet your dad does, too.”

She lets out a huff of slight disgust. “I know he does. And I know in the long run, he’ll be happy if I choose to stay here. But I just feel like I’m wasting away the life he’s worked so hard to give me because I already dropped out of school, and I’m not going back after Christmas.”

I guessed this long ago, but I’m flattered she entrusts me with this knowledge. Flattered and intrigued. Her staying in Autumn Ridge is the best news I’ve received in weeks.

“You’re following what’s in your heart,” I say. “Not a lot of people have the courage to do that.”

She gives a disbelieving, “Hmm.”

“But, ” I continue, “you should really talk to your dad. I bet a lot of the pressure you’re feeling will come off.”

She looks at me sidelong. “You’re more succinct than I am. Wanna talk to him for me?”

I laugh. “I highly doubt that would help you. But you definitely should talk to him...about everything.”

I leave the sentence hanging heavily, and her eyes find mine, searching them. “Why? Have you heard more about him? His dating life, I mean?”

I told her dad I wouldn’t lie to her if she asked—and I meant it. Never mind that I fed it to her in the first place. She deserves to know.

I open up about my conversation with him at the pumpkin weigh-in, how he asked me to keep his November date at the stables a secret, and Juliet takes it in stride.

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” she says, “but I can’t believe he entrusted you with that information.”