Page 134 of The Hometown Legend

She was some kind of miraculous, and he hadn’t thought he would have any kind of miracle again in his life, at any stage. He was walking off into the sunset. The glory days were long since passed.

Her own were just beginning.

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy this last little bit. Like that sliver of light just before the sun disappeared behind the mountain.

She was that light.

“You going to lie and say that you’re having a sleepover with my sister again?”

She looked at him thoughtfully. “No.”

“Even if your sister asks?”

“I’ll tell her. Unless you have a problem with that. But since Lydia already knows...”

“I don’t have a problem with it.”

“Okay, then. Neither of us has a problem.”

But he did. A big one that went all the way down to his soul.

And that was unfortunate.

But there was no point ruminating on it, not now. His decision was made. And if there was one thing he had learned through all of this trauma and recovery, it was that when he made a decision, he had to stick to it. It was the only way forward.

But right now, there was a little sliver of sunshine left, and he would take it.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

ITHADBEENtwo weeks of spending every night in his bed.

Fia hadn’t asked, but she was fairly certain Fia knew.

Maybe because Quinn had had a talk with her, or maybe something else.

It wasn’t like it was a huge mystery, she supposed.

The bigger mystery was why Fia wasn’t questioning her.

But that could be because Rory was leaving.

She looked at all her clothes that she had laid out on the bed.

Her phone lit up.

I’m here.

It was from Lydia.

Rory smiled and went downstairs. Fia was by the front door, but she was busily stirring the pot on the stove.

“I think Lydia is lingering on the porch,” she said.

“I know.”

“What are you doing?”

A rare question from Fia, who had been very hands-off.

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