Page 121 of Symphony of Salvation

At the rental, I stared at the historic building housing Timber Creek’s finest and considered one last time if I was doing the right thing. Deep in the center of my being, a lonely heart thrummed with a prolific symphony. I closed my eyes and hummed my favorite parts, drawing on the image of the man who’d shared my bed the previous night. He was the soul of every note. Two intertwined loves. One existed because of the other, and I would do justice for both.

“Wait for me.” The cool spring breeze swept my words away. I imagined them riding the wind and finding their way to the man for whom they were spoken. “I’ll prove myself true. I swear it.”

I wasn’t brave enough to grace the music room and say goodbye. I’d explained all I could the previous night. Aftermaking love, when he’d asked how soon until I departed, I’d never responded.

I wasn’t good at goodbyes, and witnessing heartbreak on his face might have been enough to change my mind.

***

I arrived in Chicago at seven in the evening. The stale air in the one-bedroom condo—it had been closed up for nearly six months—tickled my throat. Despite the outdoor temperature, I opened a few windows, letting the breeze through. A thin layer of dust covered the furniture. If I’d thought ahead, I could have hired a cleaning service to tidy the place, but everything happened quickly.

The available dorm.

Dr. McCaine’s offer.

The dawning realization that I’d somehow fallen in love.

Knowing I couldn’t remain in the secluded—safe—confines of a winter dream and needed to find a way to meet the world head-on.

Three messages awaited when I landed. Two from my agent and one pointed text from Niles. Niles’s was brief and direct.You asshole.

Collapsing on the couch, I stared at the two words for a long time, debating how to respond. I had a hunch he didn’t want to hear from me, at least not right away. I texted my daughter, asking how she was doing, but received no response.

I called my agent instead and made arrangements for the coming weeks. The quicker I could get things organized, the faster I could return to Niles. As we talked, I stripped the bed, tossed the sheets and blankets in the washer, and opened the empty fridge, finding nothing but condiments. I made a list of groceries.

When I hung up, I retrieved the symphony from my bag and deposited myself at the piano. Carefully, I laid several pages on the rack. I didn’t need the score any longer. The music was imprinted on my mind. Over and over, I played. This section and that. Blending. Harmonizing. Feeling every note in my soul. It was the only way I could be close to Niles. I needed to keep the music alive. It could not go silent. Not now. Without it, I would be lost.

Chapter twenty-eight

Niles

Ishould have been fuming. August knew exactly when he planned to leave as we’d eaten dinner the previous night, as we’d made love in his bed, as he’d curled around me while we slept, but he didn’t have the audacity to tell me or say goodbye. I had to learn about his departure from a dorm supervisor who called shortly after fourth period ended to inform me Constance was having a fit and could I please try to calm her down.

Boggled, I crossed campus at a run, hustling up the stairs to the third floor where they had housed her. I arrived on scene to her throwing the contents of several boxes out the window. Clothing. Books. Toiletries. Shoes.

Cody lingered in the hallway with several female students from neighboring rooms, bewildered, seemingly at a loss.

“You aren’t supposed to be up here,” I reminded him. The female dormitory was out of bounds to male students, and he knew it.

“Yeah, but—” He motioned.

“No buts. Get going.”

“But her dad left.”

I stalled and stared at the kid’s stony expression. “What?”

“Around lunchtime. He pulled her from class, moved her from the cottage to here, and just left.”

I absorbed Cody’s words and glanced into Constance’s dorm. A supervisor was trying and failing to calm her down. The poor girl’s face, running with tears and blotchy from crying, poured so much torment my heart ached.

Damn you, August. You didn’t listen.

I patted Cody’s shoulder and aimed him toward the stairs. “I’ll take care of her.”

“Did, like, you two break up or something?”

“What? No… It’s… complicated. Go on now. She’ll be okay.”

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