Page 47 of To Catch a Firefly

I nod, and luggage in tow, we head out to the rental car. I already said goodbye to my dad early this morning before he left for the paper mill. And all of us—me, Danil, my parents, Mrs. Cole, and Ellis—spent the entirety of Sunday together, grilling and catching up. I said my goodbyes to Ellis’s mom then.

All that’s left is Ellis himself.

On our way through town, I pull up in front of the convenience store. “Just have to make a quick pit stop,” I tell Danil.

He nods, staying in the car as I head inside the building. I find Melody near the checkout counter, and she gives me a surprised sort of smile.

“Hey, Melody.”

“Lucky,” she says. “Still in town?”

“On my way out, actually. I just…” I glance over at the parrotfish, displayed proudly at the front of the store. “Why’s it still here?”

Melody kicks her hip against the counter. “Well, the first few that sold went home with people right away, but once folks in town started hearing about them, I got asked a good hundred times if the pieces could be displayed first. Not like we have an art gallery here.”

I nod. That, we do not.

“So now we have a rule where they stay here for three weeks so people can come see them,” she says. “After that, they go to their new home, and the artist brings in a new piece.”

I pull my wallet out, slipping a business card free that I pass to Melody. “Do me a favor? If there’s ever one thatdoesn’tsell out in a few hours, give me a call? I’ll buy it.”

Melody huffs a small laugh, accepting the card. “I’ll do that, but I wouldn’t hold your breath.”

“Thanks,” I tell her regardless. I turn to go but stop at the last minute. “Hey, Melody? How’s Jace?”

She rolls her eyes. “My brother is up in Minnesota now, did you know that? He and his boyfriend got a place right near the Canadian border.”

“His boyfriend?” I ask in surprise. Last I knew, the Jace who propositioned me beneath the bleachers was stillfarin the closet.

She nods. “They’ve been together for two years now.”

“I had no clue,” I tell her.Good for him.“Well, thanks again. Take care.”

“You, too, Lucky,” she says, giving me a wave as her focus shifts to a customer coming up to the counter.

Danil raises a brow when I get into the car. “All good?” he asks.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

It only takes another ten minutes to get to the facility where Ellis works. He told me he’d be onsite this morning, so once I park, I shoot him a text, and he says he’ll meet me outside.

I wait near the shade of a maple tree as a few other employees come and go. One heads off on a tractor. Another is leaning against the outside of the building, spitting sunflower seed shells onto the ground. Not far off, one of the town’s many processing plants sits, its smoke stacks rising high into the air.

Ellis steps out of the door before long, the morning sun causing him to squint. He spots me almost immediately andheads my way. I can’t quite get my heart to stop pounding as he nears, and that rolling inside my gut returns tenfold.

I feel the same way I did before I jumped out of a plane for the first time, a parachute securely on my back. A little scared. A lot determined.

“Hey,” I greet before Ellis has even come to a stop. He steps under the shade of the tree with me, a sad smile on his face.

“Luck,” he says simply.

It’s all I can do not to whimper.

“I, uh… We’re heading out,” I say, even though he knows as much.

Ellis nods.

“I…”Fuck, come on.“Can I ask you something?”

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