"Kallie!"
Her body hit the shimmer—and vanished.
The wind stopped.
The street stilled.
Finn stood alone in the silence, chest heaving, hands shaking.He stared at the empty space where she'd gone, the echo of her voice still ringing in his ears.
He'd done bad things in his life, things he deserved to carry, but driving Kallie from him was the only one that felt unforgivable.
Part Two
Chapter 11
Finn
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Boone mowed the samepatch of grass he'd mowed yesterday.Vaughn swept the dust off the courthouse steps, which would be covered again by noon.Nolan leaned against the outside of the restaurant as if he had never moved.
Finn walked the length of the street, his hands shoved deep in his pockets, scanning the horizon even though he knew the rift was sealed tight.No one talked about Kallie anymore.He couldn't understand how they'd managed to forget her when every second he spent wondering if she was okay.
The moment he pushed her through the veil, he regretted it.
The men's silence should've been a relief.It should've helped him let her go.Instead, it only made the weight of her absence heavier.
He headed toward the feed store, unsettled by how easily everyone had slipped back into their routines, as if Kallie's return hadn't shaken the very foundation of their lives.
Every fucking day, he wandered, lost in his thoughts.Even riding his motorcycle wasn't an escape.Hanging out with Moe at the restaurant failed to distract him.
He looked behind him, checking to see if anyone followed.The men weren't even paying attention to him.
He slipped inside the abandoned building, crossed the dusty floor, and headed toward the back.Near the loading dock, he pried the loose board free.The marks stared back at him, lines carved deep into the wood.He added another with a slow, steady drag of his knife.
The scrape echoed in the hollow room.He stepped back and counted.He always counted.
