"The useful part."
Tyler looked deeply offended.
Daphne laughed again, and the sound carried over the beds, the hose, the pepper basket, and the piece of land Fletcher had just failed to take from me by making it look already half-gone.
I looked at Daphne standing beside me in the sun. Her initials were still drying on the completed sheet. Fletcher was gone. The gate stood open, and she wasn't behind me.
"Come with me," I said.
Her laughter faded into something warmer. "Where?"
"My house."
Her eyes darkened, and her fingers tightened around mine.
I stepped closer, not caring that Birdie saw, not caring that Gus saw, not caring that Tyler was probably developing a theory near the compost bins. "Your hours are complete. Fletcher's gone. Cascadia paused the access path. I'm asking because I want you there."
Daphne's breath caught. Then she took my hand. "Yes."
I looked toward Birdie. "Can you lock up?"
Birdie lifted one eyebrow. "I've been able to lock a gate since before you had all those tattoos."
Tyler said, "I can help."
"No," Birdie, Gus, Daphne, and I said together.
Tyler put a hand to his chest. "That felt rehearsed."
Daphne laughed as I led her toward the south fence path.
The walk to my house took less than five minutes, and I felt every step of it. Daphne's hand stayed in mine as we passed through the gate in the fence and onto my land. Dry pine needles softened the path. The lake flashed blue through the trees to our left. Heat moved through the air, heavy with sap, grass, and sun on dry earth.
My house sat above the lake access, tucked into the pines with a wide porch, weathered wood siding, and boots by the door I'd meant to move three days ago. It wasn't fancy. It was mine,quiet and solid and close enough to the water that the afternoon breeze carried lake air through the screens.
Daphne stopped at the bottom porch step.
I looked back.
She was staring at the house, then the lake beyond the trees, then me.
"What?" I asked.
"You live here."
"That's usually what houses mean."
"Zane."
I stepped down one stair, bringing us eye to eye. "You expected something else?"
"I don't know." Her fingers tightened around mine. "Maybe a cave with a clipboard."
"It's out back."
She laughed, but it came out softer than before.
I touched her cheek. "Are you sure?"
