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She lifts her chin and meets my eyes, then, after a beat, her gaze falls and she kicks at something on the ground. “Fine. I can let it go.”

I don’t say anything for a few long seconds. Then, quietly, “You can?”

“Yes.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that. You know. Grace, or whatever.” She fidgets. Her gaze is back, and I try to capture it, but it doesn’t linger.

“I know I’ve got a ways to go here if I’m gonna show you I’m not . . . the same,” I say—words I didn’t intend. “But I promise I’m going to do what I have to.”

She straightens and looks me square in the face. “Don’t make promises to me, Noble.”

That felt specific. I don’t know what she means.

I nod. “I know you have no reason to believe anything I say, and I get it⁠—”

She holds up a hand. “Look, I said I can let it go, but it’s a process, okay? It’s going to take time. We can’t unpack everything right now.” She points into the pavilion. “farmers’ market.”

“Right.” I nod. It’s a step in the right direction, and I won’t push it. Not when I’ve got such a long way to go. I’m full of hope just thinking maybe there’s a way to make this right with her. And that’s enough.

I’m starting to realize that it’s not just this town I want back.

I want her back too. She’s the reason I felt safe here. She’s the reason this place feels . . .

Like home.

But I can’t fix everything overnight. We’re on her timeline, and I respect the heck out of that. “Take whatever space you need,” I say.

She looks up at me and nods. “Fine.”

“Good,” I say.

“Good,” she says.

“Fine.”

The exchange coaxes the slightest hint of a smile out of her, and it feels like a win. A tiny glimmer of how we used to be.

“You want the last word?” I ask.

She pauses—and then says, “Yep.”

I nod, and we start walking toward the farmers’ market. And we almost feel like two old friends.

Chapter Eleven

Hattie

Ican let it go.

Without letting myself go.

Seeing Dale act a fool proved how stupid this grudge really is. It was like someone held up a mirror in front of me, and I didn’t like the ugliness reflected back.

All the things I said to Dale, someone could’ve said right back to me.

Still. I can forgive without forgetting.