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The table went silent. Even the sounds of the diner seemed to fade—the jukebox, the plates, the conversations around us. Jimmy kept drizzling ketchup over his fries like he hadn’t detonated a bomb.

My stomach dropped.

There was no taking that back. No changing the subject. Sooner or later I’d have to tell her everything. How long I’d been helping. How long I’d tried to help Jimmy even through the moments when he’d get confused and wouldn’t let me inside to help with housekeeping. How long I’d been watching out for her. How much I cared. And she’d probably hate it.

But maybe—

Just maybe—

She’d finally understand. Understand that I’d never forgotten the seventeen-year-old girl who’d stolen my heart. That she’d never stopped being the love of my life.

“Papers?” Cali asked quietly. I knew there was no pretending anymore.

“I’ll answer whatever you want to ask,” I said. “When you’re ready.”

And there it was—the conversation I’d been avoiding for years. I swallowed against the tightness in my throat. It wasn’t happening here. Not in the middle of Ronnie’s Diner. When she was ready, I’d tell her everything. Every secret. Every mistake. Every reason. As long as there was breath in my lungs, I’d keep showing up for Cali Walton. Not to save her. Just to make sure she never had to wonder if someone would stay.

Forty-Five

Lane

Iknew I’d find her here. She’d texted me twenty minutes ago, saying she was ready to talk. The water lapped against the shore in a gentle motion as a breeze rippled through the leaves of the trees. Cali had both feet in the water as she sat on the edge of the pier. She swished them back and forth. Everything I’d hidden for fifteen years ended tonight. There was no way to explain it all without sounding completely unhinged. I tucked the photos I’d been holding back into the visor, then traced my thumb across the smooth leather of the steering wheel. There was no point in delaying. Before either of us fell asleep tonight, she was going to know everything—things I should have told her a long time ago.

The pier creaked as I walked toward her, taking a seat not too far away. The sky was only minutes from sunset, and every inch of skin her sundress left bare glowed golden in the fading light. It was one of those rare days in autumn that felt like summer, but that was Kansas weather for you. Like the old timers that gathered at Ronnie’s Diner for their morning coffee always joked, “If you don't like the weather, just wait a minute. It’ll change.”

“So I assume that the envelope was missing a few things that you needed to share?” she said, not mad but more resigned, like her heart was too fragile after all the things we’d shared over the last few days.

“Just—promise you’ll let me finish,” I said. The words came out more desperate than I wanted.

She swished her feet through the water and looked back at me.

“I’m not going anywhere,” she said. She wasn’t leaving. She just might not be staying with me. A deep breath did nothing. My palms slid down my thighs anyway, chasing a heartbeat that refused to slow.

“Cali, I’ve been taking care of you . . . and your grandparents.”

The words echoed between us.

“How?”

There wasn’t a simple answer.

“The scholarship foundation that paid for your college is ours. Jonah, Soren, and I founded it years ago. We fund scholarships, The Hope Center, and a dozen other programs.”

Her mouth parted, but no words came out. I plunged on.

“I had to buy your grandparents’ farm.”

The confession left my chest in a rush. The intensity in her eyes sharpened.

“What?”

It wasn’t much more than a breath.

“Things had gotten upside down when they tried to help your mom the last time, and with the medical bills from your grandma and the decline of Jimmy’s health, they had to mortgage the farm to stay afloat. I came over the night before the bank auction and talked to your grandpa. I bought the farm before the auction, with the agreement that it would always be his home. I couldn’t stand to see the place you loved broken up into little pieces and resold.”

Her hand flew to her mouth. Tears brimmed. She blinked once, twice, as if her brain couldn’t keep up with what she’d heard. I knew Bryant was going to buy it at the auction, and I couldn’t let him have that piece of her. Jonah helped me set up a land trust with his real estate connections so that Bryant would remain in the dark.

“Your grandpa gave me the truck in thanks.” I tossed a thumb over my shoulder. “And I made sure he had enough to eat even if it wasn’t homemade.” I huffed out a laugh. I’d burned enough meals over the years that Jimmy never let me forget it. “A man who worked his entire life feeding other people shouldn’t have to choose between medicine or food.”