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I typed and deleted three things.

In the end I sent TYFT.

Thank you for today.

He came back in about a minute.

IDDA.

I didn’t do anything.

He’d stayed at the cottage while Sparrow met the other babies. He’d wanted to be here. By the end of the day, I’d wanted him here too.

I wrote liar in plain letters, no code at all, and sent it. Then I put the phone in my pocket and went inside with my daughter.

Chapter 17

❧

— Glitch —

Istopped at Robin’s on my way out of town. Wren had Sparrow on her hip, and by the time I’d gone through my plans for the second time, she was laughing at me.

“You don’t have to give me an itinerary, Seb.”

“I want to.”

“Every stop?”

“You should know where I am if you or Sparrow need me. And I want you to know I’m coming back.”

I’d told her on Sunday that I was riding to Millfield today, the facility visit was Thursday and church was Friday morning. I’d be back late Friday, probably after eleven. Now I went over the route again and reminded her that if she couldn’t reach me, String was covering comms. Or she could call Dutch, or Handful, or Colt, or Holden. She had all their numbers but I sent them to her again anyway.

Wren shook her head, still smiling. She told me Sparrow had a routine doctor’s appointment on Thursday and she’d let me know how it went.

“Can I?” I asked, holding out my arms.

Wren passed Sparrow to me. I held her close for a minute before I kissed her hair. When I gave her back, I stood there looking at Wren. I wanted to pull her close and kiss her too. Instead, I lifted a hand in a wave.

“Ride safe,” she said.

I went out to my bike.

Two hours down the road, I stopped for coffee at the gas station outside Fennimore. Wren had sent a photo of Sparrow asleep in the crook of Nick’s arm. Nick was asleep too, his mouth open.

I sat with the coffee and looked at it. I wanted to be in that room, making Wren laugh. Instead, I was heading south.

This was only the second time I’d ridden this road. Last time I’d been heading north to Kettlewell, and I remembered almost nothing about the ride. Getting to Wren was the only thing on my mind. Now I’d stopped at the station where she’d called Robin.

Robin had told me about the call. Four in the morning. Wren crying so hard he could barely understand her. She’d managed to tell him where she was, and he’d come.

I stood beside the pump and looked at the lot where she’d waited for him. I could hear myself telling her to get out of the clubhouse. Robin had come when she called; I should never have made that call necessary.

I got back on the bike. By the time I reached Millfield, I thought I had the ride out of my system. Then I walked into the clubhouse and smelled beer, coffee and engine oil. I stopped inside the door.

Two months wasn’t a long time or a long way but it still felt strange to be back.

Colt spotted me and crossed the room. He pulled me into a hug, thumped my back once and stepped aside for Handful.