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Temperance nodded sympathetically. “I’m sorry, honey.” She dumped a Mason jar of liquid into the sink. The bright citrus scent hit Rowan’s nose like a haymaker punch.
Fresh-squeezed orange juice. Extra pulp.
Rowan couldn’t swallow. Couldn’t breathe.
“He didn’t say goodbye.” Rowan didn’t recognize her own voice.
Temperance paused with a loaf of Gia’s homemade bread in her hand. Last month, Harry had wrapped it in parchment paper and plastic wrap and stored it in the freezer. They’d wantedto make bruschetta with homemade mozzarella and some of the sweet basil she’d grown from seed. Tomatoes were finally ripening. They could have done it this weekend.
“He what, now?” Temperance pushed glasses up her nose, waiting. Rowan’s throat had closed tight.
It felt like only moments ago she’d been where Temperance stood now, arms around Harry’s waist, cheek against his bare back as he sliced the reddest watermelon she’d ever seen. When she’d kissed him, he tasted like sticky summer sweetness.
Rowan slid from the stool and ran to the bedroom. It still smelled like Harry there. Beyond the bathroom’s pocket doorway, she saw her toothbrush in the little glass atop the sink.
Onlyhers.
Temperance called after her. “You didn’tknowhe was leaving?”
Sheets and blankets were a twisted mess in the center of the mattress. A single pillow sat centered against the headboard, folded over on itself, the way Harry liked. The other pillows were in a haphazard pile on the floor across the room.
The little grapevine ring he’d made a lifetime ago sat on the dresser. Next to it was the dried Lenten rose boutonniere he’d worn at Patrick and Mercy’s wedding. A memento of the night they’d first made love.
Photos of Cora were there too, corners tidily lined up, like they’d been stacked with intention and care. Rowan was proud of him for leaving them behind, but the knife in her sternum twisted hard.
He’d left the things that hurt him.
The wildflower field guide had a folded letter on top. In Harry’s handwriting, it read,T.J.
The air moved behind her, and a moment later, Temperance’s hand was on her back.
Rowan sank to the floor by the pillows, squeezing one toher chest. It smelled unmistakably like her. Sunlight glinted on a few long filaments of copper hair against the white cotton. He’d banished them from the bed because there were reminders of her everywhere. Rowan imagined the anguish on his face as he threw them off.
Temperance lowered beside her, little flags of pink streaking her cheeks. “Rowan, you didn’tknow?”
A sound like a hissing teakettle filled Rowan’s ears. Silently, she shook her head.
Temperance made a growly sound in her throat. “Thatdick. He asked me to take him to the airport, asked me to be here when you got back today. Said you’d need me. I thought that meant you two had decided on this together. That you knew.”
“If I’d known—I—I would have—” Rowan stammered. “I might have said—”
Temperance tucked Rowan’s hair back over her shoulder.“Shh,”she murmured. “What happened?”
“He told me he loved me.” Rowan slumped forward. “Wanted to marry me.”
Temperance gasped. “Heproposed?”
“No, not exactly. He said—someday.”
“I need a minute to process,” Temperance said.
Rowan’s laugh was brittle. “Youneed a minute?”
A grim smile twisted her friend’s mouth. “Look. You and Harry are two of my best friends. I get at least twenty seconds here, damn it.”
“It all happened an hour before I had to leave. I reacted—ah, poorly. I told him to let me go.” Rowan clutched the pillow to her belly. “I would have told him how I felt if I’d known he was leaving. How Ireallyfelt.”
Temperance laid her head against Rowan’s shoulder. “You know as well as I do—Harry would want to hear those things because you mean them. Not to make him stay.”
