The church bells tolled low and heavy, their sound carrying across the parking lot.
Tyler’s motorcycle rumbled up the street, cutting through the murmurs of the gathered crowd. He killed the engine, tugged his helmet free, and shook his hair loose—leaving it perfectly tousled in a way that made my stomach flutter in spite of everything.
I smoothed the hem of my black dress. I owned more than I’d like to admit, with the number of funerals I’d been to—grandparents, then my parents. But not the one I’d worn to my mother’s funeral. I couldn’t bear to even look at that dress.
Tyler spotted me, his tie a little crooked as he crossed the pavement. My chest tightened just watching him, grief and something else pressing together until I couldn’t tell one from the other.
“Hey,” he said softly, h
