CHAPTER 24: THE LONG RIDE
The first thin frost dusted the pine boughs and crunched light under our boots the morning we packed the bikes. Sunlight spilled pale gold over the compound roofs, gilding chrome and dark leather, and the air bit sharp and clean, carrying the faint, sweet smell of woodsmoke and fallen maple leaves. We weren’t running — we weren’t fleeing threats or hiding from ghosts anymore. We were finally, truly free to go wherever we chose, for as long as we wanted.
Kael knelt beside his old Harley, checking tire pressure and tapping the tread one last time, while I strapped our canvas bags tight behind the seat, tucking the small steel box holding our rings safe inside the inner pocket. His mother stood on the cabin porch, wrapped in a thick gray wool shawl, watching us wit
