“That’s not exactly reassuring,” I mutter.
“No,” she agrees. “It’s not meant to be.”
I sit back, my fingers tightening around the mug. “So, what is he, then?”
Mable’s gaze drifts past me for a second, towards the windows and the tree line beyond. “When you grow up somewhere like this,” she says slowly, “you learn pretty quick that not everything needs explaining. You’re from here, Ella. You know how it is.”
I sigh softly, finally taking a sip from the mug. “That seems to be the theme for today.”
Mable looks back at me, something gentler in her expression now. “Your parents told you to stay away?”
“Yes.”
“And you came here instead.” She raises a brow.
I give her a small smile. “Also, yes.”
She gives me a smile of her own. “Stubborn, just like your father.”
My shoulders move in a s
