A HALF-MILE PRIOR TO reaching her parents’ property, Brook made Ethan pull over, where she bid him farewell.
After jumping out, she turned back toward the open window of the truck. “Please, do not be too harsh on Kyle. He needs you right now.”
At Ethan’s small nod—whether one of agreement, or acknowledgement, she didn’t know—Brook broke into a jog alongside the narrow verge, as the engine rumbled to a quiet hum in the opposite direction.
Brick lined one side of the quiet lane, and trees dotted both, some spilling over from her father’s land, others sentinels to the property on the opposite side of the road. The cool, gentle breeze from before had evolved into a brittle wind that seemed to stab ice into her skin with each penetration of her shirt.
Ahead, a streamed glow shot across the
