Chapter Seventy-Two
The night was the longest one of my entire life. I lay in the dark room, watching the green numbers on the clock slowly, agonizingly shift. Two in the morning. Three. Four. Every hour felt like a lifetime. The cool autumn wind rattled the windowpane, but instead of making the room feel cold and lonely, it felt like a countdown. He is riding toward me, I kept repeating to myself like a prayer. He is on his way.
When the sun finally broke through the gray morning mist, I didn't drag my feet. I leaped out of bed, the cold floorboards barely registering under my bare feet.
Lisa had been right—I wanted to look beautiful, but not just for him. I wanted to look strong. I took a long, steaming shower, washing away the lingering scent of stale beer and dishwater that had clun
