The one I’m doingfor him.
I’ve been quiet for too long.
“Oh, Molly-girl.” Dad sighs. “This is supposed to be fun.”
I know. I wasn’t supposed to get my heart broken. The words can’t make it past my throat, though.
“Do you want to come home?”
I nod, and then remember he can’t see me, and whisper, “Yes.”
“Then come home. I miss you.”
* * *
I bike to Udderly Farm early in the morning, bracing myself to have a talk with Alex on his breakfast break, but when I park my bike at the farm shop and walk up the hill, I don’t see Alex’s truck. Curious, I step inside the house, kick my flip-flops off, and come into the kitchen. Jesús, Anna, and Perry are at the table staring at me. No Alex. No Trixie. Everyone looks at me with concern. I guess word’s gotten around about what happened.
“Hi.” I give them a half-smile. “Is Alex here?”
“No,” Jesús says. “He stayed with Kit last night.”
“Come, eat.” Anna gestures.
As always, it smells fantastic, but being in Alex’s house is uncomfortable. I’m unsure when he’ll come back and how upset he’ll be with me, and I would rather just get out of here.
Get home.
I shove my hands in the pockets of my shorts. “I’m actually leaving. If you need me to, I can work at the farm shop today, but…”
“It’s fine,” Perry says. “We’ll take care of it.”
“Okay. Thanks.” Awkwardly, I walk back to Alex’s room and pick up the few things of mine in there—my gloves, my ointment, a phone charger. It all gets bundled into my bag.
I cut through the hallway instead of going back through the kitchen to leave, but Anna calls after me. Wordlessly, she wraps me in a hug, and I fight back tears.
“You’re going to be okay,” is all she says, and then lets go.
I bike back to Bedd Fellows and have pretty much the same conversation with Ethel and Ethan. This time, though, the mutual guilt hanging in the air is oppressive.
“Are you sure, dear?” Ethel asks. “You know you’re welcome to stay, right?”
“Yeah,” I assure her. “I know. But Vaniel is ready to go, and so am I.”
I don’t tell them I’m heading straight home. I’d rather let them think that it’s just time to move on. After all, my feelings about Alex don’t matter in the long run. I’m just a woman who’s passing through. They’re Alex’sfamily.
Here’s a wonder of van life: I grab a few things from the pole barn, and I’m ready to go. It’s been two hours since I woke up this morning, and I’ve cut all ties to the Bedd family.
I start Vaniel.
Baabara is the only one that watches me leave.
CHAPTER32
ALEX
You can takethe man out of the dairy farm, but you can’t take the dairy farm out of the man. I wake up before sunrise in the guest bedroom of Kit’s parents’ house. The Hutchinsons have always been kind to me and treated me like family, even though I’m just one of Kit’s many, many friends.
I check in with Perry, who says everything is fine and to take my time getting back. When I get there this afternoon, I’ll send both him and Jesús home as a thank you for doing the morning chores without me.
