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Sully delicately pulled the first succulent from its plastic pot. Its thick, leathery petals were surprisingly soft and dusky purple in color, like the sky just before sunrise.

He’d taken Michelle out to celebrate her promotion. Sushi. Too much sake. Languid, enjoyable sex afterward. Closing his eyes, Sully could remember the exact moment his world shattered. He’d wrapped his arms around Michelle, his thumb massaging a faint scar on her shoulder, and he’d said the words.

I love you.

They’d felt right. He’d been proud of himself to be the first one to say it. She’d turned in his arms and looked up at him, her blues eyes sad.

“Why’d you have to say that?” Her voice had been a whisper.

Sully placed the succulent in its new home and gently pushed the loose soil around its delicate roots. He sat back on his heels and swiped a hand across his damp forehead. On the horizon, the sunlight was fading fast. He’d been so stupid. She’d never wanted to talk long-term future. Whenever he’d make a joke about marriage, she’d U-turned the conversation in the opposite direction.

Hell,it’d taken him two years to say the L-word. Maybe his heart had known the truth even if his brain hadn’t been up to speed.

Michelle let him know the next morning over pancakes and bitter feelings that she didn’t “do” long-distance relationships. Translation: he wasn’t worth the effort. Didn’t matter that he’d already memorized every airline carrier with direct routes between San Diego and Seattle. Or that he’d already started putting out feelers for any open engineering positions in Seattle.

Of course, they’d talked more. He might have pleaded. She might have wept. In the end, he wasn’t good enough. He’d never been good enough. Michelle had left for Seattle a week earlier than planned, leaving him with a shattered heart and forcing that bestie roommate to move back in with her parents.

Sully looked down the line, surprised to see a neat row of succulents parading in front of the house. At least one good thing had come from the end of his relationship with Michelle. He’d already been focused on achieving financial independence, but post-breakup he doubled down on his goal. It wasn’t enough anymore to retire by 40. He wanted to retire by 30. He spent endless nights learning about the FIRE movement, which stood for Financial Independence, Retire Early. He read blogs, listened to podcasts, joined FIRE message boards.

Carefully, Sully shook out the first large bag of wood chips and settled on his knees to spread them evenly around the plants. It’d been easy to push away thoughts of Michelle as he took on every extra project at work to speed up his promotions and boost his bonuses. Maybe that’s why the last few years were mostly a blur of brown bag lunches, Facebook Marketplace furniture, and biking to work past the BMWs and Teslas of his coworkers.

But at least—

A black Jeep pulled up fast and hard against the curb of the house, stopping so short it rocked forward.The thing looked like an escapee from Jurassic Park. Long ugly gashes ripped across the body of the vehicle, and a large dent crumpled in the passenger door. Duct tape and prayers held the side mirror to the Jeep.

The driver-side door swung open, and a small figure emerged. At first, Sully thought she was a teenager. A closer look revealed adult features and a lifetime of pain in her eyes. She was tiny, though, short and slender with large hazel eyes and thick auburn hair gathered in a crooked ponytail.

“Hi there! Sorry if I scared you. I wasn’t sure exactly where the house was.” The woman’s voice was surprisingly low and smoky.

“Uh, the mailbox is on back order,” Sully responded automatically.

The woman put her hands on her hips and studied the house. “Yeah, this is nice.” She rocked on her heels and nodded to herself. Her t-shirt hung past her hips, practically swallowing her small body. “I’ll take it.”

The fuck?

“Um,” Sully said.

“Oh, ha. You must think I’m crazy.” The woman smacked her forehead. “I’m Tess.”

“Sully,” he said, still on his knees, gloved hands buried in mounds of woodchips.

“So, do I need to sign some paperwork or something?” Tess asked.

What. Was. Happening?

“Paperwork?”

“For the house. I want to rent it.” Her voice softened into uncertainty. “I saw your ad. Is it still available?” She looked at him with large, pleading eyes.

Damsel in distress!The warning blared in Sully’s mind and sounded suspiciously like Hue.

“Uh, well, yeah, it’s available,” Sully said, trying to regain his bearings. Standing up would probably be a good first step. “I wasn’t expecting—”

“I just got into town,” Tess said. “And, it’s so nice here. The people are nice, too. So, I decided to stay.” She released a short laugh. “Wow, saying that out loud makes me sound kind of looney, huh?”

Danger, danger, danger!Hue’s voice continued to chant inside his head.

“Did you want a tour before you make up your mind?” Sully asked, brushing woodchips off his jeans.