Page 131 of Debt of My Soul

I open the freezer door and reach for a bag of frozen cherries. I shiver, zipping up the coat I had to wear to the store along with my gloves, hat,andboots. Michigan is cold and I’m grumpy.

Hence the late-night grocery trip.

There’s a ding on my phone, and I fumble in my jacket pocket for the darn thing. When I finally wrestle it out, the notification is an email from my realtor. My heart drops. Standing in the middle of the frozen foods section, I open the email.

Fleur,

Attached you’ll find the final signed paperwork for the sale of the farmhouse property. It was a pleasure working with you.

Regards,

Jemma

It’s done. I sigh, feeling no less upset than I did three weeks ago when I called a local realtor near Ruin and listed the property for sale. It sold the next day for asking price and now, apparently, has closed.

There’s no real reason to hang on to it. Iliterallyhave no home there. Saying goodbye to the farmhouse was easier than I thought. I’m a whole other person from when I renovated that thing.

Instead of the insecure, heartbroken runaway searching for a love to fix me, I’m now the fearful loser, who ran away overwhelmed by the love that consumed me.

But I still shudder—what feels like my final connection to Ruin is slipping away.

My mind wanders to Liam. Because while I was able to reach out to a realtor to sell the farmhouse, I couldn’t muster the ability to call the lawyer. I probe around the back pocket of my jeans, pulling out the now torn business card that, quite literally, went through the wash.

I stare at it before tucking it back in my pants.

“The store will be closing in ten minutes.”

I groan at the loudspeaker and look down at my cart. Guess this will have to do.

Turning, I barrel down the aisle. A man up ahead rushes to the only open check-out lane and I freeze.

No, I groan. This isn’t happening to me.

Chris rapidly flings his groceries onto the belt, and I stand there.

I wait for the feeling to run. For the loss of control to bubble up to the surface and the itch to snap my nonexistent bands in place to tether me. It doesn’t come.

Gosh, I’m so stupid. Why did I leave? Liam’s comment about coming to him when I want pain flickers in the dark corners of my mind, and I flush.

I glance down at the horseshoe brand now inked into permanent art and I smile at it. With all I’ve been through, Chris’s affair hurts so much less.

Calmly, I move to the line, standing behind Chris. He’s leaner than I remember and frantic as he places pickles, marshmallows, and frozen chicken tenders on the belt behind his other staples.

He looks up as if to shrug at his odd choices, but his eyes widen.

“Fleur?”

I offer what I can only assume is a timid smile. “Hi, Chris.”

The cashier glances between the two of us and continues to drag item after item across the scanner.

“I-I didn’t know you were still around. Your parents said you left town but wouldn’t tell me where you were.”

“Yeah, I was down in Mississippi for a bit.”

“Really? Would never picture that.”

I nod, placing my items behind his on the newly available belt space.

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