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“It’s okay. He didn’t come to me personally. The whole school was there.”

He looked confused for a second. “Oh. He usually went in person to the recipient’s home and gave it to him or her before making the announcement in school.” He looked thoughtful for a second. “Maybe he actually does have a tiny smidge of decorum, deciding not to come to your trailer in person.”

“Huh. Maybe. Anyway, that’s all ancient history.” I tilted my head. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Yeah, of course.”

I chewed on my bottom lip for a second. “Have you seen Kyland at the mine? I mean, does he seem okay, like he’s okay going belowground? He was so evasive about it.”

“I don’t spend too much time with the underground miners to be honest. But I’ve heard word around the company that he’s pretty impressive. Apparently, he’s been successful in putting some new safety measures in place, not that he’d ever get the credit. But the guys talk. He’s well liked among the other miners.”

“Have you been down there before?”

“God no.” He shivered. “I couldn’t do it.”

I nodded, still frowning. How do you do it, Kyland? How do you go down there into your own personal hell day after day after day?

I do, every day. For you.

For me…

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of trucks arriving outside.

“The crew is here,” Jamie said, standing up. “I’m off. Give me a call later or come by and see me.”

“Corner of Gutter and Skinsores?”

“Can’t miss it.” He winked.

I laughed. “Thanks for stopping by.”

After Jamie left, I took another minute to look around the small space, closing my eyes and breathing in the dusty smell for the final time. When I was ready, I walked outside, closing that door behind me.

I sat down at the bar next to Marlo and she looked forlornly over at me. “Whoa. What’s up with you?”

“Sam, that’s what’s up with me.”

“What’d he do?”

“Asked me to marry him—again.”

“Wow, what a bastard.”

“What’ll it be, girlie?” Al asked, shouting over to me from the end of the mostly empty bar.

“Diet Coke with lime,” I said loudly. Marlo had called me an hour before and asked me to meet her at Al’s to “drown her sorrows” after her day shift. I hadn’t known exactly what that meant at the time, but now I did.

“So Sam, the evil bastard, has asked you to commit to letting him shower you with love for a lifetime. How quickly do you think we can gather a posse with pitchforks to hunt him down? No mercy should be spared.”

She heaved out a breath and sat down next to me. “Har har. Make fun. But I told him I was never going to marry him. I told him, and he won’t give it up. He’s making my life a living hell.”

Go to hell. I do. Every day. For you.

I turned toward her on the stool. “You’re not in love with him, Mar?”

She sat there just looking straight ahead. “I mean, I guess I love him. A little.”

“Wow. The romance is overwhelming.” I rolled my eyes. “Don’t bowl me over with too much of that love talk, Shakespeare.”

Marlo rolled her eyes. “Seriously, Tenleigh, listen. I just don’t want to get let down. I finally feel comfortable, safe, and marriage changes things. I’m just not sure I can trust him. I don’t want to love him and then have him walk away,” she said, looking at me sadly. “And once they know you love them, that’s when they all walk away. You know I’m right,” she finished quietly.

I took a sip of the Coke Al put in front of me. “Marlo, I think…” I bit my lip picturing Sam’s face, the way he gazed at Marlo as if she hung the moon. “What more does Sam have to do? I mean, he’s been trying for more than four years, and he’s never given up. Frankly, you’re lucky he hasn’t. You must be a real pain in the ass to be in a relationship with.”

“We’re not in a relationship,” she muttered.

“Give it up, Marlo. You and Sam are in a relationship. You can’t act one way and say something else. It isn’t honest, and it isn’t fair. Frankly, you’re the jerk in this relationship.”

She huffed. “Fine, you’re right. I’m acting like a wishy-washy ass. It’s just…you don’t remember because you were just a baby, but I remember when Dad left. I loved him, Tenleigh. He was the first man I ever loved, and he just walked out of here and never even said goodbye to me. All these years, he never checked on us once. Not once. That’s what I know of love.” She fiddled with a napkin on the bar. “And even after that, I still held out hope there would be someone who would love me the right way. And well, we all know how that worked out.”