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“I came to check on you,” Elizabeth said, eyeing Eleanor with thinly veiled concern. “You’re not answering your phone.”

Eleanor waved a dismissive hand. “It must have died somewhere in my luggage. It’s fine. I’m fine.”

Elizabeth came into the room, closing the door behind her, and raising a skeptical brow. “Really? Because I’ve just spent the last fifteen minutes on the phone with Danni’s solicitor. She’s received the separation papers.”

With a sniff, Eleanor turned away, busying herself by smoothing a nonexistent wrinkle from her sleeve. “Good. That’s what I wanted.”

“Nor, are you absolutely sure about this?” Elizabeth sighed. “Because from where I’m standing, you look like someone who just made the biggest mistake of her life.”

“What I look like,” Eleanor said coolly, “is someone with an estate to run. I need to focus on the house, the renovations, the finances. That’s all that matters now.”

Elizabeth frowned. “So that’s it? You’re just going to pretend she never existed?”

Eleanor lifted her chin. “I’m moving on. It’s the sensible thing to do.” It was the only thing to do. Anything else would break her. Besides, if Danni thought there was a hint that there were any feelings, she’d never take no for an answer, she’d ruin everything and put her farm at risk. Eleanor knew her well enough to know that.

After a moment, Elizabeth sighed again, shaking her head. “If you say so. But if you need me, I’m here. Just… don’t bury yourself in the work and pretend it doesn’t hurt.”

Eleanor didn’t reply. She wasn’t going to lie to her best friend. Instead, she walked toward the window and stared out at the sprawling estate, the fields stretching beyond the horizon.

Moving on.

Yes, that’s what she had to do.

???

Danni hefted a full feed sack off the trailer and dropped it onto the growing pile near the barn. Her shoulders ached with the effort, but the physical hurt was better than whatever chaos was going on inside her. The late afternoon sun cast long shadows over the fields, but she barely noticed. She’d spent twenty-four hours now trying to avoid thinking. But it wasn’t quite working.

Eleanor had left.

Not just left, but actually left. Left her. Like none of it had meant anything. Like Danni herself hadn’t meant anything.

“What’s wrong with you?” Tommy’s voice cut through her thoughts. He stood a few feet away, arms crossed, his expression hovering somewhere between concern and exasperation. “If you leave them sacks there, they’ll just get gotten by the rats. Better off in the trailer for now.”

Danni said nothing, just kept hefting sacks, kept working.

“You’ve been weird all day,” Tommy said.

She clenched her jaw. “I’m fine.”

“About as fine as a cow stuck in a ditch.” He took a step closer. “Go on, tell me what’s wrong. Did something happen? Is it Eleanor?”

Danni snapped. “Nothing. Nothing happened, alright? Just drop it.”

Tommy blinked in surprise, then slowly raised his hands. “Alright, alright. No need to bite my head off.”

She ran a hand over her face. “Tom, sorry, I didn’t mean—”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re all twisted up, I get it.” He studied her for a beat before shaking his head. “I’ll be in the barn if you decide you actually want to talk like a normal human.”

He turned and walked off, leaving Danni alone with the weight of her thoughts. She kicked at a patch of dirt, frustration bubbling up inside her.

She needed something. What, she didn’t know. But work wasn’t distracting her. The farm wasn’t enough.

For the first time, it felt like she didn’t have everything she needed. And it was an uncomfortable thought.

HECTOR STRODE INTO the farmhouse after dinnertime, wearing his usual no-nonsense expression. He put the kettle on before he did anything else, then turned, leaned against the counter, and looked at Danni.

“Tommy says you’re acting weird. What’s going on?”