Page 143 of Torin

“I do?”

“A little.” He takes the frame from me and tucks it carefully beneath his arm. “This coming too?”

“Definitely.”

We carry everything outside.

Torin loads the suitcases into his truck while I make one last trip through the downstairs rooms, checking that I haven’t forgotten anything important.

In the kitchen, I stop. My father’s coffee mug is still beside the sink. His jacket hangs over the back of a chair. For most of my life, his presence filled this house so completely that even when he wasn’t in the room, I was aware of where he was, what mood he was in, whether I was doing anything that might attract his attention.

Now he’s gone.

I switch off the kitchen light and walk out. Torin has finished loading the truck. I pull the front door closed behind me and lock it. For a moment, I stand with the key in my hand.

Then I slip it into my pocket and turn to Torin.

“Let’s go home.”

27

Hannah

The lodge is lit up when I pull into the clearing.

Torin swings Gunnar’s truck in beside me, and before I’ve even turned off the engine, the front door opens.

Orson takes the steps in two bounds and is halfway across the clearing by the time I climb out.

He stops abruptly in front of me. “You’re back.”

“I’m back.”

He frowns, looking me over. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I’m okay.”

He nods, his shoulders loosening.

Then Torin gets out of Gunnar’s truck.

Orson looks him over too.

“You look like shit.”

Torin glances down at himself. “And there I was thinking you’d be pleased to see me.”

“I am pleased to see you.”

“I’m touched.”

Orson grins.

Alexandria rushes toward me and pulls me into a hug. “Thank God,” she murmurs. She holds on for a long moment before releasing me.

“Hi,” I say.

She laughs. “Hi.”