Mr. Patterson helped me organize it all, make sure the payments went to the right places. And as of yesterday, we're clear. We're clear? Evelyn repeated numbly. The house is ours.
No more bank breathing down our necks. Thomas' eyes were bright with something that might have been tears. You did it, Evie. You saved us. She should have felt relieved, triumphant even.
This was why she'd come here, why she'd endured the isolation and the gossip and the backbreaking work. But all she felt was a strange emptiness. That's good, she said. That's really good, Thomas. You can come home now.
Your contract's only half done, but with the debts paid, you don't have to stay. We can figure something else out. Come home. Back to Red Hollow, back to the failing homestead, back to Thomas and his promises to do better. Back to being poor and judged and powerless.
I'm not coming home. Thomas blinked. What? I signed a six-month contract. I'm going to finish it.
But we don't need the money anymore. Maybe I need this. The words surprised her as much as they surprised him. I'm good at this job, Thomas. I'm good at something for the first time in my life and people respect me for it.
Well, most people, and I'm not ready to give that up. But the gossip, I heard what's being said about you in town, about you and Ridgewell. It's not true. I know that, but it doesn't matter if people believe it. Thomas stepped closer, lowering his voice.
Come home before this ruins you completely, before people think I don't care what people think. Evelyn was surprised by how much she meant it. For once in my life, I'm doing something for me, not for you, not for the family name, not for what the town expects. For me. Evie, go home, Thomas.
Take care of the house. Get yourself properly sober. Find work that matters, and let me finish what I started here. He looked at her like she was a stranger, and maybe she was. The desperate, defeated girl who'd left Red Hollow 3 months ago had died somewhere on the road to Thornridge.
What stood in her place was harder, sharper, less willing to bend. If that's what you want, Thomas said quietly. It is. After he left, Evelyn stood in the yard watching the wagon disappear down the road. Mrs. Chen found her there 10 minutes later, still staring at nothing.
Your brother? The older woman asked. He said the debts are paid, the house is saved. That's wonderful news. He wanted me to come home.
And you said no. It wasn't a question. Evelyn turned to look at her. How did you know? Because you finally found somewhere you fit.