Except she couldn’t catch him at home. She’d driven by Honey Hollow several times since Terrance had discovered the watch only to find Tobias’s truck gone. She would’ve followed his example and left the small box that contained her bracelet on the doorstep, but she didn’t trust Uriah’s son. She was afraid Carl would take it before Tobias could get back and that he’d never even know she returned it.

It wasn’t until New Year’s Day, late in the evening, that she spotted his truck in the drive. And then she was so nervous she almost couldn’t make herself stop.

After driving past the orchard twice, she finally pulled in.

Uriah must’ve heard her engine, because he looked out.

She bit her lip as she waved at him. When it took a moment for him to wave back, she guessed even he knew her relationship with Tobias had taken a bad turn.

She could hear a football game playing on the TV as she knocked, but there weren’t any other cars in the drive, so she was pretty sure Tobias was alone.

Still, he didn’t come right away. She was afraid he’d looked through the peephole and wouldn’t answer because it was her.

“Tobias?” she called. “Please, open the door. I have something to give you. It won’t take long.”

At last, he opened up, but he stood back, well away from her.

He looked good, she thought. Too good. And she could smell that clean scent she associated with him and his house.

When she didn’t speak right away, he said, “What can I do for you?” His voice was clipped.

Harper felt that old lump rise in her throat, the one that threatened tears, but she swallowed hard to be able to speak around it. “First of all, I wanted to say…I’m sorry. For…for how things went at the end. That scene wasn’t pleasant for anyone.”

“No problem,” he said. “I lost sight of the reality of the situation there for a bit, but you and your family did the right thing.”

“The right thing?” she echoed weakly.

“Set me straight,” he explained. “So I’m sorry, too. I don’t know why I ever thought I had something to offer you.”