I sighed. Okay, she was right. I could admit that. The thought of handing my heart to Emily had me quaking. I could stare down the barrel of a gun, but I couldn’t bear the thought of her looking at me with revulsion someday and walking out the door. “Even if I stay, what if Emily eventually decides she made a mistake? We went on this intense journey where we became close. We bonded. That was bound to happen, I guess. But what about some ordinary Tuesday when she looks over at me and realizes how much better she could have done?” What if she takes her love and leaves?

“I can’t answer all these questions for you, sweetheart. I wish I could. But you’re going to have to come to the answers inside yourself because that’s the only place the truth exists. What I will say is this—you have a legacy, Tuck. That didn’t go away because your mom died, or your father sold this land. A legacy is everlasting. You forgot that for a while. I hope you remember.”

And then she gave my hand one last squeeze, stood, and went back inside, leaving me alone under the stars.

chapter forty-two

Emily

Day Twenty

The tall wrought iron gate had presumably once been operated by a security guard who sat inside a small box and pushed buttons to open and close it. Now, however, it was manned by two large men both wearing camo and with rifles in hand. They nodded at Leon when we arrived in front of it and pulled the bolt before swinging it open. My gaze lingered on one of them. He looked familiar. A stunt man from LA, I thought. Hadn’t he worked on one of Charlie’s movies? It made sense, I supposed, as Leon had told me he lined up the security detail here in exchange for residency.

The street before us wound upward, those solar lights brighter now that the sun had sunk lower in the sky. They twinkled everywhere, lighting the way forward and, for a brief moment, I dared to dream that this lovely place would come to feel like home.

The only house I could see from this vantage point was the side of a white mansion a little ways up the hill, half of it disappearing around the turn. But I knew there were more beyond, with gardens and swimming pools and henhouses and all the various features and amenities being used to keep this community safe and fed. The foliage around us was lush and fragrant, palm trees rising into the dusky sky. “It really is as gorgeous as you described, Leon,” Layne said, her neck bent as she gazed up the hill.

“Wait until you see the rest,” he said with a sideways smile.

We walked toward what looked like a gatehouse and when Leon knocked, a young man exited. “Hi, Leon.”