Addison wondered what had made her mom and Kaden choose to give each other up—if they’d discovered Irene was pregnant and decided it would be easier that way. She knew the entire town had handed over that summer, but why hadn’t her parents kept that one part of their memories?

“Would it have been easier to forget what we had?” she asked River.

“At the memory harvest?”

She nodded.

“I thought about it,” he admitted. “But there was so much good even with all the pain. It would’ve been like losing a part of myself.”

She knew the feeling.

“Where do we go from here?” she whispered, almost afraid to ask. They clearly couldn’t just pick up where they’d left off.

“We have a lot of catching up to do,” he said. “Maybe we start there.”

“You have dinner plans tomorrow night?”

“Seeing as I am now unemployed, my schedule is wide open.”

“It’s a date,” Addison said.

River set his cup on the coffee table and started to stand. “I should probably get going.”

“Stay,” Addison said, reaching for his forearm. “I’ll make us more tea. We can… we can just binge-watch some Netflix.”

River grinned. “Like old times.”

“Yeah.” Addison smiled softly. “Like old times.”

Chapter 33

Addison

Addison woke before the sun to find herself pressed against River on the couch, his arm draped over her. Though still on, the TV had paused their show at some point to ask if they were still watching. Addison settled into the feeling of waking up with River, something she thought she’d never experience again. They may not have done anything more than kiss last night, but he was here, in her living room.

But before the smile could finish forming on her lips, the reality of what had happened the night before came crashing down. Not only did Nate Bonner intend to take her family’s garden from them, but Addison had learned the truth of where she’d come from. She knew she should talk to Maura and Irene, but she wasn’t ready to share what she’d discovered inside that glass of bourbon. Her mother had let go of that moment with Kaden. She’d chosen to forget Addison was a Bonner. Addison was terrified what would happen if her family discovered the truth.

At least one thing had gone right. Despite everything she’d seen in the soil, the garden had listened to her. More, it had grown. Fast and strong and all at once. That had to be a good sign.

She wriggled out from under River’s arm. Cold crept through the room and pricked at her skin. The lofted ceiling had never been the best at keeping warmth in—except during the hottest part of the day, exactly when you didn’t want it. She grabbed a sweater from a hook by the door before slipping outside.