I shook my head. Talking to Gabriel would be the perfect distraction in my day. He ordered a bowl of chili and salad. My Diet Coke was topped off.

“So, you two have kids?” His lips curved into a rueful smile. “Sorry. Small-town nosy. I slip into it when I’m talking to someone I know.”

Resignation spread through me. I was a married woman in my thirties; it wasn’t an uncommon question. Most people who asked were looking for a familiar thread of conversation and grasped at the same questions they’d heard adults around them asking their whole life. I didn’t take it personally, but I avoided the topic as often as I could. Sucked that it came on the heels of my question to myself yesterday. “No kids. You?”

He shook his head. “Maybe someday. I haven’t ruled it out.”

We chatted through his meal and three more refills of my drink. He asked about my family and work. Bisa. Trips I’d taken since I graduated. We laughed over college memories. Gabriel was nothing more than a friend, we had a history together, but the way he knew me was comfortable. Reassuring. Our conversation was back and forth and he didn’t look at his phone.

Would Aiden and I ever reach this point? Gabriel and I were like this even after we’d broken up. Aiden hadn’t called once since I walked out on him.

The chances of our marriage surviving seemed slimmer than ever.

Aiden

The wintry countryside passed by the window as I drove to Xander’s new place. Brittle brown grass stuck out of the snow. Green spiky bushes and ponderosa trees dotted the hills. Fence lines cut off ranchland from the road, running in clean lines between sections and quarters.

I turned down the long road that led into the driveway of Xander and Savvy’s house. Given that my brother and his wife were millionaires, most people would assume their house was ostentatious, sucking resources down just for the right look. But their house was no different than other new builds around Billings. Savvy had gone with a two-level prefab, recycled-steel-sided home in brick red with locally sourced rock accents—she and Xander had roamed their land, digging their own boulders out of the dirt.

Most of the interior was finished, and the two world travelers wanted to spend the winter in their home. Xander had left much of the basement unfinished to give himself something to do while Savvy ran her consulting business.

I parked by the garage doors. The door in front of me opened, and Xander waved from the steps that led to the door to the house.

I got out and tipped my head at Savvy’s hybrid car. “How’s that handle in the snow?”

Xander chuckled. “She’s determined to prove that it has enough power to survive out here, but I’ll keep my four-wheel drive just in case.”