They talked and laughed on the phone each night and texted each other between calls. On Thursday, they reached the one-year anniversary of the day they’d met. They celebrated by simultaneously watching the first The Fast and the Furious movie—a film in which cars were wrecked in even more spectacular fashion than Sebastian had wrecked his.

He flew to Misty River the minute he got off work on Friday. Dylan had an away game, so the two of them cooked dinner at her place.

They spent Saturday and Sunday fishing on a remote stretch of river and hiking trails carpeted with crimson and yellow leaves.

He flew back to Atlanta, and their texts and nightly phone calls immediately resumed.

He returned the following weekend, which passed just as gloriously. They drove to the lake and rented a boat for the afternoon. When darkness fell, they moved to a lakeside firepit. Holding hands, they watched orange flames crackle against a backdrop of moon-silver water.

They enjoyed Sunday lunch at Whiskey’s restaurant with Dylan and Mr. and Mrs. Coleman. Sebastian’s ease with her brother wooed her far better than flowers or chocolates.

When it came time for Sebastian to return to Atlanta, Leah noted that saying good-bye to him was steadily becoming more difficult.

They picked back up where they’d left off with texts and calls.

Am I veering off track by dating him? she continued to ask God. Please tell me if I am.

But an answer did not come.

On Thanksgiving morning, the day before Sebastian was due to arrive for his vacation in Misty River, Leah slid a green bean casserole into her oven. She had a blessed gap of time before she’d need to transport her casserole and brother to Tess and Rudy’s for the big meal.

She sank onto a kitchen chair and scrolled through new email on her phone. With a jolt, she saw that she’d received two emails in response to her death certificate requests.

She opened the first one. No death certificate for Bonnie O’Reilly had been found.

That might mean that Bonnie O’Reilly was still living, or that might mean that Leah’s lack of details regarding Bonnie had ended in a failed search.

She clicked the second email. A death certificate had been located for Ian Monroe O’Reilly.

What?

She followed the link provided. A PDF of Ian’s death certificate expanded on the screen.

Ian’s mother was listed as Bonnie Theresa Byrne O’Reilly. “Blimey,” she breathed, astonished. Bonnie’s birthplace: Oxford, Alabama. Ian’s father: Malcolm Francis O’Reilly. Ian had been born and had died in Atlanta. Cause of death: overdose from heroin and alcohol. Age: twenty-eight . . . the exact same age that Leah was now.