“You better answer when I call.”

Walt slapped his friend on the shoulder. “You bet. Good to see you, Scott.”

Walt turned and made his way through the crowd. She seemed to sense his presence because she turned just as he was approaching. Immediately, she smiled. They stared at each other for a moment; everyone else in the room disappeared. So much was spoken between them without either saying a word.

Finally, she reached out and put her arms around his neck.

Walt wrapped her in a tight hug.

“Hi, Meghan.”

“My God, it’s good to see you,” she whispered in his ear.

There were a thousand things Walt wanted to say. A thousand things he had rehearsed. Things he had thought about every day during the year that had passed since he had last seen her. That he loved her as much now as he did three years ago. That he missed her in a way he had never missed another person. That if the universe were a less cruel place, they’d have met each other earlier in life. That he hadn’t left because his love for her had faded, but because it was easier to be miserable living on an island in the Caribbean than in the same city as the woman he loved but couldn’t be with.

Walt said none of those things, though. He just closed his eyes and held her tight, feeling her heart thud against his own.

CHAPTER 10 - Sister Bay, WI Friday, June 18, 2021

CHAPTER 10

Sister Bay, WI Friday, June 18, 2021

IT HAD BEEN YEARS SINCE ANYONE CALLED HER CLAIRE. NO ONE ELSE, in fact, referred to her today as anything other than Avery Mason. She wondered if it was really possible to erase a past and become someone else. Childhood memories rooted deeply in her subconscious told her that it was not. No matter how many years passed, some part of her would always be Claire Montgomery. The part of her that was tethered to Connie Clarkson had no other identity.