Mira collapsed into Jesse, her body falling, knees buckling, until both of them were tangled on the grass. She remembered the glint of the ax. She remembered the ropy scars as she laid her head on his chest.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, bewildered by his sudden appearance. His arms gripped hers and she realized it was because she couldn’t stop shaking.

“I went for a walk. I couldn’t stand being around everyone at that plantation. It’s a shitshow back there. Gossiping about what could have happened with Celine. None of them cared about the wedding to begin with and now they’re using it as an excuse to get day-drunk and party. Never mind that something could be seriously wrong.”

Jesse’s contempt was palpable. Now that they were far enough away from the others he seemed to feel free enough to express it, or perhaps he had reached his breaking point, unable to hide it any longer. He was the one who worked with people like this day in and day out, every day dealing with the same frustrations. It had to get to him, and if it did, he couldn’t express it, never in the way Mira imagined he wanted to.

Blades of grass were scattered all over his suit. Mud streaked his jacket sleeve. “The wedding,” she said softly. “You were still planning to go?”

Jesse watched as her fingers rubbed over the worsted wool. “Celine invited me,” he answered. “It doesn’t matter now since there isn’t going to be a wedding. Everyone is saying she bailed. Phillip called it off.”

“When was this?”

“Over an hour ago.”

“An hour? What time is it? Do you know?”

“It’s past two.”

“Two? Jesus. That can’t be right. That means I’ve been out for a couple of hours. I had no idea I’d been gone that long.”