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“All right, all right”

We drove on, Katie taking control of Spotify and blasting Taylor Swift for the next hour—and singing along to every word And I didn’t

Before too long we n for Pine Shades, letting us knoere only about twenty minutes away

“Oh od,” said Katie “I’ e get back and settled in we can go to Carr’s Faro for a walk don and check out all the decorations Then if you’re feeling up to it—because I already am—we can head out for a drink or two” She clasped her hands together in total excitement

“Remember when I said I wanted to chill out?”

“I know, I know But I also know you’re only saying that I bet once we’ve gotten back to the house and had a chance to hang with Moer to have some fun as I am”

“Hood”

“See!” her eyes flashed “Knew you’d come around”

Fifteen or so minutes later, we started down the ine living anywhere else and all that But hoed to cast a spell on me every time I came back

Pine Shades was about as picturesque of a town as you could iine Population around forty thousand but still had the same small-town charm and feel of an upstate New York place out of some kind of storybook Doas a crisscross of s with fahts hung across the roads, and the streetlah h the town center

It was odd—I’d been back for Thanksgiving, but so felt different I couldn’t quite put er on what

“There’s Gray,” said Katie, pointing to a far-off stately building of off-white stone that always looked to rounds surrounded by a tall steel gate “Want to stop in and say hi to so smile

I laughed “Yeah, watch the alaro off when they realize soures has corounds”

“Such a nice school,” said Katie, her face nearly pressed against the glass as we passed “You ever wonder what it would’ve been like to go there?”