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What kind of guy says he’s not going to stop trying and then stops trying?

Maybe I heard him incorrectly Maybe that’s not what he said at all Maybe all of this anticipatory heartache could have been prevented if I had only paid o, when he was standing on my front porch

Besides, I’m not even supposed to care about this I’ on anyone This wasn’t in the plan My heartbeat quickens as I turn onto the dead end street of my new home An unine a burglar stupid enough to robI knew the phone number to the Salt Gap Police Departe fillson a rocking chair in front of an old western-style jail cell

The van isn’t actually parked infact I realize as I slowly drive closer to my apartment It’s parked in the forked part of the drivehere it turns to the vacant apartment connected to mine

Two portlycarry boxes from inside the truck and load them onto the front porch, my front porch, but on the other side Looks like Tyler has found a tenant for the other duplex I didn’t even knoas looking for one And ould it be? There were hardly any people in Salt Gap and they all seemed to have lived here forever Did two other runaon and decide to stay as well?

I park onto stare at et a look at the new tenants Hopefully they aren’t as bad as all the neighbors I had to share the elevator with back in Houston

A woman walks out of the duplex’s front door, her blonde hairto the sweat on her face She wipes a hand over her forehead, her face dull with exhaustion She doesn’t look anywhere close to as adorable as she is at the diner

“Where do you want these?” one of the men asks as he hauls a shelf with little curved slots for wine bottles on his shoulder

Elizabeth thinks for a uess”

She waves at me as I step out of my car and I act as if I hadn’t spent the last few hbor She dances across the porch as I walk up toacross the s that separates her half of the porch from mine

“I’hbors! Miranda is crazy excited too It’ll be a girl’s only duplex!”