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And for a young wo

But that was all going to change now that I was back at Cherry Falls I didn’t knohat the next step in et any sadder or lonelier than it had been

At least that’s what I told myself

2

Tristan

Even living out in the middle of nowhere, the rumor mill was still rampant in Cherry Falls That’s how I knew the moment Dolly Case stepped back into town

I’d gotten the call from Ryker, not only a coworker at Blake Brothers Auto Repair where I worked, but also a man I considered a friend He also ran his randossip And therein was otten too drunk three years back, ad obsession I had for Dolly, and Ryker still hadn’t let me live it down

And since getting that call, I hadn’t been able to think about anything else Of course that wasn't saying much when Dolly had been on my mind more times over the last four years than I cared to admit out loud

I brought the ax overin half, the two pieces falling away Although it was December, the sun was out, and most of the snow had melted

I didn’t need to be chopping wood, had an entire season's worth stacked up in the shed But I needed so and that exhausted me

So here I was, splitting wood I didn’t even need, trying to not think about Dolly Case, and failing fucking miserably

Dolly was sixteen years younger than me, and I’d never looked at her as soe an obstacle I wasn’t about to try and hurdle

She was too innocent And to be honest… she was too good for me