Roman had already called him twice, so Noah knew that the next step was going to be Roman showing up at their front door. And then getting stuck again for the next twenty years of his life because Noah had ignored his calls. So when the phone rang a third time, he picked up. “Hi.” […]

Noah was out in the yard. If Olivia were to ask, he’d probably tell her he was working on something. But the tools were abandoned in the grass by his shed and he was sitting silently on the bottom steps of the staircase up to his apartment. Bracing herself for whatever was about to come […]

Cleo had to bring her mom to a doctor’s appointment that day, so even though she skipped the job interview, she did need to go back to Boston. Her mother wasn’t thrilled about it and frankly, neither was Cleo. But it was an opportunity to make sure her mom really was doing alright now that […]

It was warm and Roman wasn’t here, but Cleo still felt like she’d gone back in time a year and a half as she helped Noah up the walkway. She wasn’t carrying him this time, mostly just staying close and redirecting him as he teetered or stopped walking. But that same unsettling feeling was there.  […]

“I haven’t seen him,” Cleo said, that familiar sense of dread sinking in yet again. She was at her apartment in Boston, pacing in the kitchen with a half-cooked pot of spaghetti boiling on the stove. She was back in town for yet another interview, this time at a job she really didn’t want and […]

Noah had a better idea before he’d even turned his truck on. He didn’t call Andrew. Instead, he just took the turn out of town and drove. And now he was at a bar he’d never been to before, and that was probably for the best. Not that he’d care too much, but he knew […]

This was really the first time Noah had to be extremely careful about what he said at an AA meeting. Normally he could be pretty open. Of course there were things he didn’t talk about outside of New Winslow, mostly involving the curse. But lately it was such a big part of his life, and […]

Iris actually had a few customers in the few hours she was open the next day. But she hurried them along faster than Andrew would probably have approved of and locked the doors midmorning. Noah was back at the shop by then, this time with Cleo. Andrew and Olivia were handling insurance meetings apparently, and […]

Roman woke up to see that the room was still dark and Celine’s side of the bed was empty. Considering he’d been tossing and turning all night, she must have slipped away in the fifteen minutes he’d managed to get to sleep.  He sat up and glanced over at the two rollaway beds. Jamie was […]

This time, Iris was not concerned about having Noah in her shop. Andrew was here, the ritual to connect Noah with Billy McBride had seemingly worked perfectly (though deep down she was still salty they hadn’t trusted her to do it), and everyone was on the same page about where they stood and where they […]