34 Epilogue

The air really was different up north.

It was much crisper, with a faint scent of pine from the forest that lined the highways. With the car window open, the cool breeze whipped Rowen’s hair and kissed his face. It was a clear day in mid-May with no sun at 71 degrees. It was a perfect spring afternoon.

His gaze wandered to the passenger seat, where a leather folder lay beside him. The folder contained Hayleigh’s diploma, who hadn’t been able to make it to her graduation. The school could’ve easily mailed it to her parents’ home upstate, but he wanted to personally deliver it.

The last time he’d gone up, it was to visit estranged relatives as a child nearly two decades ago. It had not been ideal meeting Hayleigh’s parents for the first time under such hard circumstances several months ago, but it had brought them together in a way that made him feel far from estranged now that he was visiting her home for the first time.