My hand scrubbed the back of my neck in complete frustration. I knew she was right, and it wasn’t as if I hadn’t thought of that myself.

“I’ll think about it. I don’t want to hurt her, but people in my line of work are ruthless. If her name gets dragged through the mud, that would be worse. That leaves one more option.”

“What’s that, honey?”

“Let her go.”

Saying those three words saddened me more than I thought possible, but it was the only option I had left, and it wasn’t a good one.

“Promise me you’ll talk to her before you make any decisions.”

“Thanks, Mom. I need to call Ben and go over a few things. Please tell everyone that I’m okay and I’ll see them back home. I need to leave before the sun comes up.”

“I’m proud of you, Drake.”

The door closed softly behind my mom, and I knew what I had to do. First on the agenda was to call my pal who was pretty high up in the hierarchy at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

• • •

The sunrise over the ocean was stunning, deep shades of purple that bled into warm orange hues as it slowly rose, appearing to break free from the water.

I wished Lucy was here to see it with me. I thought of taking a picture and texting it to her, but didn’t want to contact her yet. I wasn’t upset with her at all; I just needed to wait until I learned more.

Ben and I had agreed to meet at a diner when I got back. He told me he had some information he needed to share, but he didn’t want to do it over the phone. I could only imagine what had transpired in the two days I’d been away.

Unless Lucy went to him? No. I shook my head. There was no way in hell she’d talk to Ben about all of this.

The drive back was tedious, and my mind ran in circles the entire time I drove. All I could think about was Lucy. Was she alone? No, she was most likely with Mason. I was happy she had someone, but she was my someone and I felt a bit lost.

When I pulled over at the next stop, I decided to text her. All I needed to know is if she was okay.

D

RAKE

: Did you get home safely?

I waited about five minutes for a reply, but none came. I stowed my phone and continued my drive.

A couple of hours later, I was back in DC and on my way to meet Ben. I swore to myself if he started our conversation with I told you so, I was going to punch his lights out.

After I pulled into a spot in the lot, I grabbed my phone. My heart leaped when I saw her name.

L

UCY

: Yes, thank you.

D

RAKE

: I got your letter.

As soon as I hit SEND, I wanted to retract the message, but it was too late.

L

UCY

: Don’t hate me.

D

RAKE

: I could never hate you.

Because I love you is what I wanted to say, but didn’t. How could I? If she wanted me to let her go, that wasn’t going to help her. Instead she’d feel guilty for not being with me, and I refused to put her through any further anguish.

She didn’t text me back, and that was okay. I walked into the diner and grabbed a booth in the back. Music from the fifties played in the background, and the wait staff glided across the black-and-white checked floor on skates.

The bell on the door chimed, and Ben walked in carrying an oversized book. His posture was a bit slumped, not his regular straight-spine confident stride. He slid into the vinyl booth across from me.

“Ben.”

“Drake, thank you for meeting me.” He placed the large green hardcover book on the table.

“Did you bring me your yearbook to sign?” Sarcasm laced my words.

“I wish that’s what this was, but it isn’t.” He spun it to show me the cover. The Lions Den, Class of 2003. “I know you told me not to, but I did it anyway.”

Then a memory played in my head. Something Lucy said to me while we were at the park. “The Lions sucked.” This must be her yearbook.

“You know, don’t you, Ben?”

He flipped the yearbook open to a page he had marked with a yellow Post-It note. I looked at the picture of a young Lucy. Her hair was a bit longer, but her dark brown eyes were the same. They were a bit sad, as was her smile. Then I saw the freckle that I’d kissed so many times.

Naturally, the name under the picture was Abigail Winston, but it was her. I knew it was, and now Ben did as well. He was bound to ask questions.

Her senior quote caught my attention. “Life can be altered at the drop of a dime. Be sure to carry spare change.”

To think about how altered her life was and what she did to change it struck a chord deep in my heart. All I could do was stare at the brown-eyed girl looking back at me. How could I alter it more?

“Drake?”

I nodded. “Yeah. I know about this. I just found out, and I planned on discussing this with you.”

A crease formed between Ben’s eyes. “What does this all mean?”

“First, tell me how you found out.”

“Like I said, even though you told me not to look into her, I did. It wasn’t because I thought I would find something, but because I didn’t want to. Even more, I didn’t want anyone else to. I made a few calls and found out she’d legally changed her name. Since two people can’t use the same Social Security number, she filed for a new one, and it was approved. This isn’t something that can be easily found, but I have connections.”

He shrugged one shoulder. “When I ran the original one, Abigail Winston came up as the result. At first I was relieved, but then I dug deeper, looking for answers, and found information on her parents, which led me to her high school. I called the school and was able to obtain this yearbook. Believe me, I didn’t want to find anything. Once I saw her picture, I knew it was the same person.”

My heart began to race. How far did he dig?

“What else did you find?”

Ben started fidgeting, which was very unlike him. “I didn’t find anything on her, but her parents are very prominent in their community, if you didn’t know that.”

“Go on.”

“I went back to the only lead I had, which was school. After acquiring her transcripts that included her attendance history, I saw she was the ideal student, never missed a day until early in her junior year when she missed two weeks due to an illness. That’s as far as I got. As you know, HIPAA laws would come into play, so I don’t know why she was sick for so long.”

He looked down at the Formica table before looking back at me. In a low voice he asked, “She wasn’t abused, was she?”

“No, not in that way. Ben, I’m not comfortable saying anything else. But now you know that Lucy went to great lengths to get away from her past and start fresh. I care very deeply for her, and I’m not sure if I’ll seek reelection.” His mouth opened, and I held up a hand. “I know this will affect you as well, and that’s why I’m being honest with you. I have two choices—I can either drop out and keep her out of the spotlight so no one will recognize her, or I can let her go.”

Ben remained silent, frowning at me.

“I’m sorry, Ben. I don’t know if I can lose her.”

He nodded. “I understand. Please don’t factor me in. I can find work elsewhere. Granted, I made you feel like shit when you first started dating her, but I can see how torn you are. Look, you’re my friend first and my boss second. You tell me what you need me to do, and I’ll do it.”

It was a huge relief to have Ben on my side. He could be a real son of a bitch at times, but he was loyal. And that was exactly the kind of person I needed in my camp.

“Thank you. Right now, let’s stay on course. I do need you to handle things for me for a few days. I have some things I need to take care of.”