Riley was awake before the birds were.
She lay in the dark for a while, listening to the particular silence of the homestead at that hour. The twins' even breathing down the hall, Fall's absence from his usual spot. Colin had taken the dog with him again rather than leaving him behind as company. That, more than anything, told her what she needed to know.
He was not coming this morning either.
The realization sat on her chest like something physical. A hand pressed flat over her sternum. She told herself it didn't matter. She told herself, lying there with the ceiling going from black to grey above her.
That a man who had spent three years standing quietly in doorways was allowed a few days of standing somewhere else. She told herself she was relieved, actually, because the way he'd looked at her the last time he'd stayed for supper had made something in her chest tighten in a way she hadn't asked for and didn't trust.
