“Would they let you return it, or that bike?”

Noah shakes his head again as a bell rings in the distance. Come September, children will run outside at that signal, heading for a playground without a care in the world, and that’s what I want for him. I want that so much I have to hold the steering wheel again. It’s either that or hug him, and I can’t do that while he’s this brittle. All I can do is sound as hoarse as Marc does.

“You aren’t the failure, are you? You tried to get out of it, didn’t you?” All the police reports tell the same story—that knife through the heart was a warning to keep an estate full of kids like Noah in line. “You wanting out of that world was smart, not stupid.”

Noah meets my eyes then, and this wait was worth it because he’s wide open and honest. “But if I didn’t pass the entrance tests, I’ll have to repeat a whole school year. A whole year, Stef. Then everyone will think I’m dumb as fu—”

Marc laughs. It’s a gorgeous sound that surprises Noah into silence. “Like I was stupid for making that presentation the day after we got home? Tell me, was I stupid because I still tried for that spot I wanted so much? Or was I stupid because I turned it down when they offered it to me?”

Noah’s grudging, but he admits, “Neither.”

“Good, because there was another option. I got to defer starting my dream job for a year, and I’ll never think that was stupid.” Marc lists reasons. “It’s given me time to set up Love-Land Weddings with Stef.” He meets my gaze, and I’ve never been happier for the bank loan that bought us this year’s grace. “And it means I get a whole year to be around for you, which is more important to me.” Marc’s quiet but fiery. “If you don’t get the results you want today, I bet there’ll be another option for you like there was for me. All we need to do is find out what that is, then we’ll pivot. All of us. Together.”

Noah blows out a long breath. He also unfastens his seat belt, and maybe whoever it is across the car park sees that. He strides towards us. The scar on his face is paler than the still pink one on Noah’s chest. It pulls his smile lopsided.

“Noah? Welcome back.” He sticks a hand through the open window, shaking with me and Marc. “Hugo Eavis. School Padre. I met Noah when he sat his entrance tests.” He focusses on Noah. “I was hoping you’d get here in time to help me this afternoon.” He points towards a wooded pathway. “Heard you’re an expert with tents.”

We all are. Hayden taught us.

The padre says, “I’m taking the boarding students camping before the school year officially starts, only none of them knows what they’re doing with tent pegs or guy ropes. If you help with this practice, it might be a good chance to get to know your sixth-form classmates before September.”

“The sixth form?” Noah freezes, and I know I never got to meet him when he was eight, like I did Marc, but here’s a much younger version. “I passed?” All of his sharp edges splinter, and I don’t care if some lodge deep in my chest, seeing this is worth each stab. “I really won’t have to repeat a whole year?”

The padre opens the Land Rover door. “Based on the results of your maths test? No. You scored top marks there. Based on your English results?” He makes a seesaw motion, Noah’s future in the balance. “But what really interested me was your approach to the moral dilemma essay. The one asking how you’d resolve world hunger. Never had a prospective pupil give a single-sentence answer before.” He meets Marc’s eyes before his gaze meets mine. His is warm and merry, and those splinters in my chest fade. “‘Eat the rich’ was a very succinct answer. It makes me think you might be a good fit for the school. A chat might help you decide if the school is a good fit for you too. We could all walk and talk now.”

He leads the way through woods that are a reminder of home. Marc is strafed with gold and emerald when he slows to hang back. “Do you think this will be a good place for him?”

I watch Noah. He’s on the outskirts of a group at first until the padre points at a pile of canvas and shrugs. The crowd parts, Noah at their centre, getting to be helpful, and I know that tactic. “Yeah. It could be.”

Noah jogs back to us only minutes later.

“You can go,” he tells us. He also lowers his voice. “They don’t have a clue what they’re doing. Might be a while. Can you pick me up at five?”

That won’t leave much time to get back to the farm for the rehearsal, but Marc nods, and I know he’ll make it happen like everything else on his checklist.

“What’s left?” I ask once Noah leaves us.

“Left?” Marc doesn’t look my way. He still watches, and I see why—Noah’s absorbed again into the heart of a group of kids his own age who don’t run drugs or have to dodge knives, and Marc’s eyes shine when they finally meet mine. “What do you mean, left?”

“On your list.” I steer him back to the Land Rover where Marc doesn’t need help with his seat belt. I still slide across the seat to do it for him. I also rub the pad of a thumb under his damp eyes. “There’s one more box to check, isn’t there? What’s left?”

“Oh. Planning another wedding.”

We’ve already got a second booking?

“Who for? Another bank clerk?”

We’re parked in the shadow of a tree. I still see a flush rise as he digs in his pocket, only it isn’t his phone he pulls out with that checklist on it. It isn’t a multi-tool either, or the twine I always carry. It’s what I last saw swinging from a gold chain around Mum’s neck.

“No, not for a bank clerk next time.” Marc meets my gaze. “I’m hoping it’ll be for a farmer. A local one, you know?”

He’s still blotched with pink. It clashes with his hair so badly. I love that, and what he says next.

“It doesn’t have to be anytime soon. I mean, I can plan a wedding in a week if I have to, but I’ve got twelve months free, so I’m in no hurry.” Marc holds my dad’s wedding ring between us while teasing me like he must have learned from Lukas, and I even love that. “I just need to look for whoever this ring fits. Might ask Hayden if he knows anyone likely.”

Marc doesn’t need to look far, or ask. I take the ring and show him.

Like Dad, I’ve got big Luxton knuckles.

This ring will fit me forever.

The End

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