Was that getting close? For some reason, he thought it was next week.

  Time had gotten weird for them while on the road.

  Gabriel and Sang drifted inside. Greeted by one of the shopkeepers, they explored the stocked shelves of produce, jarred preserves and jams, and gift items. The air smelled like fresh baked pies. A warming rack held pie pockets on display.

  When they walked out again, Gabriel carried out an armload of stuff that mostly he had put into a basket to purchase. They all looked amazing, and he thought the others might like to sample some of the local goods.

  Sang made sure they got a dozen of the homemade apple pie pockets. “They’re small, and Dr. Green loves pies. He’ll probably want at least two.”

  This first bit of exploration seemed to cheer up the both of them a lot. They stopped by two other places that were local, buying stuff neither of them had tried before and getting enough to share with the group.

  This was what she needed, Gabriel thought to himself. His heart warmed at seeing her smile as she picked up local sodas and candy and treats, eager to try them with the others. She just needed to focus on something else for a while.

  She needed to remember a little bit of happiness when they were trying to uncover a sad past.

  She needed to remember they were there for her and that she could go anywhere she wished.

  Once they were happy with their collection of goods, they left Winchester in search of where Dr. Green had parked the RV.

  Locating the right road they had parked off of was a little difficult, but they eventually found the narrow lane into the woods near the Sorenson farm. The location meant they had nothing to plug in to and they would have to go back to the campsite just to recharge and get fresh water supplies for the tanks when needed.

  Gabriel parked the sedan behind it, and he and Sang carried armloads of packages to the door.

  Luke answered, looking a little weary and wearing fluffy fuzzy pajama pants and a heavy sweater, but he smiled at seeing us. “Aw, for me? You shouldn’t have...”

  Luke stepped out of the way as Gabriel entered, and he stopped Sang, taking some of the packages from her.

  His head instantly disappeared into one of the bags with the apple pies. “Oh... you’ve brought happiness. I love it. I love you both. This is the best day ever.”

  Sang blushed. Completely adorable.

  “You all fixed the heaters?” Gabriel asked, noting the improved warmth in the RV.

  “Yeah, North fixed it,” Luke said.

  “What was wrong with it?”

  Luke shrugged, stuck his head into the bag again and spoke while sniffing. “One of the windows was cracked open, letting the heat out. It was hard to tell because the window blinds were down.”

  Go figure.

  Dr. Green came out of the back room, spotting the collection on the counter and beamed. “So you didn’t forget Valentine’s Day!” he said cheerfully.

  Sang and Gabriel gazed at each other. Was it actually today? Had they missed that part completely?

  Sang sputtered a little but smiled and nodded. “We sure did.” She shared a small, conspiratorial wink with Gabriel.

  They had forgotten. Gabriel couldn’t believe he’d missed it. For some reason, he thought he’d have a few days left to go before then.

  Luckily, they’d planned for her a gift weeks ago. Where did they put it? He wasn’t too worried. Someone had it and would make sure she got it.

  Gabriel and Sang unpacked the bags, showing the others the local delicacies. Gabriel opened bottles of Ale-8s and Sang unwrapped a tin of Ruth Hunt candies.

  They all sat at the RV dinning booth. Luke was the first to dive his hand into the candy tin and pull out an oval-shaped chocolate-covered candy.

  He sniffed it first, before opening the clear cellophane packaging. Luke licked the outside of one edge and took a small bite. The center was pure white. He rolled the small piece over his tongue.

  “You’re quite the connoisseur,” Dr. Green commented, seeming to forget about his apple pie to enjoy watching Luke evaluate the candy. “What’s your verdict?”

  Luke didn’t answer. He was too busy rolling his eyes and savoring the small bit of candy. He then reached out, hooked his fingers at the edge of the tin, pulled it to his body, and sheltered it in his lap. “I’m sorry, everyone, this is terrible. I couldn’t ask you all to subject yourselves to this absolute trash.” He said this while devouring the rest of the piece in one bite in order to free his hand to covering the tin, like it was precious and he wanted to protect it. He moved to get up like he intended to get rid of it, except when he started chewing the candy, he stopped, pausing to roll his eyes again, a fresh delighted expression crossing his face and he froze to savor.

  “Nope,” Dr. Green said, weaving his hand around so he could hook the tin. “I can’t allow it. You can have some, but remember last time?”

  “Don’t know what you’re talking about,” Luke said, wrestling feebly for possession of the tin.

  Dr. Green gingerly pulled the candy away from him, collecting a handful out of it to plant in front of Luke. “Don’t be greedy. Also, I don’t need you sick right now.”

  “I’m guessing it’s good,” Gabriel said. He took a swig of the Ale-8. The ginger ale floated around his mouth and he savored the taste. He checked the emerald green bottle after he was done, inspecting the ingredients list. “This ain’t that bad.”

  Sang didn’t seem to care for the soda, but she did love the pies and the candy. “These might be my new favorite,” she said as she folded a cellophane wrapper. Suddenly she looked around. “Where’s Nathan?”

  “Out for another hike,” Dr. Green said. “I told him he didn’t have to, but I think he’s restless. He’s thinking of going back to the farm and making some excuse to join North and Silas on fixing up the place.”

  Once Gabriel got a little food in himself, he felt a little awkward. It was Valentine’s Day and he’d completely forgotten. Somehow, he’d lucked out, taking Sang out, even if they hadn’t done much. He felt bad for yelling and venting with her in the car on today of all days. And maybe they should have skipped visiting her grandmother.

  Or not. He couldn’t change what they did, but he wasn’t totally sorry about what happened. If anything, he felt more drawn to her. It had been special today.

  If the relationship he shared with Sang had been normal, going out to dinner and a movie and all that... That didn’t seem right. It felt out of place for her. She didn’t ask to go out to dinner or a movie on normal days. Shouldn’t it be about her? Taking her to do things she wanted to do? They sort of did that. She liked discovering new things she hadn’t tried yet. She seemed to like exploring the town, the old buildings, the unique neighborhoods, and finding things to share with the others when they returned.

  And what, was she going to split Valentine’s Day up nine different ways? Going out to dinner nine times?

  No. Their relationship was different. The whole day was about spending time together with someone you really cared about and showing them how much you cared about them.

  And he did. In fact, he’d been the one to spend loads of time with her within the last several days.

  It was growing on him, but he hadn’t forgotten that he shared her with others.

  It was like what Silas had said to her, how he’d felt a little guilty claiming Sang as his own girlfriend at school. It was hours a day that the rest of them didn’t get a chance to be close, because of circumstances.

  Now maybe Gabriel felt a bit of that, too. There wasn’t really a lot of time for Luke or Dr. Green or someone else to be given a chance to take her out.

  But maybe that wasn’t what their Valentine’s Day could ever be about.

  “You should take some pictures,” Gabriel said suddenly to Sang. “Of some of the stuff we’ll bring back. For Victor and Kota and Mr. Blackbourne. And tell them Happy Valentine’s Day.”

  Sang’s face brightened so much, that Gabriel wished he’d gotten a picture of it. “Should I?” she asked. “It’s not exactly an emergency.”

  “Do it on one of the fresh phones and we can get rid of it,” Dr. Green said. “I’d say it’s worth the risk and expense. And don’t sign your name. Actually, don’t send them a message. Just the picture.” Dr. Green nudged Luke. “Get out of the way. I have an idea.”

  It took some rearranging, but eventually Dr. Green managed to set up what he was picturing. He displayed some of the candies, a bottle of Ale-8, and a collection of the other delights in a picturesque grouping on the table.

  He then had Sang wrap her arms around the whole bundle and make a heart shape with her hands.

  The picture he took didn’t show her face, just the heart and the stuff they’d be getting soon.

  Dr. Green took a couple of pictures and tried to pick one that he was happy with. “Hm. Does it really convey Happy Valentine’s Day though?” He showed it to the others.

  “I think it’s good,” Luke said.

  “I don’t know,” Gabriel said, feeling he was understanding Dr. Green’s hesitation. “It feels weird not to send her face.”

  “Yeah but...” Dr. Green grumbled a little. “We really shouldn’t...”

  “Then they’ll understand why we didn’t do that,” Luke said. “Send it as is. It’s risky enough we’re doing this when it isn’t an emergency.”

  Sang didn’t say anything at first, gazing at the photo. Eventually she said, “We have to do something.”

  And she was smiling. To herself, but she seemed happy.

  That warmed Gabriel’s heart. He wasn’t sure what they were doing to make her smile like that, but it was nice to see her feeling so much better. She hadn’t even gotten her real Valentine’s Day gift yet. Maybe it was because they were together. Maybe for a moment she was forgetting about the past and looking at them, at her future with them.

  It gave her something to look forward to, instead of looking backward.

  She was so fucking beautiful when she smiled like that.

  “Fuck it,” Gabriel said. He took the phone, snapped a quick photo with Sang smiling like she was before she had a chance to change.

  And before anyone could stop him, he typed in the numbers he knew by heart and sent it to Victor, with a cryptic message to send it to everyone. He also sent the heart with the goods photo, though he wasn’t as in love with it.

  Not as much as he loved the one of her face, simply happy as could be.

  He wanted this one for himself, too.

  Dr. Green gasped at him, though he didn’t stop him. “What did you do?”

  “You’ll see later.” He casually tossed him the phone. “But in the meantime, get rid of this one.”

  Who We Are Inside

  Sang

  The unexpected realization of it being Valentine’s Day put everyone in a slightly better mood. It was like we welcomed the distraction.

  The chocolate candies were absolutely delicious. I agreed with Luke’s sentiment. The sweet cream candy was like powder at first and then melted on your tongue. Completely addictive. Not at all like crème candies I’d had before.

  Seeing the guys working together to help make everyone cheery on the holiday, as much as they could, it was like they’d read my mind about being included when they talked about me and the relationship. It was like when I shopped for their Christmas gifts, except when I did that, I had separated them out to keep their gifts a secret from each other. Now it was like a group effort to figure out what the group would like.

  Even if Gabriel and I had done the initial part without thinking it was Valentine’s Day. Or did he secretly know?

  At any rate, that made me happy.

  It was the best Valentine’s Day I could have imagined.

  It even got a little bit better when we got back to the farmhouse, bringing extra apple pies for everyone, including my grandfather.

  After learning what happened in the past, as much as I was confused as to why, I couldn’t bring it up, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to. My grandfather had been kind to me since I’d arrived. I didn’t know what else to do but continue to try to secretly look for answers. Giving him an apple pie felt like a right thing to do.

  Nathan was at the farmhouse, hanging out with North and Silas. He’d made an excuse of being curious about the masonry work and wanted to see it for himself. All they had done was construct a level of scaffolding so it was secure, but he’d been helping with handing them tools and asking questions.

  When I could get a minute with him to myself for a brief moment outside, I whispered to Nathan of how there were more treats at the RV.

  Nathan brightened. “Wait until you see yours.”

  But he didn’t say anything else. Had he hidden it somewhere?

  Given he didn’t have his phone, he wouldn’t know about the photo Gabriel took until he got back, but still, at least there would be some small surprise waiting for him.

  When Gabriel and Nathan distracted my grandfather with getting milk for eating the apple pies, North leaned in to whisper to me. “Meet me tonight outside as soon as it’s dark.”

  That was all he said.

  My heart fluttered.

  Silas though, told me to come with him to go see something in the barn.

  We had to be quick, while my grandfather was still distracted.

  Silas made sure we were hidden inside the barn before he turned to me. He reached for my hand, drawing it into his to pull me close. “Greeks don’t usually make a big deal about Valentine’s Day, but I understand it’s a bigger deal here.”

  “It’s not big in Greece?” I asked.

  “No. Well... maybe it used to be. The Orthodox...” He rolled his eyes. “Long story. But North told me on the way up that it’s more of a big deal here in America. I didn’t know. I’m sorry. I hope you like my gift. Just understand I did it before he told me.”

  He got me something, too? He was apologetic about it, worried I might not like it. But like Nathan, he didn’t present it to me or suggest where it could be. What was it?

  I found my finger of my free hand had pressed itself against my lip. “Can I tell you something? Can you keep a secret?”

  His eyes widened in surprise. “Of course.”

  “Maybe it was the way I was brought up, but I only ever got cards and candy on Valentine’s Day in elementary school. When we had to give cards and candy to all of our classmates. I mean I’ve seen the commercials, but... for the longest time I thought it was more for married couples.” The card and candy swapping faded out in middle school and I never really paid attention to the holiday after that. It hadn’t really occurred to me at all what to do for them. It was my first real relationship and I was still learning. If I’d thought about it ahead of time, I would have thought maybe to share some candy and flowers like in the commercials.

  He seemed to consider what I was saying. While he wasn’t speaking, I realized he’d been wearing just jeans, tennis shoes and a thin jacket. He wasn’t that cold here?

  He was usually warm, furnace like. Maybe he liked the colder weather.

  “I won’t tell the others,” he said eventually. “But in the future, do you want to do something special?”

  I considered the question. “I kind of like the getting treats we haven’t tried and trying them part. Can we just do that?” It wasn’t anything too big, but it could be a lot of fun for us.

  Our own tradition.

  He beamed at this. “I like it. I can tell the others that. Or you can tell them, too. They’d probably love it.”

  After he said it, he reached out to me.

  I went to him, and he hugged me, lifting me off the ground. I buried my head into his neck, appreciating the warmth on a cold day.

  Held me up, and urged my legs around his waist so he could really hold me. He squeezed gently, and buried his nose into my hair.

  And then kissed my neck.

  I was in a perfect position being higher up. I kissed his neck.

  And like he’d done to me in the closet, I kept my lips locked on his skin, and gave it a gentle suck at his flesh. He tasted of salt and that ocean scent he carried mixed in with it.

  He sucked in his breath sharply and held strong to me.

  I continued until I left a small mark on his neck.

  If he and Gabriel wanted to leave marks on me, I thought it only fair.

  He held no complaint, but he left his own mark low below my collarbone so it wouldn’t be spotted easily.

  It was silly for us to do, and we were being a little reckless, but connecting with him felt so right, even if it was just for a moment.

  We couldn’t stay long in the barn together. When we finally let go of each other, he grabbed a piece of scaffolding just to lug it up the hill as we returned to make it look like we weren’t just down there for nothing.

  But I was floating the rest of the day.

  ♥♥♥

  That evening, I couldn’t simply walk out the door at sunset. I didn’t have an excuse to walk out the door at night, and I couldn’t get anywhere near a door without the dog following me to it, and that got my grandfather’s attention.

  It wasn’t until Gabriel suggested I ‘go get some rest,’ and then whispered to me that I just climb out that window quietly, that I realized it was probably my only option for getting out the door.

  I dressed in darker clothes, dark stretch pants and a black hoodie I borrowed from Gabriel, so it was a bit long on my body and covered my butt.

  I turned the light off first and ran the television to mask any noise I made.

  It was pitch dark out, especially without any glow from neighboring houses for any additional extra light, and a slight overcast with snow still waiting to fall.

  Opening the window was easy.

  It was seeing the ground from the window and where to land that was tough. There wasn’t a porch on this side, so the drop down seemed far.

  Couldn’t be that far though. It was the first floor. It was there, I just couldn’t see it.

  So I climbed out, but held on to the window, lowering my body down. My feet dangled, and I was trying to touch ground before I let go.