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Becky was still watching out the front windows, her brows pinched.

“Did you hear that somebody came by to try and buy Raymond’s orange grove?” Will asked.

Becky’s attention turned to him. “I didn’t. No shit, really?”

“Yeah. He told me this morning. He thinks the suits poisoned the ground water on purpose.” Will nodded toward the parking lot. “Raymond’s having people come in to test it.”

“Holy shit,” Becky said under her breath, leaning in closer. “You think I should have Uncle Jimmy get his checked? All his stuff just kinda started browning overnight.”

“Couldn’t hurt,” Will said. “Raymond said he had the DEP coming. They could just as easily test your uncle’s field too, right?”

“Yeah. Yeah.” She bit her lip, her eyes going far away. “That’s a good idea.” Her gaze came back to him. “Hey, thanks for the heads up.” She flexed her wrist to look at her pink watch face. “I might try and run out on my break to see if I can get a contact from Raymond.”

“If you need more time, I’ll cover for you,” Will offered. “Adrián made me do register training a few months ago.”

Will didn’t like being on register, being personable with customers was more of Becky’s thing, but with a store this small, Adrián had made sure they could all do each other’s tasks if it came down to it.

Becky smiled at him in surprise. She had a gap between her front teeth that Will had always liked. It made her prettiness look not so perfect. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, no problem.”

She clapped him on the shoulder. “That would be awesome, dude, thanks.”

Warmth spread in his chest. It wasn’t like what he felt for Itori, but it was still something he wasn’t used to feeling. He and Becky had worked side by side for years now, but they’d done very little actual interacting.

Because of Will. Because of the way he kept everyone at arm’s length so they couldn’t hurt him.

A customer stepped up to the counter. Becky turned to Mrs. Ellis, her customer service expression snapping back into place.

All through the rest of his shift though, Will couldn’t help ruminating on their conversation. He couldn’t unsee the way Becky lit up when Will took over the register so she could run out. How grateful she was for a little bit of information and help.

It had been such a small conversation, a tiny exchange.

But it had mattered. He’d done something, set something in motion.

The rush of that saw Will all the way through the rest of his shift. Becky even took some of his closing duties at the register, waving him off for helping her out.

For the first time, Will wondered about the way he’d been operating. He thought about what Itori had said about his own people, acting in ways that were no longer helping them.

Will had always been so certain of his alienation. Of the cruelty that would follow if he ever even tried. He closed the door before it could be slammed in his face.

Maybe it wasn’t so black and white. Maybe people weren’t so black and white.

This is your land too, Raymond had said.

If Five Springs now had a collective enemy, maybe the differences between its citizens weren’t so large after all.

Chapter 10

Itori was waiting when Will arrived.

The first thing Itori did was draw him in close and kiss him.

The day melted off of Will’s shoulders. He folded in, letting Itori wrap his strong arms around him.

“You seem… better?” Will ask tentatively when they parted. He licked his lips and could taste oranges. It was bright and acidic, untouched by rot.

“I am. You gave me energy, and the humans did not come today.”