GERALD JACOBS.

MORE THAN 30 YEARS AGO.

"So she was mated before?" Phil asked as I sat there, damp by the edge of my windowsill. I looked out through the fog at nothing in particular. It was raining that evening when I got back.

And I crossed my arms over my chest as I wallowed in my thoughts—where I had been for the past few hours and where I would remain for even days to come. Her words kept echoing in my ears, over and over again. The thought of being a second chance ...