Noah POV

The decorations are up before I’ve made it through the gate.

That’s the first thing I see when I pull in—ribbons along the fence posts, white and silver, the particular aesthetic of something that has been planned for longer than anyone is admitting. People move with the purposeful energy of a coordinated effort, carrying things, arranging things, checking things against lists. Someone has put flowers along the path to the main house.

I sit in the car for a ...