Meadowlark Prairie the lady of the house

Niamh is gone. Was something Reyes did not expect to hear. The woman was so ingrained within the Caldera that there was no reason she would leave, so far as Reyes knew. There was a story there beyond the situation between the two of them; he didn't want to ask. It wasn't really his business. He didn't feel bad about the absence either, and had to resist the urge to smile.

But if she was truly gone then Towhee's repeated plea (repleate?) held more than a little grain of hope. It was a certainty: he could go home, go back to the way things were.

Okay. He murmurs, and hobbles closer to her.