Kid held his head high, his shoulders stiff, and his back straight as he walked down the dirt road leading away from Odella Hufstead. He knew he was doing the right thing by leaving, but it was breaking his heart nevertheless. He had never felt for anyone the way he did for Odella; not even his childhood sweetheart, Doritha. Falling in love with the Widow Hufstead had never entered his mind that afternoon when he had come onto the farm and unintentionally came across Odella as she bathed in a small pool in an isolated section of her property. He was simply looking for some honest work and a place to stay for awhile, until he could save up enough money to move onto the next place in his travels.
She had intrigued him though. Not only was Odella beautiful, but she possessed a great many of the same qualities his own ma had. She was stubborn, strong, determined, loving, caring, affectionate, intelligent, and humorous as well. He admired her determination to keep her farm operational not only in memory of her recently deceased husband, but for their young son, Lars.
They had gotten off to a rocky start due to his unexpected appearance, but an ease quickly settled between them as the days passed, and they got to know one another a little better. Odella began to trust him not only to handle the chores around the farm, but with her safety and that of her son. He could not remember the moment when their feelings for one another changed and the easy friendship that had developed between then had turned into something more serious. He just knew it had and he did not regret any moment the two of them had had spent loving each other. He was only saddened that it had to end. He knew that if he stayed, he would be unable to hide the love he felt for Odella, and he was unwilling to do anything to jeopardize her reputation or standing in the small community of immigrants of which she was a member. And Kid knew that as much as he loved her, he knew he was not ready to be a husband to Odella or a stepfather to young Lars.
So leaving was the only option he had. He knew that as much as it hurt him to walk away from her, he knew it was still the right thing to do. He also knew that no matter where he went that he was taking a part of Odella with him, even as he was leaving a piece of himself with her.