Dad sat on her other side, as usual. He’d already told her all there was to know about Grandma’s appointment earlier in the day, which hadn’t been much. It had taken some convincing to get Grandma to lie down for the CT scan, but they’d gotten it done. The office said they would call to set up an appointment to discuss the results early next week. Dad had said it seemed like Grandma was doing better. She hadn’t had any incidents since getting home from the hospital.

Jeremy glanced at his phone and nudged her shoulder with his. “Look at this.”

He held it out, and she leaned over to see a small rustic table with an antler base. “Is that . . . ?”

“Yep.” He grinned. “Mr. Van Dyken decided to take my advice. He sent me a friend request this morning and posted two pictures. This one and another of an antler wall clock. They’ve been shared almost twenty times.”

“Wow.”

“Each.”

Bea rarely went on Facebook, but it seemed like an impressive start. When Jeremy began tapping intently on his screen, she scooted closer, caught up in his excitement. “What are you doing now?”

“I’m asking him to send me that video I told you about. The one he made for his grandson. If I have some spare time, maybe I could edit it for him.”

She gave him a half smile. “He’s lucky you moved to town.”

He smiled back. “How was work, by the way?”

She’d come straight from the store. “The usual. MacGregor brought up the assistant-manager job again.”

Jeremy’s expression gave nothing away. “He’s known from the beginning you wouldn’t be sticking around.”

She picked at the hem of her coat. That had been the plan. But things were different now, weren’t they? She couldn’t leave Moose Creek with Grandma struggling the way she was. Couldn’t leave Dad to deal with it all by himself. And if they were going to stay, she might as well have a good job. “He’s offering benefits. Paid time off. Health insurance.”

“Bea.” Jeremy’s eyes crinkled. “We’re only going to be here for two more months.”

What could she say? They’d had an agreement. But Jeremy still had no job, and Grandma . . .

An unfamiliar weight settled on her chest. This was how small towns did it. How they sucked you in. By getting ahold of your heart one way or another and not letting go. It was what she’d feared from the beginning.

How had she gone from not knowing how to return to not knowing how to leave?

“Maybe we need to talk about our plan again.”

Jeremy kept his eyes on the game. “We did talk about it. For hours.”