A light tap at the front door stopped him on his way to the kitchen. He changed course and pulled it open.

“Hi, there.” Marge smoothed her hair with one hand and held a plate covered in foil with the other. “Who was that you had over here last night?”

He stepped aside and gestured for her to enter, which she seemed more than happy to do.

“You’ll never believe it,” he said.

And he found he couldn’t wait to tell her all about it.

Bea chewed her sandwich and watched warily as her dad and Marge chatted on the other side of the table. He was telling her the whole story about Ken and Grandma June, and she was eating it up.

“I didn’t want to say anything earlier.” Jeremy leaned close so that only she could hear. “But I think it’s time to quit the Food Farm.”

“The assistant-manager job would get us through until your business takes off. It wouldn’t be that bad.”

“But I have good news.”

She finished her bite and gave him her full attention. “Really? What?”

“I found us a place.”

“You found . . . ? Like, to live?”

He smiled. “Thanks to working the belt for the Duncans, we’ve got enough in savings for the deposit and first two months’ rent. It’s small, but it’s better than our apartment in Santa Clara.”

Apartment? Bea chewed the inside of her cheek. There were only a few apartments in Moose Creek. None of them could be considered better than where they lived in Santa Clara.

“Is it over someone’s garage or something? I didn’t know there were any apartments available around here.”

“No. Bea.” Jeremy set his sandwich down and glanced over at her dad. “It’s in Ponderosa.”

She looked down. What? Their only source of income was here. Dad needed her here. He’d never agree to move Grandma and Grandpa into the house if she moved away. And she’d just mentioned it to Amber the other day, and she said she’d be happy to stop in once a week to keep an eye on Grandma. Between her and Amber . . .

“I can’t run my company from here.” Jeremy’s eyes pleaded with her to understand. “Those three clients I told you about? They’re ready to sign. All of them. But I need to be more available. I need to be around other businesses.”

She opened her mouth. Closed it.

He raised his eyebrows. “I need better internet. I need . . .”

She felt the familiar stirring of uncontrollable emotions in her chest and struggled to conquer them. Of course, she knew they couldn’t live with Dad forever. They’d put a three-month limit on that. And she’d never imagined herself settling down in Moose Creek. But Dad was all alone. He needed her. Grandma and Grandpa needed her. And her only friend lived here. The pull of inertia was strong.