Much later, while drinking her afternoon glass of wine on the deck, Jess said, “Do you realize how much better you are when you have a social life? That summer you joined the Sierra Club, you had fewer mishaps. I think the fresh air helps clear your head.”

“I had mishaps that summer. Remember?” Leigh said.

“They weren’t as obvious,” Jess said.

“To you,” Leigh argued. And then, on the subject of mishaps who were now four years old, “The loveliest thing happened, Mom. Max remembered Mitch and Ty. Wasn’t that dear of him?”

“In his will?” Jess asked, amazed.

“Yes. I can’t think why. He rarely saw them. He must have done it for me, knowing how much I wanted children. Do you suppose that means he finally forgave me? Perhaps he loved me more than I knew. Am I being sentimental?”

Jess couldn’t resist the urge to touch her daughter’s golden hair, braided and falling over her shoulder. Sometimes Jess tried to imagine Leigh’s pain, her feelings of inadequacy or the way she suffered in rejection. Men were afraid to date her; women friends were equally rare. It could be such a lonely life, being a fast-tracker. “Oh, Leigh, the boys need a father.”

Leigh actually looked away. She rarely let her emotions show, was actually still in the learning stages of even allowing herself to have emotions. Jess thought it had a lot to do with returning to Durango. “Let’s not go over that again, Mom. I don’t have a father to offer them, and I can’t help it.”

Well, I can, Jess thought. “I’ll need your advice with something, darling. I want to have a huge party this summer, partly to welcome you and the boys home and introduce you to all my friends, and partly because I don’t know if I’ll ever feel this well again. I’ve wanted to landscape the whole blasted yard for years now—make it a wonderland. You’ll help me, won’t you?”

“When did you start reading this?” Leigh asked, picking up a copy of a bridal magazine. What on earth was her mother doing with a bridal magazine?

“That? Oh, I think Abby or Peg left a lot of them here. We planned both their girls’ weddings together… What fun. Abby’s daughter even left her gown here… You’re about the same size. You ought to try it on sometime.

“Now, I want flagstone walks, a gazebo and a big barbecue pit. I’d like a couple of birdbaths or statues…maybe even a fountain. Can you design something like that on your little machine?”

“I think so…yes. I’ll have a go at it in the next day or two.”