“Cathy,” he released a long breath, “everything’s okay. I need this. It helps me work through everything. Don’t worry, I got it under control. Everything will be fine.”

He told her how it helped take the edge off, especially after the hard days, like those when he had to drive by Big Diamond Farm where it had all happened.

Each time he passed by the place the images, the sounds, and the ghosts reached out to him. He couldn’t stop it. In the seconds it took to drive by the farm the tragedy would replay over and over. It didn’t matter that there were new owners. Just being near the property made him anxious and caused his heart to race.

Peter and Yvette Jansen and their three young daughters lived there now. The young family was from the Netherlands. Peter and Yvette were aware of the tragedy and had purchased the farm at a good price.

Lone Tree was a small community and the inevitable happened.

Fortin and Cathy had bumped into the Jansens at the grocery store. Cathy knew the girls from school. They were a nice family. Still, it was awkward because the Dutch couple knew who Will was, and they knew his role in the history of their new home. The real estate agent, who was Lone Tree’s biggest gossip, had told the Jansens everything, and they were okay with it.

Still, Fortin saw traces of unease in Peter and Yvette’s eyes, but they remained very polite, never bringing up the past while shaking his hand and exchanging small pleasantries. Cathy, being more socially adept than Fortin, welcomed the Jansens to Lone Tree and extolled its virtues, the schools, the churches, the tranquility, the mountains, and the moral fiber of the community.

“You’ll find the people here are the salt of the earth, generous, understanding, and,” Cathy searched for the right words, “they hold an enormous capacity for forgiveness.”

The Jansens smiled graciously.

That was how Cathy had coped with it all, struggling and straining to get their lives back to something close to normal. She was always searching for the upside, always loving, always caring, eternally tending to Fortin’s wound and repairing what she could, refusing to let go of hope.

And her biggest hope was to have a family.

She had never let go of that dream.

Cathy wanted children, believing with all her heart that a baby would help Will process the past and focus on the future.

“We have to do this, Will. Otherwise, we’ll never get beyond the tragedy; a tragedy that was never your fault.”

Fortin knew that what she’d said was true, yet it would never change how he felt about it.

Still, he’d agreed to start a family.