Clay was quiet for a long time. “The kids are worried that you’ll uninvite them, come spring.”

“I know,” Brynne said. “I’m calling them next. They are definitely still welcome here. In fact, I can barely wait to pick them up at the airport.”

Clay expelled a long, relieved breath. “Their aunt Elle—Heather’s sister—is a flight attendant. She’ll arrange to escort them as far as Kalispell. That way, you won’t have to deal with their fool of a father.”

“You’ve made mistakes. So have I. Let’s agree to wish each other well and move on with our lives.”

You talk a good game, Brynne Bailey, scoffed a voice in her mind, but can you go after what you really want, or are you going to keep on camping out in the past like you’ve been doing since you left Boston?

Do you even know what you want?

Brynne sighed, looked down at her clothes and smiled. She looked as though she’d covered the studio/guest room floor in gallons of paint, then rolled in it.

Yeah, she knew what—and whom—she wanted.

But did she have the courage to move beyond her fears and doubts and go for it?

Fortunately, she didn’t have to decide tonight. Or tomorrow. Or next week.

There was no rush.

“Thanks, Brynne. For getting back to me, I mean. I’ve been kicking myself ever since I left Painted Pony Creek.” Clay paused, cleared his throat. “It’s a beautiful place, by the way.”

“It is,” Brynne said. For the first time since her return, she felt truly at home.

She belonged right here, in this place, with these people, and knowing that for certain was a powerful blessing. Now she could plant her feet, square her shoulders and go forward into all that awaited her.

There would be joy, and sorrow.

Wins and losses.

All the polarities that make up a human life, fully lived.

And she was ready.

Or, at least, she thought she was.

After speaking with Clay, she put through a call to Davey and Maddie, told them the visit was very much on. Mentally, she bedecked every limb of every maple and oak tree along Main Street in bright yellow ribbons, just for them.

Sara received a text. I’m okay. Honestly. We’ll get together soon.

By then, she’d dealt with everyone in her text list except Eli.

And she didn’t know quite what to say to him.

She couldn’t help wondering if he’d been projecting when he’d told her she wasn’t ready for a relationship. Maybe he wasn’t ready, and hadn’t realized it yet.

Furthermore, as sheriff of Wild Horse County, with two recent deaths on the books, technically unresolved, he was understandably distracted.