The Brooklyn house had sold quickly and the new owners had opted to buy most of the furniture.

Jack had insisted that this was a fresh start and that they should furnish it together. They’d picked out sofas although they weren’t arriving for another week and Flora had started painting canvases to hang on the walls.

Molly had already decided she wanted a horse-themed bedroom, complete with a stable door. Together with Flora, she and Izzy had gone through all the photographs of their mother and picked out their favorites to have in their rooms.

Remembering how much her photographs of her mother had meant to her, Flora was pleased to see it. Becca was just part of their story now, not their whole story, and so much of their story lay ahead.

She stepped through the open French doors onto the wide porch. Jack had insisted she take the keys and she held them tightly, until they left an imprint in her palm.

Home.

She could hear the girls laughing and bickering through the open windows, caught the words I’m going to tell Flora, and smiled because it all felt so normal and she’d never thought that this would ever be her life.

She stood, absorbing the moment and details of their new home.

There was a rocking chair on the porch and a two-hundred-year-old maple shaded the garden nearest to the house.

Jack was already talking about putting in a swimming pool, and Flora had plans for an organic herb garden and flower beds. Outside the breakfast room was a section of land that she planned to turn into the vegetable garden.

Jack stepped up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. “We can go and test the master suite if you like. At least we have beds, even if we do have to sit on floorboards for another week.”

She smiled, anticipating their first night there. The huge windows looked out across the river toward the Catskill Mountains. The previous owner had described the sunsets as sublime.

She turned. “I don’t care where I sleep, as long as you’re there, too.”

“Daddy?” Molly hollered from upstairs. “There’s a paddock. Can I have a horse?”

“Say no,” Izzy yelled. “No one is ever getting me near a horse again. I don’t want to feed it, or groom it, but most of all I don’t want to ride it.”

Jack glanced at Flora. “Still want to be part of a family? You haven’t changed your mind?”

Why would she change her mind? “Everything I ever wanted is right here.”

“Hey—” He frowned and took her face in his hands. “What’s wrong? Are you upset?” He brushed her cheeks with his thumb. “I can take just about anything life throws at me, but not you crying.”

“They’re happy tears.” She sniffed. “I was just thinking, that’s all.”