Bryce smiled—she’d told everyone not to call her before ten, and here it was barely ten fifteen. “I passed, Mom!”

After her mother’s call, she received calls from Vashti, Ashley and several other friends in town. Even Jeremy called to see how she’d done and to congratulate her. He told her he was in court this week, but had taken the time to call her while on recess. That had been thoughtful of him and she told him how much she appreciated him calling.

She thought about calling Kaegan, like she’d intended to do earlier, but was a little disappointed that although she hadn’t reached out to him yet, he hadn’t called like the others. She could only think of one reason for him not doing so. He was still upset over their tiff on Saturday. In that case, she would wait for him to call her when he’d gotten over it. She refused to feel disappointed about anything today. It would be an upbeat day for her since she had a reason to celebrate. She had studied hard, passed the exam, and now the next chapter in her life presented endless possibilities. She would talk to Vashti on how she could market herself. Her best friend was good at that sort of thing and had Shelby by the Sea to show for it.

Bryce decided to eat breakfast, then go into the office. Pia had been holding things down for the last week while she’d studied.

A couple of hours later Bryce was leaving her house to go into the office. She saw Mr. Chelsey outside in his yard and waved to the older man. She then remembered the incident on Saturday night and asked, “Did you ever find Butterball Saturday night?”

Mr. Chelsey smiled brightly. “Yes, I did. I hope that I didn’t disturb you while I was out looking for him.”

“No, you didn’t bother me. I’m just glad you found him.”

“Me, too. Have a good day, Bryce.”

* * *

KAEGAN ENTERED HIS HOME. He was happy to be back, although he was glad he’d made the trip to Boston. He’d been busy from the minute he’d landed. Walt had made sure every minute had been used wisely and to his advantage. He was embarking on a whole new phase in his life and a part of him couldn’t help but be excited.

Boston Harbor was a beautiful place but he was concerned whether or not he and the owner of that warehouse could reach a satisfactory agreement. Just in case, he would look at other properties near the harbor.

Kaegan’s thoughts shifted to Bryce. He had thought about her every day he’d been gone and had been tempted to call her more than once but knew she would have been studying on Sunday and Monday. A part of him felt certain she’d passed her test and couldn’t wait to see her to find out.

A couple of hours later he was walking into his shipping company. Willa smiled when she saw him. “Hey, boss, welcome back.”