“Just two?” The college-aged hostess had auburn hair with bleached ends. Renee immediately thought of Tansy and wondered if she’d done anything dramatic with her hair. They hadn’t FaceTimed in forever.

“Yes. Can we sit near the jasmine? That smell is just the best,” Essie replied.

“Sure. Follow me.”

The two women sat, spread their napkins across their laps, and ordered iced tea. They chatted about Essie’s current remodeling project (she’d hired a cute handyman to refinish her laundry room and was considering wallpaper in her upstairs bathroom) before their brunch arrived.

“So, my proposition,” Essie began carefully. “Have you ever been inside the Old Red Mill?”

Renee nodded. “We used to hang out on the grounds in the summer, bonfires and stuff.”

“Renee Rhodes, trespasser and rule breaker. I’m impressed. Well, it’s finally been sold and there are five leases inside. It needs work to get it up to snuff, but once it’s there… Oh, I just know it’s going to be the new hub for the town. So much potential. It’s mind-boggling. I want you to consider opening the anchor store—a pie shop.”

“Me?” Renee nearly dropped her fork. “But what about Castaway Yarn? Bree keeps saying that they’re outgrowing their current space. Or what about Chickadee? Jill could host more art classes if she had the room.”

“I love both those shops as much as anyone, but the first lease needs to be something universal.” Essie pushed her food to the side, having only eaten a few bites. “Everyone loves your pies. Children, teenagers, women, men. There isn’t one target group. It’s the sort of spot that everybody in town could and would appreciate.”

“But I’m a hobbyist. It’s not as though I’ve ever been to business school or even had any professional training.”

“So? You have raw talent. The rest you can learn.”

Renee took another bite of quiche and mulled. On the one hand, thanks to Tansy’s USC scholarship, she had the startup funds. Ever since her divorce, she’d squirreled away money for college. She’d hoped Russ would contribute when the time came around, but knew she couldn’t rely on him. But as it turned out, Tansy’s full ride left Renee with quite an impressive savings account.

Still, what if she funneled her nest egg into the pie shop and it went bust? The thought of flushing so many years of hard-earned money down the drain made her queasy.

“I’ll think about it,” she promised Essie. “I mean it. I’ll consider your proposition, but I don’t make snap decisions. You know me, I’m a ponderer.” She needed to soak in her bath, the place where she did all her deep thinking.

Essie looked appeased. “That’s all I could ask for! Ponder away.”

Later that day, while she was powering down her computer and placing all of her paperwork into neat stacks, Dr. Dan stopped by her desk to say goodnight. It was something he did every evening and a bittersweet moment. She appreciated the gesture but hated that it meant them going their separate ways. It was nice to have someone to talk to throughout the day. It was nice to have him to talk to.