“Well, tell him if he ever wants a job he is always welcome at the bakery. For that matter, you should come work for me too, Simone.”

Simone, that’s her name.

This isn’t the kind of establishment where she has a name tag on her green apron. This is the kind of place where everyone already knows her name, where she knows everyone’s order without them having to read a chalkboard menu.

In some ways, I fit into this new world. I have money now, and clothes that fit, but I still don’t belong. When my drink is ready, I wave my thanks and find a small table in the corner.

My tote bag contains college applications. Not one, not two.

There are over fifty in this massive stack.

I can’t decide where I want to go so I figured I’d let the colleges decide for me. Fifty applications, loads of essays. It’s a lot. Too much, even. But it’s a distraction that I need. A project to keep my heart from breaking now that I don’t get to see Paige every single minute.

The first one is a small private college in upstate Maine.

Name one person who influenced you.

My mind immediately flies to Beau, the man who rescued me, the man I rescued in return.

I also think of Noah, my friend from the foster home. He helped me more than I can repay.

In the end, it’s Paige that I write about. An anonymous little girl who started off as a nanny job but ended up stealing my heart. I lose myself in the paperwork and drain my drink down to the ice cubes. I don’t realize how much time has passed.

The bell over the door tinkles. A shadow blocks the light.

“What can I get ya?” the barista asks, the same way she asked me. This person is also a stranger. Except when I look up, he’s familiar.

Beau Rochester orders a large coffee, black.

He sits down across from me before it’s ready. “Any good ones?” he asks.

“Yes,” I say, but it’s not exactly an agreement.

He doesn’t think I should apply to 50 schools. He wants me to apply to my dream school. That’s it. I always thought that if I went to college anywhere, it would be in Texas. The University of Texas at Austin has an amazing social work division. Plus, it made the most sense location wise. The in-state tuition would have been the most affordable. So I built my visions of college around wearing burnt orange.

Dreams change. Beau taught me that. Paige taught me that too.

I can’t imagine being so far away from her. More than that, I can’t imagine taking Beau so far away from her. He doesn’t want me to compromise, but it isn’t a compromise to stay in Maine.