“Tomato, tom-ah-to. You’re not the greatest at dealing with your emotions,” Maggie continued, as if she had a personal mission to unravel Louisa’s sense of calm, which was barely intact in the first place.

“I’m fine,” Louisa repeated for the third time. “But I won’t be if you don’t leave.”

Maggie studied her, no doubt trying to decide whether she was going to cooperate. Finally she said, “Promise me you’ll take lots of breaks.”

“Go home, Mags.” Louisa pushed open the screen door.

Maggie started to walk out, then turned and faced her. “You’ll call if you need anything.”

“Sure.”

“That wasn’t a question, you’ll notice,” Maggie said.

“You go home and rest,” Louisa said. “You need to take care of yourself, too.”

Maggie waved her off. “I’m sturdy, and I’m already dying. You’ve got a few years left in you.”

“I wish you wouldn’t talk like that,” Louisa said.

Maggie laughed. “You don’t like the truth, do ya?”

“It’s not the truth,” Louisa said. “Don’t you believe in miracles?”

Maggie stepped forward and clasped her hands around Louisa’s. “’Course I do. It was a miracle the handsome Mr. Boggs found you out there—that I’m sure of.”

“Then it can be a miracle that saves you too.”

Maggie squeezed, then patted Louisa’s hands. “I’ll call you later.”

With Maggie gone and Alyssa in Cape Cod picking up supplies for the Timmons anniversary party, Louisa had time to tidy the office and prepare for her meeting. She knew nothing about the prospective client, and her conversations yesterday had been about everything except work. Maggie had practically forbidden anything that might bring on stress.

But now she felt unprepared.

Alyssa had texted her that morning. Do you want me to reschedule this meeting?

No, I’ll be fine.

They needed every possible client they could get. The Good Life was still relatively new, still building a strong client base. Failure was not an option.

It was as if Louisa needed to be successful on behalf of all women who weren’t being taken seriously in the professional world. Women who were deemed too funny or cute or quirky or whimsical. Women with their heads in the clouds, who loved adventure. Women with boyfriends who didn’t believe in them.

Turning down a job would be unwise. The paycheck wasn’t a sure thing anymore, so she needed to be smart. Her accident had come at a terrible time. Why couldn’t she have almost died at the end of the season, when she’d already stockpiled enough cash to last a few months? Then maybe she could’ve afforded a few days off.