Allison closed the door, climbed into her car, and pulled out of the visitor lot. Garrett had given her plenty to think about. But with Burke lying helpless and in pain, she wasn’t about to rush any decisions.

Morning sunlight had brightened the day. The sky had cleared to a dazzling blue. The hillsides blazed with autumn colors as Allison drove the winding mountain highway toward home. The Ozarks were old mountains. Worn and rounded by time, they were very different from the jutting peaks of the Sierras and Rockies. But they held their own kind of beauty—a beauty that whispered of ancient wisdom and magic when the wind blew through the trees. And never was this country more beautiful than on a sun-sparkled autumn day after a night of rain.

No one had shown Allison the spot where Burke’s car had gone off the highway and rolled down the slope, but she knew the dangerous curve where the accident had most likely happened. She slowed the car as she rounded the sharp turn, looking for skid marks, but there were none. The road had been wet, she reminded herself. The Porsche would likely have hydroplaned, jumped the guardrail, and tumbled over the edge. As Garrett had said, Burke was lucky to be alive.

She’d planned to go home, find the policy, and call the insurance company about the car. But now that Garrett had taken care of that, she had time on her hands. Brianna wouldn’t be getting in for several hours yet. She could stop at a convenience store for milk and sodas, then go home and do some last-minute tidying of the house, or better yet, put on her sneakers and try to walk off some nervous energy.

Arriving home after her stop at the roadside store, she put the snacks away in the kitchen and went upstairs to change her shoes. Then, with her phone and the house key in her jacket, she went back outside and hit the jogging path that ran along the shore of the lake.

The morning air, smelling of last night’s rain, was cool on her face, the calm surface of Table Rock Lake like a smooth blue mirror. A heron, stalking fish in the shallows, flapped skyward at her approach.

She wasn’t alone on the path. Approaching from the other direction, a fit young mother in tights was pushing her baby in a jogging stroller. Allison gave them a smile as she stepped aside to let them pass. Just looking at the pair made her feel old.

Before they were married, Burke had made it clear that he’d already raised one child and had no desire for others. Allison, already past thirty, had understood and gone along with his wishes. Sometimes she caught herself wondering what she’d missed, but now that Burke was injured, maybe it was just as well that she didn’t have a baby to worry about.