“Oh, dear!” Virginia cried the very moment the pair of policemen secured the front door behind them. “You must have been terrified. I’m sorry I wasn’t here. I mean, I had no idea until Pastor Adam called me.”

Harmony felt terrible all over again. Guilt, just like fear, proved to be an emotion in abundant supply. “Ginny,” she said. “I’m so sorry I put you in harm’s way. I had hoped he wouldn’t come looking for me, but I should’ve known better.”

“Hush, say nothing of it. It’s not your fault, you poor, poor thing.”

Nolan stood and made eyes toward the kitchen. “Mrs. Clementine, may I please have a word with you in private?”

The old woman looked disoriented for a second before nodding and following him out of the room, leaving Harmony alone with her Chihuahua.

“You wouldn’t have let anything happen to me. Right, Muffin?” she whispered, stroking the dog’s short fur. Her best defenses now would be quick thinking and this five pound warrior pup, Heaven help her.

But she just couldn’t continue to put the people she cared about in harm’s way. Maybe it would be better if did leave town, after all. This time, though, she wouldn’t be running away from a life that had never fit her. She’d be preserving one she’d come to love deeply.

Virginia came back into the living room and sat beside Harmony on the sofa. “Well, then. Shall we work on our knitting projects for a while?”

The front door opened and shut, drawing Harmony’s eyes toward the window where she caught a peek of Nolan’s head bobbing across the front yard. It was the same window through which she’d spotted Alan earlier that day.

“Don’t you worry,” Virginia said, patting her on the knee. “He’ll be back just as soon as he collects his things.” Yes, the same could be said of Alan, too.

Harmony looked at her landlady askance.

Virginia got up to retrieve their yarn and needles, explaining as she went, “I offered him one of the spare bedrooms upstairs, but he says he’d feel much better sleeping on the couch beside Pancake.”

So Nolan would be… moving in with them? Mrs. Clementine seemed pleased with this idea, and Harmony didn’t want to disappoint her since she’d been the one to lead them all into trouble with her foolish secrecy.

“Thank you for being such a good friend to me,” she said solemnly as the older woman handed Harmony her work in progress. She already knew there’d be no point in arguing Nolan’s decision. Besides, she really would feel safer having him nearby.

Virginia sat back down, but kept her eyes fixed on her lap as she spoke. “I know you don’t think it, because of this whole situation with your ex-boyfriend, but you’ve been a very good friend to me, too.” She paused for a moment before adding, “Almost like the daughter I never had.”

Harmony felt tears begin to prick in the corners of her eyes again. Kinder words had never been spoken to her, nor had they ever meant more. All her life she’d longed for a family, and now somehow she’d managed to find one when she wasn’t even looking.