Hannah agreed. The park was a full-time job, and although Jose oversaw the dairy, there were emergencies that Max must be involved in, like the flood that left cows stranded in knee-deep water and destroyed several of their new milking machines. Lately, when Max spoke of the dairy, his brow furrowed and his eyes clouded with concern, while the park and its projects revitalized him.

Yes, she thought, the time has come to let the dairy go. “How hard this must be for you. The dairy, the animals mean so much to you.”

His shoulders rose and fell. “As I said, there’s a time for everything, honey.”

“Yes, there is, and sometimes our bodies remind us of that truism, like Jose and his arthritis.”

“Me and my memory and the fact that I can’t multitask the way I used to.” He was silent for a long while as they ambled across the meadow.

Hannah slipped her arm through his for the support she needed on uneven ground. Her neck was cold, and she slipped her arms into his jacket and held it close about her throat. Lately, her knees ached. No, they hurt a lot. Kneeling resulted in swelling, which she iced, and she deferred seeing a doctor. He would propose surgery, probably knee replacement, and that terrified her. Surgery always had. For years, until she moved in with Grace and Amelia, she had put off hip replacement. They had forced her to the doctor, to the hospital, and afterward had taken care of her. They would be there for her again, of course, but still she avoided the doctor and tried to hide the pain.

“You think I’m doing the right thing to sell the cows, the whole business, machines, everything?” Max asked.

“It’s a huge change, but as you say, the time has come. You enjoy your work at the park, and there’s so much more to be done there. I know it’s a hard decision.”

Max sighed, then said with determination, “Yes, I think that’s exactly what I need to do. There’s a dairy in Georgia’s been after me for a couple of years now to sell them the cows, equipment, everything.”

They walked on. Without gloves her hands ached from cold, and she dug them into his jacket pockets. “A restaurant would be a nice thing at the park, especially if the food’s good and the decor’s pleasant. Jose have the funds for this restaurant?” she asked.

“It seems that he does. He and Anna have been saving for years, hoping for this, he tells me. Anna and Jose have a cousin, Irena, who they say is an incredible cook. They want to bring her up from Charlotte. She was widowed recently, and they want to build her a place to live at their house, if we don’t object.”

“What would they do, add a room?”