Juniper was waiting for me when I returned.

“When were you going to tell me you were moving to Seattle?” The hurt on her face was obvious as she rose from the couch to pour herself a glass of wine.

I followed her to the kitchen and accepted the glass she held out to me. I slid onto the counter stool and regarded her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t have a chance to tell you.”

“I’ve always wanted to live in Seattle,” she said wistfully.

A crazy notion struck me, and I jumped on it before my analytical side counted off all the reasons my idea wasn’t a good one.

“Why don’t you go with us?”

Juniper frowned, her brow furrowing as she considered my offer. “Is there room where you’re staying? I mean, I don’t need much room, and I don’t mind sleeping on the couch. My job is dead-end, boring crap, so walking away wouldn’t break my heart.”

“It’d be an adventure,” said the least-adventurous person in this room, but I was gathering steam. If Juniper came with me, I wouldn’t feel so lost and alone. We could both use a fresh start away from the ghosts of our pasts and our dysfunctional families.

“I’m going to do it. You’re sure I won’t be an inconvenience?”

“I’m positive.”

We hugged each other and spent the remainder of the evening planning our escape to the great Pacific Northwest. By the time she left, I felt much better about the move.

I settled on the couch as a rare, blissful quiet surrounded me.

I was doing the right thing by starting fresh elsewhere. Well, maybe not totally fresh, since Easton was baggage from my teenage years.

My biggest problem would be resisting him, knowing he blamed me for missing the first six years of the twins’ lives. Seeing him brought back a flood of memories of some of the happiest moments in my life that didn’t involve my children. I refused to fall prey to the sorrow of knowing we’d never get a second chance. I didn’t need a second chance. I didn’t need a man in my life. I needed to get my nursing degree, get my career on track, and learn to live on my own two feet and not depend on others.

If Easton insisted on supporting his children, I’d accept his offer, but the last thing I wanted was to be dependent on any man indefinitely. Once I had my nursing career underway, I’d put any spare child support in trust or something for the kids’ college funds. I wouldn’t use a penny of it.

I had my pride, and I’d someday soon have the luxury of indulging in a few prideful moments.

I closed my eyes, letting peace wash over me for the first time in months. I was doing the right thing for myself, for Easton, and most of all, for Hailey and Heath.

I was lying in a field on a blanket looking up at the millions of stars in the sky. Easton lay next to me, his hands behind his head. In one week, his summer hockey program would be over, and he’d be leaving. We hadn’t talked about that particular elephant in the room. Both of us avoided the subject, and I didn’t want to be the first to broach the obvious.