Walter was loping around, chasing the kids and barking with excitement when anybody was nice enough to throw something for him to chase. Every few minutes, he’d gallop over to where we were sitting and give us both a check-in sniff, then rush off when he heard little kids screaming and laughing by the river.

Little by little, her family was moving out to Fairhope. First, her sister Steph had been lured in by the promise of work with Zack Ashford at his wildlife rescue. Some of his help had moved off for college and he needed another warm body. Her sister had always been an animal person, and the promise of a cheap place to stay in a little town she admitted she’d started to love was enough to pull her from the city. With the way Zack Ashford seemed to get along with the women in town, I hoped my sister wouldn’t wind up working under him, too. It would be exactly her kind of work, after all.

Next, her mom and dad decided to come out. Two of their three daughters living here had been enough to draw them, especially since Jonas Pollard was constantly taking Lizzie around the world for exotic vacations.

I’d begun working with the man who built Stone Tower, Christian Stone, and I’d also picked up a handful of remote contracts with CEO’s across the country who were happy to do video calls. Pearl was excelling at her job and already pushing for a promotion that would give her more creative freedom so she could oversee an entire team of designers.

According to Pearl, her work friend, Marley, had been talking about moving out to join her. She wasn’t sure if Marley would follow through, but it really felt like our lives had carried on without any hitches after moving here.

In a few short months, the best parts of our lives before were starting to drift over to this new one we were building. It was a fresh start in almost every way. And for the first time in my life, I really thought it was all going to work out.

We spent most mornings walking Walter along the many hiking trails just outside Fairhope. I’d joined most of the guys in town for pickup basketball games over the weekend. My shooting game was getting a little better, but not much. Pearl was getting closer with Harper, Lin, Farrah, and Gabby. She was the happiest I’d ever seen her.

Greyson had Harper wrapped in his arms as they came over to sit with us. He smiled, kissing her on the top of the head.

“I still take credit for this,” Greyson said.

Harper shot him an amused look. “You just followed orders. We told you exactly what to do.”

“Who is the one who got her out of the house and to the proposal on time?” Greyson asked.

“It wasn’t a proposal,” Pearl said. “It’s not like we’re married.”

Pearl’s mom was near enough to chime in. “Yet,” she said, holding up a finger.