“Then start doing that,” her friend told her. “Make a plan. Take the steps. You know the clichés. Some days it’s easy and some days it isn’t, but eventually you make progress.” She took Unity’s hand. “You’re not going to forget him, my darling girl. Stuart will always be with you. Over time the memories become treasures rather than blows to the heart.”

“I hope that’s true. He was a good man, but he’s not with me anymore.” And while she didn’t speak the obvious, she knew it down to her bones. Stuart would not be happy with how she’d been living her life. Or not living it.

Dagmar sighed. “You’re going to break my boy’s heart, aren’t you?”

The question surprised Unity. “Why would you say that? Of course not. We’re in a great place.”

Sadness darkened Dagmar’s eyes. “For now. But the reckoning is coming. Oh, dear. I should have seen that before. What was I thinking?”

Unity touched her arm. “I won’t hurt him. I promise I won’t.”

“Don’t promise that, silly child. The pain is inevitable. It’s the afterward that will tell us the future.”

The Willowbrook fruit stand had been located right off the freeway at mile marker 109 for as long as Ellen had been alive. What had started as a simple roadside stand had grown into a destination for travelers from June until early October.

The big barn had been converted into the actual market. In addition to local produce, they sold honey, baked goods, eggs and crafts. In the back was a petting zoo for the kids, a couple of friendly dogs, available for adoption from the local animal shelter, a picnic area and food stand that sold sandwiches, barbecued burgers and hot dogs, along with drinks and chips. There was a playground where kids could burn off some energy and very well-maintained bathrooms for all.

Ellen had started working summers at the fruit stand when she was just fifteen. The hours were flexible and the pay excellent—both of which she’d appreciated even more, after she’d had Coop. Now that she was an adult, she continued to work a few hours a week there in summer.

She’d just finished putting out several baskets of apricots when Coop wandered into the barn. He glanced around, as if looking for someone, then smiled when he saw her.

“Mom, I got the tickets!” he said as he crossed to her.

“I leave on Sunday,” he said, practically bouncing in place as he spoke. “I’m gone for two weeks.” His grin broadened. “And I’m flying first class. Can you believe it?”

Each word knocked her around a little until she was unable to focus on anything other than the Sunday part.

“You’re leaving in four days?” she managed.

Coop looked concerned. “Why are you upset? We talked about this.”

They had talked about him going to visit his father for a week and later in the summer. She pressed a hand to her chest to try to catch her breath.