“That sounds wonderful,” Dagmar said. “There are three bedrooms?”

Miranda nodded. “And two and a half bathrooms. I’ll let you look around.”

The living room led into a formal dining room. Beyond that was the oversize kitchen.

Unity did her best to ignore the growing sense of unease and instead pretend she was watching her favorite episode of House Hunters.

The kitchen looked brand-new. The cabinets were dark cherry and the countertops were a gorgeous quartz pattern. She opened a drawer and saw it was high quality. There was a five-burner stove, a farm sink and a walk-in pantry.

From the eating area, they opened sliding glass doors that led to a deck overlooking the golf course.

Miranda joined them. “Isn’t it wonderful? So peaceful. You’re near the water feature. We get a lot of geese passing through and there are resident ducks.” She smiled. “Because everyone always asks, there is a window replacement policy. If a wayward golf ball takes out a window, the club will have it replaced within forty-eight hours.”

“That is important,” Dagmar said, taking Unity’s arm. “Let’s go upstairs.”

They saw two secondary bedrooms with a connecting bath. Across the hall was the laundry room. At the end of the hall was the master. The room was huge, with vaulted ceilings and a balcony overlooking the golf course. The master bath was as modern and lovely as the kitchen.

They went downstairs, thanked Miranda, then left. When they were standing by the car, Dagmar asked, “What do you think?”

Unity glanced back at the townhouse. “It’s nice.”

“There was so much light. And the appliances were fantastic. Did you see the jetted tub? Plus, there’s a pool. Didn’t you tell me you used to swim?”

“Back in high school,” Unity whispered, feeling herself start to shake.

She braced herself against the car as her eyes filled with tears. Seconds later, sobs clawed at her throat.

“I can’t,” she gasped, hunching over as the pain washed through her. “I can’t. I can’t.”

Dagmar held on to her. “Keep breathing, my love. You’ll be fine.”

She pulled away. “I’m not fine. Stop pushing me. Everyone’s pushing me. I don’t want a condo. I want to stay where I am.”

Dagmar only smiled. “Don’t be frightened, Unity. Healing isn’t easy and sometimes it hurts, but you will be better for it.”

“I don’t want to be better. I want Stuart back.” The sobs returned as she covered her face with her hands. “I want him back.”

“That isn’t going to happen. He’s dead. If you can’t do anything else, maybe it’s time to accept that. Your husband is gone forever.”

Unity gasped. “How can you say that?”

“I’m stating the obvious. Yes, you miss him. Yes, he was wonderful, but he’s not here, is he? He’s never going to be here, and the sooner you accept that, the sooner you can—”

“Let go,” Unity said bitterly. “You’ve told me a thousand times.”