Though by no means large or sprawling, the Porter Ranch was certainly majestic. The property was hidden at the end of a long driveway, nestled on a modest, sunlit piece of land bordered by forest and rolling hills. There was a patchwork of fields and a smattering of buildings, including two sheds, a carport, a magnificent pitched-roof barn—which could have been mistaken for a church were it not for its hayloft and lack of a cross—and a charming single-level house complete with a wraparound porch and creamy-blue door and shutters. Towering trees, a garden, and two timber-walled vegetable patches marked the area between the barn and fields, and between the house and the barn sat a dusty fenced-in arena that Amy assumed was used for horseback riding.

Not everything was perfect. She could see the property was a little unkempt. The fields were overgrown, vines were attacking the house and creeping up the banisters and along paint-chipped walls, weeds had overrun flower beds, and the barn roof seemed to be missing a few planks of wood. But to Amy this only added to the appeal. There was a fairytale sense of grandeur about the place, a raw, wild, undeniable beauty.

“Wow, this is certainly somewhat impressive, isn’t it?” Kevin said as he circled the car around the forecourt and stopped outside the house.

“Uh-huh,” Amy mumbled, thinking “somewhat impressive” was selling it short when this was perhaps the most gorgeous property she’d ever laid eyes on. Everywhere she looked was like staring into a postcard.

“You know something? This reminds me of the farm your mother grew up on. It looked nothing like this, but it was beautiful all the same. You had a sense when you were there that the rest of the world was a million miles away.” He went quiet, gazing out past the fields to the hills and blue sky beyond. “She never talked about it much, but it was always her dream to move back to the country one day.”

“I always wish I’d seen where she grew up. Mom loved telling me stories about her childhood.”

“That farm was her favorite place in the world. Broke her heart when her folks had to sell.”

“That’s where you two got engaged, wasn’t it? The place where she had buried that letter?”

“Yep, right next to her favorite tree—that big ol’ cottonwood,” Kevin said wistfully. “I’ve still got lots of photos from when we used to visit, still got all her albums from when she was young. When we’re home, maybe we can get them out and have a look.”

“I’d like that,” Amy said.

He then gave her a smile, the kind of smile that made Amy believe what he said was true—that from now on everything really was going to be different.

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