Traffic was picking up on Main, and even though she’d been running every morning since her arrival, people still stared. No one jogged in Blessings, although she had seen some kids running at the high school track field, but she didn’t care. She wasn’t here to fit in.

She ran past the florist, then the quirky little hair salon called the Curl Up and Dye, and was moving past Phillips’ Pharmacy as a huge black pickup pulled up to the curb.

It had been months since she’d been behind the wheel of any kind of vehicle; she was toying with the idea of leasing one for the winter. She didn’t know she’d caught the driver’s notice, and it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. She just kept running without noticing how far she’d gone until she saw the gas station at the far end of town, and the City Limits sign just down the road.

“Well, shoot,” Cathy muttered. She made a quick turn on the sidewalk and was heading back into Blessings when she came down wrong on her foot, and before she knew it, her ankle rolled and she was falling.

The pain was instantaneous and excruciating, and as she was reaching out to break her fall, she jammed her hand against the concrete and then landed on her side with a thud.

“Oh my lord,” she moaned, then slowly turned over onto her back, only vaguely aware of screeching brakes and then the sound of running feet.

* * *

It was just after 8:00 a.m. when Duke Talbot drove into Blessings and pulled up to the curb in front of Phillips Pharmacy. He was reaching for the list he’d put in the console when he caught movement from the corner of his eye and looked up just as a young woman in long-sleeved T-shirt and sweatpants ran past the store. She was gone before he got a good look at her face, but all that curly red hair bouncing down her back was impossible to miss.

He couldn’t remember seeing anyone jogging here before and was curious as to who might have taken it up. He also didn’t know any woman with hair that color, either, but considering the Curl Up and Dye was just down the street, Ruby or one of the girls could be responsible for that. He watched her until she turned a corner and disappeared, before he got out.

The bell over the door jingled as he entered the pharmacy. LilyAnn Dalton looked up from behind the register and smiled.

“Good morning, Duke. You’re out early,” she said.

“Morning, LilyAnn. Just getting an early start on a long day,” he said. He picked up a basket from the end of the counter and started down the aisle where the shampoo and conditioners were shelved, then stopped and turned around. “Hey, LilyAnn, I just saw a red-headed woman with long curly hair jogging past the store. I don’t think I ever knew anyone to take up jogging here in Blessings. Who is she?”