“Thanks a lot.” He looked so pleased that Molly wanted to remind him it was just candy, not a Super Bowl ring! “Christina, this is Molly. Christina owns that fudge shop over there. I met her yesterday when I came into town to grab a burger.”

Christina was more slender than a woman who owned a fudge shop should be. That struck Molly as a crime against nature.

“Pleasure to meet you, Molly.”

“Nice meeting you, too.” Molly could have ignored the curiosity in her expression, but she wasn’t that good a person. “I’m Kevin’s wife.”

“Oh.” Her disappointment was just as blatant as her mission with the fudge box.

“Estranged wife,” Kevin cut in. “Molly writes children’s books.”

“Ach so? I’ve always wanted to write a children’s book. Maybe you could give me a few suggestions sometime.”

Molly kept her expression pleasant but noncommittal. Just once she’d like to meet someone who didn’t want to write a children’s book. People assumed they were easy to write because they were short. They had no idea what went into writing a successful book, one that children genuinely enjoyed and learned from, not just something adults had decided a child should enjoy.

“I’m sorry you’re going to sell the campground, Kevin. We’ll miss you.” Before Christina could drool over him any more, she spotted a woman heading into the fudge shop. “I have to go. Stop by the next time you’re in town so you can sample my cherry chocolate.”

The minute she was out of earshot, Molly turned on him. “You can’t sell the campground!”

“I told you from the beginning that’s what I was doing.”

True, but it hadn’t meant anything at the time. Now she couldn’t bear the idea that he would throw it away. The campground was a permanent part of him, part of his family, and in a strange way she couldn’t analyze, it was beginning to feel like part of her.

He misunderstood her silence. “Don’t worry. We won’t have to stay around that long. The minute I find someone to take over, we’re out of here.”

All the way back to the campground, Molly tried to sort out her thoughts. The only deep roots Kevin had left were here. He’d lost his parents, he had no siblings, and he didn’t seem inclined to let Lilly into his life. The house where he’d grown up belonged to the church. He had nothing to connect him with his past except the campground. It would be wrong to give that up.

The Common came into sight, and her jumbled thoughts gave way to a feeling of peace. Charlotte Long was sweeping her front porch, an elderly man rode by on a three-wheel bike, and a couple chatted on a bench. Molly drank in the storybook cottages and shady trees.