Kelly pulled Courtney a little closer. “Listen, you’re doing fine, kiddo. Don’t take on too much without help, but don’t beat yourself up. I think you’re doing very well. You’re smart, responsible and you love your dad a lot. You get an A-plus.”

“But I really screwed up tonight…”

“Nah,” Kelly said. “You called me. When you needed help, you called. You get big points for that. And we got the job done.”

“But I was trying to keep you and my dad from getting married, and what a dumb thing!”

Kelly was still for a moment. Very still, very quiet. “Honey, didn’t your dad tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“I’m going back to San Francisco. Next week. Oh, I’ll visit sometimes, like once a month or whatever. But I’m going back to the city to work.”

“You are?” she asked softly.

“Yeah. It’s time.”

Quiet filled the space in the room. “Well, if Spike and I need you, I guess you won’t be around…” Courtney said.

“There are plenty of people around. There’s your dad, he doesn’t leave often. Jill and Colin. The Hawkinses.”

“I guess,” she said very softly.

“I do have one suggestion, though,” Kelly said. “Might want to change his name from Spike to Sparky.”

Courtney’s laughter blubbered through her tears.

Spike was discharged, though his tail was indeed a bit shorter. Kelly stopped by the Victorian to get something comfortable for the evening so she wouldn’t have to sleep in her clothes again. She showered at Lief’s and made some kick-ass mac and cheese for dinner. Courtney went to bed with her puppy while Kelly dug around in the cupboard for the hidden brandy. She was just getting real comfortable on the couch in the great room when Courtney appeared. She was holding her pillow and her puppy, now alert, was standing at her side.

“Aren’t you coming?” she asked Kelly.

“Coming?”

“I guess you don’t want to sleep in Dad’s room, but you could sleep in mine.”

Kelly thought about it a minute. Then she said, “I’ll be right there.”

Lief’s flight was a little late. He didn’t get back to Virgin River until one in the morning. There was a light left on for him. A note on the counter said Mac and cheese in the fridge.

When he didn’t see Kelly on the couch, he got a little excited, hoping he might find her in his bed. He carried his bags back to his room. Nope, not in his bed.

He doubted she’d leave Courtney alone, not after all that had gone on. With the hall light to illuminate Courtney’s room, he pushed open her door. There, in her bed, Kelly was curled around his daughter, his daughter curled around her dog. All asleep.

Spike lifted his head. He wiggled free of Courtney’s embrace and trotted out toward Lief. When Lief pulled the bedroom door closed, Spike, with a slightly shorter tail, trotted alongside.

“You’re not exactly my first choice,” Lief said to the dog. “But you’ll do.”

A week later, it was time for Kelly to go. Kelly and Jill sat at the kitchen table with their morning coffee. The fire was lit, making it cozy. Though the sun came up bright and the sky clear, it was still cold outside. Jill said, “Well, it was a great fantasy, that you’d cook what I grow, sell it under a family label and stay.”

“Maybe that will still happen someday,” Kelly said. “Just not right now.”

“I’m encouraged by the fact that you’re leaving your furniture on the third floor. At least I’ll see more of you than I used to.”

“Luca has lots of properties around the Bay Area. He insists I use one of his small furnished apartments while I think about where I want to live. And why not? He’s richer than God, and he’s getting a bargain in me. Besides, I want a place like this as my getaway. I’m never going back to the kind of grind I suffered before I walked out on that insane restaurant. People need balance. We can’t work all the time.”

“And there’s Lief,” Jill said.

“And there’s Lief,” Kelly agreed with a smile. “I can’t give him up cold turkey. Because I love him. But hey—he won’t be neglecting his daughter if she spends the night with a girlfriend once or twice a month! He can drive down to the city once in a while. I’ll come up here sometimes.”

Jill held Kelly’s hand across the table. “I know we never lived together after you turned eighteen and went off to study food, but it’s very hard to give you up after having you here for five months.”

Kelly squeezed the hand. “You’re not giving me up. But Jill, you have your business and your relationship. What I have is too much time on my hands, too much room left over in my heart. I need more than work. I learned that when I fell in love with Lief. I need to feel needed, not superfluous. I need to be a part of something that’s vital and growing, not waiting around to see if anything will take root. I’ve given this enough time. It’s no one’s fault. It is what it is. This is the right decision for me. I’ll come back up for a weekend in two or three weeks.”

“What did Lief say when you were with him last night?” Jill asked.

“That he loved me and wishes I could stay, but of course he understands. He was never in a situation like I am. When he met his wife, she had a little girl who instantly adored him. It wasn’t a challenge. He still hopes this can work out between us.”

The back door opened, and Colin was pulling off his gloves as he stepped inside. He wore an army-green canvas jacket over a black turtleneck, his hair pulled back into a ponytail. He was smiling. “I completely repacked the back of your car. Now you’ll be able to actually use the rearview mirror. You’re good to go.”

“Thanks,” Kelly said. “I’m going to miss you, too. But I think I have to hit the road before you get pudgy.”

“You spoiled me, that’s for sure. You call us the minute you get there.”

“Sure.”

“And take your time,” he ordered, opening his arms to her.

“Yes, sir,” she said, walking into his embrace. “Take care of my sister, Colin. I’m counting on you.”

“Jilly’s in good hands, Kell. Take good care of yourself. You’re always feeding everyone else—remember to feed yourself, too. And I’m not just talking about food.”

“Thanks, I’ll remember that.” Kelly hugged her sister. “Thank you for everything, honey. I was so happy here in your wonderful house. You made it so easy for me.”

“You remember, it’s always here for you. Always. If you get tired of working for that crazy Italian, you come up here and make sauces and relishes.”

“I will.”

Colin held the door open for her, letting Kelly precede them onto the back porch. And there Kelly stopped, coming face-to-face with a little sprite a few inches shorter than she was. Courtney looked a little surprised. Maybe nervous. “Well, hello,” Kelly said. “I didn’t expect you to be up so early. We said our goodbyes. Maybe I’ll see you in a few weeks.”

Behind Courtney, leaning against Kelly’s packed car, his hands in his pockets, was Lief. Beside him, sitting politely, was the dog.

“You can’t go yet,” Courtney said.

“Courtney, I have to get moving or I’ll end up in city traffic—”

“No, I mean, don’t go at all. Not yet. There’s still things we can try. Like Jerry said we might try some group counseling to see if we’re all in the same canoe—he likes to say that. He also likes to say ‘Get it out there where we can look at it.’ Here—so you can look at it—most of the time when I wasn’t so nice, I knew it. I’m not even sure why, but I knew it. I can be a lot nicer. Seriously.”

“Why are you doing this now?” Kelly asked.

“I didn’t think you’d really go,” she said. “Seriously, I thought there’d be at least one more warning.”

Kelly hugged her quick and hard. Then she pulled away, looked into Courtney’s pretty eyes and said, “Listen, I won’t be far. And I’ll be back at least every month, maybe a couple of times a month.”

“But no,” she said. “Don’t go.”

“Courtney, I’m sorry, but Luca’s counting on me. He offered me a good job and I made a commitment to him. He needs me. But I’ll visit, I promise.”

“But my dad needs you,” she said, her eyes welling with tears.

Kelly felt a hand on her shoulder, too big and heavy to be Jill’s. Colin’s hand. Shoring her up.

Kelly looked at Lief. His posture was unchanged, but he made a slight shrug, barely discernable.

“Courtney, your dad can call me every day. We’ll talk. We’ll see each other now and then. This isn’t a surprise. We talked about it.”

“You can’t just walk out on him,” she said. “You have to give it a little more time.”

“I’m not, honey. I’m not walking out on your dad and he understands that. Lief,” she said. “Lief, tell her that I’m not abandoning you.”

“She’s not, Court. She needs to be someplace where she feels she really belongs, where she’s counted on and feels useful and appreciated. I understand that.”

“This isn’t goodbye,” Kelly said. “I’ll see you soon.” She gave her another hug and stepped down the porch steps.

“Okay!” Courtney yelled. “I need you! Sparky needs you! Don’t go! Just please, don’t go!”

Kelly stopped in her tracks, met Lief’s warm and dark brown eyes and his slight smile. She slowly turned back to Courtney, who had her fist covering her mouth and tears slipping out of her eyes.

“Okay, so I really want you to stay,” she said softly, then hiccupped. She lifted her chin. “He won’t mind, believe me. But it’s me, okay?”

Kelly frowned. “Why?” she asked.

“I don’t know.” She shrugged with a half sob. “Because you just take me as I am, pretty much. Because you’re not mean. Because you help.” She sniffed and wiped her hand across her nose. “Because you said my dad was going to ground me forever and wouldn’t cover for me to get on my good side, but still slept in my bed with me because I was crying. Come on.” She pulled the necklace Kelly had given her for Christmas out from the inside of her shirt to show it to her. “Give us a break. Huh?”

Kelly shot a glance at Lief. He just cocked his head to one side as if to say it had nothing to do with him.

She looked back at Courtney.

“You just have to give us one more chance. Me,” Courtney said. “You just have to give me another chance, because really I never wanted you to leave, I just… I just worried about not being important around here, like I wasn’t important at Stu’s house.”

“Maybe we should take a breather,” Kelly said. “See where we are in a few months…”

“Don’t go,” she said. “My dad loves you. He told me at Christmas—he loves you. And I didn’t really want to, but after Sparky blew his tail off, I knew you were the real deal and I started to love you, too.”

“Wow,” Kelly said. “You sure made me work for it!”

Courtney laughed through her tears. “Seriously,” she said.

“You need to know something, little chick. If I pack my car again, ever, I’m moving.”

“I get that,” Courtney said.

“Hey,” Colin protested from behind her. After all, he was the one who’d packed the car. She shot him a glare to shut him up.

“So you’re staying?”

“I’ll give this a try,” Kelly said. “If you really think we’re in the same canoe.”

“I do,” Courtney said. “I do. You do love my dad, right?”

“I love him a lot,” she said. “And you’re really growing on me.”

Courtney laughed at her. “You should probably kiss him, then. He’s been awful to live with lately.”

Kelly approached Lief warily. When she was about a foot away, she asked, “Was this your idea?”

“I had absolutely nothing to do with it. Nothing. Now come here. She’s right. You should kiss me.”

She allowed herself to be pulled into his arms, met his lips and behind her she heard, “Ewww. Gross.” Kelly jumped back and looked over her shoulder.

“Kidding,” Courtney said with a laugh.

Looking back into Lief’s laughing eyes, Kelly said, “I bet there’s going to be a lot of that sort of thing, huh?”

“It’s a tough assignment, babe,” he said. “Definitely not for sissies. Now come on, lay one on me. I’ve been hell to live with lately.”

Epilogue

Six months later

Kelly and Jill stood on the widow’s walk and looked at all the activity below them. Late September was a perfect time of year—most of the garden was harvested and the leaves on the trees were changing, but the branches were not yet bare. The day was sunny, the air cool. Between the garden and the house, large round tables had been erected and covered with starched white tablecloths. The folding chairs were dressed in linen with fancy ties in the back, and each table had lush flower arrangements in orange, yellow, red and some dark plum. There were tall candles that could be lit when the sun went down. There was seating for over a hundred, and guests were milling around, visiting as they held on to long-stemmed champagne glasses. At the far western end of the yard, up against the lilac and rhododendron, there was a trellis draped in white. Next to the trellis, a string quartet.