Page 124 of If We Never Met

"I feel that way, too. I've been restless the past year, Keira. I knew I needed more, but I didn't know more what, and I didn't know how to get it. Mark has reminded me of who I used to be, and I want to be that person again. I want to be independent and free and busy. I want to take care of people. I don't want them to take care of me." She paused. "Maybe we both needed this house to burn down in order to get unstuck."

She smiled at that thought. "It was a drastic event, but it does force some big decisions."

"I know you haven't asked for my advice, but I'm going to say one thing. Don't let Dante go, Keira. Not without trying to make it work. You owe it to yourself to find out if it can."

"I think you're right."

"So, what are you going to do?"

"I'll let you know after I talk to Dante."

"All right. I can live with that." Her mom opened her arms. "Give me a hug."

She hugged her mom for a long minute, so many emotions of love and gratitude filling them both up. And then, a little teary-eyed, they left the house that was no longer their home. But there were brighter skies ahead, good changes, new people. It was an end, but also a beginning.

After they left the house, she asked Dante to drive down to the lake. She directed him to a quiet cove that was one of her favorite places. They parked on the side of the road and then walked down to the beach. Thankfully, it wasn't far, and with her walking boot, she was able to maneuver without too much pain.

There were only a few people about—a man walking his dog and a woman and two little children digging in the sand by the shoreline. Otherwise, they were alone.

She led Dante over to an outcropping of flat rocks where they sat down and looked at the water. "It's so peaceful here," she said, breathing in the clean lake air, relieved to be away from the smell of the fire. "Whenever I get worked up, I come here. It always relaxes me."

"I'm glad. You haven't said much since we left the house. Was it difficult to go inside?"

"Yes, but it made it easier to leave. There wasn't anything there to salvage except the few boxes in the garage that might have escaped."

"I'm sorry."

"Me, too. But my mom and I had a good conversation."

"You were gone a while," he murmured. "What's she thinking?"

"She has it all figured out. Mark is going to buy the home I showed him a few days ago. It's about three blocks away from our house. My mom will move in with him while she rebuilds. I don't know that she'll ever move back in, or maybe they both will. It seems like they might have something special."

"He does seem like he really cares about her, Keira."

"I know. It's going to take me time to forgive him for not being honest earlier, but I think I'll get there. If he treats her well, then I'll be happy for them."

"That's fair. What about you? Will you move back in when it's rebuilt?"

"No. I don't think I'll ever live there again." She gazed into his beautiful blue eyes. "I'm okay with that."

Surprise and wariness moved through his gaze. "It's early to make that final of a decision."

"I don't think so. I got a lot of clarity when I walked into the destruction. With everyone gone, it was easy to say goodbye to the past."

"Where do you think you'll live?"

"Well, I have some ideas I wanted to run by you."

"I'm listening."

"I need to back up a little. On Tuesday, before all the craziness happened, a woman came into my shop. She's the stylist for the actress Jessica Stillman. Jessica, apparently, fell in love with Chelsea's gown, and she has a couple of events she might want to hire me for. Her stylist asked me to go to LA next week to meet with her. It could be a really lucrative contract."

"That's great. Seriously great. You said yes, didn't you?"

"I told her I'd call her."

"Why would you hesitate?"

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