Page 105 of The Art Of Starting Over

Devorah pushed off from the door casing and went into Maren’s room. “You want to be a Pearl, huh?”

Maren nodded. “It’s tradition, isn’t it?”

Dev shrugged. “Maybe.” She put her arm around Maren’s shoulders. “We’re gonna be okay, kiddo.”

“Yep, we are.”

Epilogue

On the night before the Oyster Festival officially kicked off, Hayden called and asked Maren and Devorah to meet him at his new house. There was something he wanted to show them.

Due to parking restrictions in place because of the festival, Dev and Maren walked to Hayden’s property. It wasn’t far, but far enough that driving would’ve been easier. But like he had with Crow’s funeral, Hayden had offered his land for parking.

As soon as Devorah and Maren stepped onto the property, Hayden turned on all the lights and sat down next to Conor. Dev had picked out a bench for the front porch on one of their many trips to the “city.”

“Hey, we’re glad you ladies could come over,” Hayden said as he stood and reached for Devy’s hand. She climbed the couple of stairs and linked her fingers with his. Over the past week, they had decided to give their relationship the green light but had yet to tell the kids. The progression seemed natural, and both were happy with their lives.

“What’s going on?”

“Conor and I want to show you something.”

Hayden had spent every free moment he had working on his house, on top of the normal crew during the day. He’d also been offered a job with Link Blackburn, doing construction, which Hayden absolutely loved.

He had yet to accept.

After Crow passed, the obvious choice to replace him as sheriff was Miller Farnsworth. When the town council approached him, he’d passed, saying he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to fill Crow’s shoes.

The council planned to open a state- and nationwide search for a sheriff. That was until someone from the CC Club casually mentioned that Hayden had been a deputy in Wyoming, and Oyster Bay wouldn’t want an outsider.

Without even asking if he was interested, the council had offered him the job.

Now, he was faced with a conundrum. While he loved working with his hands, being the new guy meant he’d be laid off first once the season slowed down. But taking over as sheriff had its pros and cons.

The pros were easy. Hayden had loved being a deputy and serving the community he lived in.

The con was simple: Crow. The man had been a well-respected member of society. Everyone revered him. If Miller couldn’t do it, could Hayden?

The council had given him until the end of the Oyster Festival to decide.

He escorted Devorah into the house, with Maren and Conor behind them. The kids chatted among themselves.

“Whoa,” Devy said when she entered. “When did you paint?”

“The past two days,” he told her. “Link has these amazing paint machines that take very little time. I did most of it last night.”

Devorah walked around the living room, nodding. She had suggested Hayden keep things light in color, and while he’d agreed, he’d wanted an accent wall and had opted for navy blue.

“Did you do anything in the kitchen?”

Hayden’s somewhat stoic expression turned into a grin. Devorah didn’t wait for him to take her there. She’d given her two cents when Hayden had taken her shopping for countertops, appliances, and cabinets. She walked in and gasped.

“Oh, Hayden, it’s gorgeous.”

The back wall of the kitchen faced the backyard, where apple trees still grew. The hole for the pool had been dug, but not until next year would Hayden have it installed. The farmer’s sink was on the back wall, surrounded by marble countertops and a glass backsplash. All the appliances were stainless steel, and the flooring was wide-plank bamboo. The kitchen was designed for someone who liked to cook.

Like Devorah.

Next, they toured the upstairs. Only one of the four bedrooms still needed to be painted, and the primary suite—bathroom and closet—hadn’t been finished yet.

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