Page 117 of Zane

Those journals had been as revealing as his breakup ones.

As he’d read through the recipes and the notes he’d made on them, he could see himself moving away from the focus he’d had on taking haute cuisine recipes and remaking them into dishes that would be enjoyable for kids and people who might think they don’t like that type of food.

The recipes he’d filled the latter part of the journal with had been interesting, but they hadn’t followed the dream he’d had for his restaurant. It was like he’d abandoned that dream after Sarah had broken up with him.

Even after that, though, he’d continued adding to his savings account. That money was originally to be used to start his restaurant, so he had no idea what he’d been saving it for. Maybe for another style of restaurant. One that might cost more to start.

There was nothing saying he couldn’t switch it back, however. Looking through that journal had been inspiring, and it had reminded him of his passion.

He might not remember those missing years, but he was beginning to think that perhaps this was the reset he needed. And in reading those recipes and notes, he was also regaining a bit of the experience he’d lost. His forgotten self was still able to share some knowledge with him.

Maybe it was better he didn’t remember that time. It seemed the only truly good thing that had happened during those years was that he’d continued to save money.

And… marrying Kelsey. Definitely marrying Kelsey had been a good thing.

Now that he’d changed how he looked at the marriage he didn’t remember, he felt a hope for the future that he hadn’t had initially. Where that future might lead him and Kelsey, he didn’t yet know, but he wanted it to be fulfilling for them both.

Zane hoped that God would give them clear direction for where He would have them go. Or stay. He wasn’t as opposed to staying around Serenity as he’d once been.

Leaving Serenity for the sake of his career had ended up distancing him from his family and his faith. That bothered him, and he didn’t want that happening again.

When he saw Kelsey’s car glide to a stop in front of the house, Zane smiled. He was still curious about what had taken her away from the house for so long, but he was just glad that she’d made it safely to Spokane and back home again.

Zane watched her walk up the sidewalk to the steps of the porch. She moved slowly, like she was exhausted, her bag hanging from her hand.

Concerned, Zane limped from the living room to the foyer, arriving just as she opened the door and stepped inside thehouse. When Kelsey looked up and spotted him, she gave him a small smile.

“How was your day?” he asked as she shut the door and toed off her shoes.

Though she looked tired, she said, “It went well. I’m glad to be home, though.”

When Kelsey headed for the kitchen, he followed her. She set her bag on the counter, then went to the coffee maker. “Do you want coffee? Or should I just use one of the pods?”

“I’ll have some,” he said. “But let me make it. You sit down.”

“You don’t trust me to make good coffee?” Kelsey asked as she turned to him.

“Your coffee is just fine.” He approached where she stood, then took her arms and gently urged her to move to the side. “You look tired.”

She let out a sigh as she moved to sit on the barstool. “I am a bit.”

“So everything went okay?” he asked as he prepped the coffeemaker.

“Yep.”

“How did you find the drive?”

That got a smile out of her. “It was really nice, actually. A lot of beautiful scenery.”

“The mountains are always a sight to see.”

“I’ve never spent a lot of time in the mountains,” Kelsey said. “My time here is the closest I’ve been to mountains for any length of time.”

“Even moving around growing up, you never lived near mountains?”

“Not that I can remember. If we did, we certainly didn’t go see them.”

“After I’m free of my boot, we can go to the mountains,” Zane said. “They are beautiful this time of year.”

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