“Hey, honey.” Stephanie turns off the vacuum when she sees me walk in through the back door. “How’s Jack?”

“He’s okay. He took the news hard, which I expected. The guy was his friend and mentor and was supposed to be the example, you know? I could tell he felt so hopeless, like he was damned to follow in the same footsteps.”

“Poor Jack. I hope he knows there is hope.”

“I tried to tell him. We talked about it last night and this morning he seemed better. Which I hope is the case and he’s not repressing his feelings. He’s always been pretty open with me, but I still feel like he puts on a brave face.”

“It would be hard, I imagine. Society has painted a funny picture of how men aren’t supposed to express emotion and growing up with his father couldn’t have made it easy.” She lifts her eyebrows. “Don’t get me wrong, James Harrington is a good guy, but he’s not the warmest.”

“Not at all.

“The guy was a war veteran?”

“That’s what Jack told me. He served two tours in the middle east. It’s so sad.”

“It really is.” She sighs. “On a happier note, Doug texted me not that long ago and said Karen Young is excited you’re interested and would like to talk whenever you’re free. She’s in the office for the rest of the day, so call her and set up a time. If you’re interested, that is.”

“I am.” I get the info from Stephanie and decide to wait to share the news that I got offered my intern position back. It’s not an actual job, but if they’re going to foot the bill of grad school I shouldn’t complain, right?

I want to. I want to find reasons not to go back up north. My heart is here, and if I leave it behind again, I don’t think I’ll survive. I sit in the dining room with a notepad open—just in case I need to take notes—and call Karen. I get ahold of her secretary and she’s pleasantly surprised I can meet her in an hour.

I showered with Jack and my hair air dried in the sun. It won’t take me long to put on makeup, curl my long locks, and borrow a professional looking outfit from Stephanie. I hurry to get ready in time and take a bag of cookies to drop off to Doug once I’m done talking to Karen.

I text Jack before I leave, just to tell him I love him. He’s working right now and doesn’t text me back. He seemed to be in a good headspace when I left, but I still worry. He’s so hard on himself, and I wish he’d realize he spends more time worrying about being affected by his PTSD than he actually is affected by it.

He wants to live a normal life and doesn’t see that he already does. Yeah, he prefers the quiet of the forest to being surrounded by people, but if anything, I think that makes him more normal. A lot of people would give up everything to have a job they can do from home and live in a beautiful cabin in the woods, nestled in the foothills of the mountains.

The office building for Young Construction is in downtown Dale Hollow, two blocks away from Mrs. Harrington’s store. I park across the street and get hit with nerves before I get out. It’s an informal interview. I’m technically not even applying for a job, nor do I know if she has anything open for me.

For all I know, she’s talking to me as a favor for Doug with no intention of hiring me at all. So why are my hands suddenly trembling? I don’t feel prepared at all. Stephanie’s style is not my own, this is not the ideal purse to pair with dress pants and this black top, and I had to print my resume on regular computer paper instead of resume paper. I didn’t bring my leather folder to keep my resume and references in either.

I came here for a mini vacation from my hectic life at Berkeley with the intention of relaxing and spending time with my family. Surely Karen will understand, right? I take a glance at myself in the mirror, close my eyes, and channel the relaxation techniques I learned in the years of doing yoga.

I open my eyes and get out of the car, stepping into warm sunshine. The heat of summer is coming back. The storm brought in a cold front, and while Jack seemed to enjoy it, I love the heat. I take a moment to soak up the sunshine, calmed by its warmth.

My fingers go to the little glass rose hanging from a delicate silver chain on my neck. I inhale, hold my breath, and slowly let it out as I cross the street and enter the office building.

The secretary is on the phone, and it sounds like there’s been some sort of mix up with the dates of when construction was supposed to start. She smiles at me and motions to a chair by the front window. I take a seat and look around. Blueprints and framed photos of groundbreaking ceremonies hang on the wall. Mr. Young is front and center in all of them, with his son by his right side and Karen pushed off to the left.

The secretary hangs up and comes around the desk. “Nora Fisher, right?”

“Yes,” I say and stand up.

“I’m Rachel. Nice to meet you. I’ll let Karen know you’re here.” She disappears into a room in the back, and a minute later, Karen comes out. We shake hands, go through the formal introductions, and then go back into her office. She asks me about school, why I chose engineering for a career, and what my plans are for the future. This was supposed to be an informal interview, but it’s feeling very much like the practice ones I did in school.

Her phone rings in the middle of talking, and she apologizes and answers.

“No,” she says to the person on the other line. “I think you right-click on it and it brings up the options. Try that.” She waits. “I’m not sure. Let me call you back in a few minutes after I’ve had a chance to look at it.” She hangs up and lets out a sigh. “Sorry. We switched to a new computer program and are still working out the bugs. And the bugs are us trying to figure out how to use it.”

“What program is it?”

She turns her computer screen to show me.

“Oh, we used that in school. It’s great but is a little complicated when you first start out.”

“You’re familiar?”

“Very.”

She smiles. “That is definitely a plus. Well, I have a client meeting in a few minutes, but I have a feeling I’ll be seeing you again.” We get up, moving to the door. “I’ll be in touch.”

“Thank you. It was really nice meeting you.”

She shakes my hand again and sends me on my way. I leave feeling optimistic with my chances. I get to the car and remember I never got Becca a birthday present. Since Mrs. Harrington was at Jack’s this morning, I assume she has the day off and isn’t working at her store.

I was wrong.

“Hi, Nora!” she says excitedly when I walk through the doors. A few other customers are inside, browsing the merchandise. “I must say I like seeing you like this better.” She laughs, and I laugh to keep myself from cringing and running out the door.

“Yeah, I prefer to be fully dressed when I see my boyfriend’s parents.”

An old woman turns around, eyeballing me. Mrs. Harrington comes out from behind the counter.

“We were worried. James heard about Wyatt Henderson,” she says softly. “Does Jack know? I was going to tell him, but he seemed so happy this morning and I didn’t want to put a damper on it.”

“He does.” Now I understand the Harringtons’ panic. “He found out last night.”

“You were there?”

“I got there as soon as he told me.”

Her eyes get a little glossy. The old woman goes to the counter with several hand-painted signs, and Mrs. Harrington steps away to ring her up. I take the time to look for something for Becca. I settle on a can of loose-leaf tea and a cute pineapple-shaped coffee cup.

Mrs. Harrington scans my items and gives me a discount before totaling up my purchase. “Thank you, Nora, for being there for him. You’ve always meant to so much to him, and for the longest time I didn’t understand why he broke up with you.” She wraps the coffee cup in paper. “I’m glad you’re back.”

I smile. “Me too.”