I turned off at the ranch exit Blair had given me and frowned as the car bounced a little. I rarely drove, and this was just one of the many reasons why. I wasn’t the sort of person who thought everyone everywhere could completely stop using vehicles, but I like to cut my carbon footprint down as much as possible.

It was absolutely beautiful out here, I thought as I found the driveway Blair had described. If I hadn’t wanted to live close enough to my shop to walk, I would’ve loved to have gotten a place like this. Maybe, if I could expand, I’d be able to…

I pushed the thought aside. I wasn’t looking to become a businesswoman. I owned a business, sure, but that wasn’t the same thing. I was happy with where my life was right now, and I was going to be happy and content.

Before I went any further down that path, I came around a line of trees – planted in too straight a line to have been natural – and saw a massive ranch house that seemed to be in the process of being converted into something else. I couldn’t quite tell what, or how much work was left to do, but I had a feeling whatever it was, it was the reason I was here.

“Brea!” Blair was hurrying toward me before I’d made it two steps toward the front door.

No matter how strange my relationship with my parents was, there was still something comforting about seeing those familiar features, the long flowing skirt, and fuzzy cardigan.

“Hi,” I said, wrapping my arms around my mother. The familiar scent of cloves and cinnamon enveloped me. She’d worn these little sachets for as long as I could remember, and even though we’d never stayed in one place for long, that smell to me had been home.

“You cut your hair,” she said as she took a step back and let Kevin come forward to give me a hug.

“I did,” I said with a smile.

My parents might not have been the most conventional when it came to marriage and family, or even the most observant about things, but I’d never doubted their love for me.

“You look lovely, as always,” she said, linking her arm through my father’s.

“You two look good,” I said as I followed them up the gravel path to the front door.

“Thank you,” Blair said, moving ahead of Kevin to open the door. “The aura around this place is amazing. I feel refreshed just breathing in the air.”

I wasn’t into the whole aura thing, but I got how she felt about the air. I meant to ask them what they were doing here, but as soon as I stepped inside, I lost track of any questions I had.

We were in a rustic lobby with soft lighting and the sort of old-fashioned iron fixtures that must’ve cost a pretty penny. The rugs were done in various Native American patterns, and I didn’t doubt they were authentic. Similar blankets hung on the walls instead of artwork. It wasn’t, however, until I smelled the incense Blair and Kevin always burned that I realized they weren’t simply visiting.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“The dining area is in here,” Blair said, gesturing to our right.

It was definitely an area and not a room. The table could easily fit more than a dozen people, though at this moment it was only set for three. I moved to the far seat and waited until my parents joined me before looking at them expectantly. Instead of answering me, however, Kevin opened a bottle of wine and filled all three of the wine glasses.

“A toast.” He held his glass up high. “To a bright and glorious future. May we all reach our maximum potential and make this world a better place.”

I only took a sip of the tart beverage. I generally preferred beer, but my parents always liked to toast with wine.

“We bought it,” Blair announced.

“Bought what?” I was pretty sure I knew what she meant, but I’d learned to not assume. Blair and Kevin didn’t always follow the most logical progressions and making them spell things out was a good way to avoid misunderstandings.

“The ranch.” She beamed. “Kevin and I have decided that we want to settle down.”

I stared at her. That couldn’t mean what I thought it meant. “‘Settle down’?” I echoed.

“We’re not young anymore,” Kevin said, and for the first time, I noticed the lines that had grown deeper around his eyes.

I often forgot how much older he was than Blair. He was forty when I was born while Blair had been only nineteen. My grandparents were only four and five years older than him. One of the many reasons they hadn’t approved of the relationship.

“I’m just surprised,” I said, gripping the glass in my hands. “I know how much you love to travel, but even if I’d pictured you guys buying a place, I never would’ve thought it’d be here. You’re both so social. I would’ve thought you’d go back to one of the communes you liked.”

“We thought about it,” Kevin said, “but in the end, we decided that we wanted to be closer to you.”

Blair reached over and put her hand over mine. “We’ve missed you.”

I smiled, a rush of warmth washing over me. “I’ve missed you guys too.”

It was the truth. I was used to them being absent, but that didn’t mean I didn’t want them to be around more.

We ate in silence for a few minutes before I asked one of the many questions that had been bouncing around in my head since I’d gotten my mother’s text. “Not that I don’t think the place is gorgeous, but I must ask, why here? There are plenty of houses in Rawlins you could have bought.”

“That’s the other part of what we wanted to talk to you about,” Kevin said, exchanging a look with Blair. “You know we’ve never liked the idea of retirement, so this isn’t only going to be our home. We’ve converted it into a retreat.”

Blair picked up the explanation, excitement lighting up her face. “It’s going to be amazing. We both saw so many people in the corporate world and in those high social circles completely burn themselves out trying to do everything at once. Think of how much better it would be if they had somewhere they could go to relax.”

“We’re going to offer all organic meals,” Kevin continued, “with options for vegans or specialty diets. We’ll have organic facials, wraps, mud treatments, hot stone massages.”

My parents were opening a…spa?

Blair took over again. “Of course, all of these will be amenities offered, but if guests simply want time and space away from the hustle and bustle of the world, that’s an option as well. We have rooms here in the main house, but there are some wonderful cabins we’ll be renovating as well.”

Cabins? It took me a minute to realize they meant the quarters where ranch hands would normally have lived. They would be easy enough to convert into more traditional cabins, I supposed.

“Blair and I will be offering seminars on simplifying one’s life, living holistically, the benefits of rejecting societal constraints.”

“Nothing will be required, of course,” Blair said. “Guests will be encouraged to commune with nature and find their own life’s path wherever it may take them.”

“That’s great,” I said sincerely. I was happy for them and glad that they were going to be living nearby, but now I was also a little relieved that they hadn’t decided to put the retreat in Rawlins itself. I had a feeling I’d be coaxed into becoming a part of the retreat if I was too close.

“You haven’t even heard the best part yet,” Blair said. “We converted the front parlor into a shop for you and turned the room behind it into a bedroom suite.” She clapped her hands together. “So, it’ll be just like your place now.”

Oh.

“That’s a great offer.” I chose my words carefully. “But I like my apartment and my shop in town. I do most of my business online, but I do have regulars who probably might not feel comfortable coming out to a retreat to buy things. Plus, I own the building, and I’m not sure I’d be able to find someone to buy or rent it.”

It was all true, but I didn’t give them the underlying reason why I didn’t want to drop everything and move my store out here. With the singular exception of the time we’d lived here before, my parents had never stuck to anything for more than a few months. It wasn’t only the appeal of traveling that had kept them on the move all these years. Short things like hiking the Grand Canyon or meeting indigenous tribes in South America, those generally got done, but when it came to anything that was a longer commitment, they simply didn’t have the staying power.

Once, when I was around fifteen, they’d decided they wanted to live off the land in northern Canada. We spent more time getting to the cabin they’d rented than we did actually living there. When I was eight, they became involved with an organization that fought for land preservation. It was a great cause, but after a couple months of nothing more than a handful of single-day protests, they decided their time and energy was better spent with a group trying to save the rainforests. They always meant well, and they were always sincere in their passions.

But they had the attention spans of toddlers most of the time.

If I moved my shop here, I might make decent sales for a while, but once they got bored, I’d end up having to move right back into Rawlins, and I’d most likely lose the base I’d carefully built up over the last two years.

“It’s open to negotiation,” Kevin said with a smile. “Maybe we can come to a compromise. We really would love for you to be a part of this.”

I took another sip of my wine. When my father said things like that, I remembered he hadn’t always been the man I knew. Most of the time, I forgot that he’d been a businessman for years before he and Blair met. He came from old New York City money and had been groomed to take over the family business. I wasn’t sure what that business had been since he didn’t have it anymore.

He’d gotten an MBA, married a woman from the right family, and then after his parents died, took over the company entirely. Then, when he was thirty-four, something happened, and he’d decided that wasn’t the life he wanted. He’d sold all his shares in the company, gave his wife a generous settlement in exchange for an uncontested divorce – which she was more than happy to do – and then walked away from all of it. He still had plenty of money, which was how we’d been able to travel so much, but he’d never deliberately flaunted it.

“What would you think about having a shop here that’s open once or twice a week?” Blair asked, her brows raised in hopeful expectation. “The room in the back can be yours whenever you come out to visit, and you can set the store hours however you want. If you need some help to hire someone for your shop in town, we’re more than happy to do it.”

“I can handle hiring someone part-time,” I said.

I’d never been busy enough to consider it before, but I could get someone to take care of things two days a week while I came out here, especially since it wouldn’t be permanent. If I wasn’t making anything out here, I could close the store without my parents feeling like I didn’t want to work with them, and if it did well, then I’d stay until they got bored and left again. If they got through more than six months, I’d consider it a miracle.

“Does that mean you’ll do it?” Blair asked.

I smiled at her. “It does. We can work through scheduling when I bring in some inventory. Does that sound good?”

“It sounds wonderful,” Blair said. “Now, let me go get the dessert I made. It’s something new. Kale chips and fruit dip.”

As she walked away, I made a mental note to suggest that they hire a cook to feed guests. Health food, junk food, organic or not, it wouldn’t matter. Blair only knew how to make two or three meals, and everything else was an experiment that usually failed. Kevin knew enough that he didn’t go hungry, but for large groups of people, a cook would be best.

A glance at Kevin told me he was thinking the same thing. At least we were one hundred percent on the same page when it came to that.