After renting a car at the airport, they arrived at the hospital an hour and a half later and found the cardiac floor.

"There's my mom." Penn tried not to gape at her mother's haggard appearance as she stood about fifteen feet away, chatting with a nurse. She was incredibly pale, and her normally perfect hair, always put up in a bun, had come undone, spilling around her face.

"Mom!"

Her mother turned toward them, her eyes going wide upon seeing Penn. She ran down the hallway, her low heels clicking on the tile flooring. She threw her arms around Penn.

"Oh, honey. It wasn't a heart attack! Thank the Lord."

Penn wrapped her arms around her mother's frail frame and looked over at West, whose eyebrows lifted in surprise.

"What happened, Mom?"

"Stress caused some kind of esophageal spasms. Apparently they feel a lot like a heart attack. They had to run tests to rule out heart issues, but everything came back clear. Thank the good Lord!"

Penn took a step back. "Well, that’s good news."

Her mother fussed with her hair. "Oh, I must look a fright. I've been here for hours." Glancing toward West, confusion crossed her delicate features. He placed his hand on the small of Penn's back, and her mother frowned.

"Penn, honey? Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?"

"Of course. Mom, this is West Keller. He helped me when my car broke down in the desert on the way to Las Vegas."

"Hello, Mrs. Foster." He held out his hand. "I’m glad to hear your husband will be okay."

"Hello, Mr. Keller. You didn't tell me you broke down, Penn," her mother murmured, shaking West’s hand.

"I didn't want to worry you, mom. Besides, it all worked out."

"Will you excuse my daughter and me for a moment, Mr. Keller?"

"Sure."

Her mother led her over to the snack machine. "You don't bring someone you just met home, Penn. What is going on? Why didn't you tell me you broke down in the desert? You could have died!"

"Mom, that's exactly why I didn't tell you. You have enough on your mind."

She peered over Penn's shoulder at West, who leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets. "That man over there has intentions toward you, Penelope. I can tell by how he looks at you. How intimate he seems with you. He's no friend."

Penn sighed and tipped her head back toward the ceiling. After nine months of being nonexistent, her mother had decided now was the time to try and be a parent.

"Mom, West is a professional hockey player. He lives in Las Vegas, and I live in Lakensville. I'm not his girlfriend. We're just friends."

Her mother reached out to smooth Penn’s hair. "Don't try to put blinders on me, Penelope. I wasn't born yesterday." Her mother's eyes welled up with tears. "I don't want you getting depressed if he hurts you, because I won't be able to help you. I couldn't help Danny. I can't protect you, Penn."

Penn placed a hand on her mother's shoulder. "Mom, I love you and Daddy with all of my heart. You know I do. But you're right. You can't protect me. You just have to trust I'll make good decisions. If I decide to take chances, you have to trust that I’m smart enough to handle the consequences of those chances."

Penn turned around to look at West. He gave her a small, encouraging smile.

"Is he one of those chances?" her mother asked.

Penn faced her mother again. "Maybe."

"Did you sleep with him, Penelope?"

"Next question, Mom."

"And that answers my question. I don't like it. I know you and Matt were intimate, but he was your boyfriend, you guys were headed toward marriage—"

"We were never headed there, Mom."

"—but that man over there looks…"

"Gorgeous?" Penn asked, smiling.

"Dangerous," her mother corrected.

Penn ignored her mother's comment, considering it was the first thing she’d thought about West when he’d stopped to help her. She couldn’t blame her mother for having the same exact thought.

"I know how tough things have been lately, but you and Daddy have to try to get out of the bad place you’ve both been in. It's not healthy. Look around at where you are. This can't go on any more, Mom. You guys need to be able to take care of yourselves and the farm." Because I can't do it anymore, she wanted to add.

Her mother shot another glance at West. "I'll go see if we can visit your father," she said, effectively putting an end to their conversation.

Penn sighed. "Fine." She walked back over to West.

"Everything okay?" He slipped an arm around her waist. "Your mom is shooting daggers at me with her eyes."

Penn shrugged. "She doesn't trust you. She thinks you're going to break my heart."

Her mother motioned to her from the nurses’ station. "We can see him now, Penelope."

"Want me to go with you?" he asked.

"No, it's fine."

"I'll be here when you’re done." He grabbed her pinky finger with his and tugged. "Hang in there."

"Thank you." She stood on tiptoe to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you so much for being here with me."

Penn's mother coughed. "Penn?"

"I’ll be back soon."

He kissed the top of her head. "See you in a bit."

---

Penn entered her father's hospital room, steeling herself for the sight. Multiple machines stood next to his bed, beeping and flashing. A single tube fed a clear liquid into his arm via a needle.

The fluorescent lights of the hospital room made his blonde, thinning hair appear almost silver. Dark shadows under his eyes aged him more than his fifty-five years.

She swallowed against the lump in her throat. "Hi, Daddy."

Her father's face lit up as she walked toward him. "There's my girl. Gave you a good scare, did I, Penn-Bug?"

Penn warmed instantly at the endearment. She realized then how much she'd missed her father in the months since Danny’s passing. They'd always been close, but her father had shut himself down to everyone except her mother.

"You've both been giving me a good scare for the past nine months." She kissed his cheek. "Daddy, this has to stop. I know you’re grieving. We all are. You’re both withering away in front of me. I can't stand to watch it anymore. The stress is killing you."

Her father's sun-weathered face grew stony. "I see. Now that you've graduated college, you know it all, do you? Enough to be dispensing advice to your parents."

Penn shook her head. "Of course not, Daddy. What I do know is that this stress is hurting us all. You have to do something to help yourselves." She covered his hand with her own. "I can't bear to lose you, too."

Her father sank back against the pillows. "Nothing will ever be the same without your brother. What does it even matter?"

"I know you miss him." Her throat ached with unshed tears. "I do, too. But it matters. Please, Daddy, it matters. You need to get strong so you can run the farm again. I can't do it alone."

"I know we've put a big burden on you, little girl. It's going to take some time. We all just need some time."

"I know." She felt encouraged by his acknowledgement. "You know I’ll help you both any way I can. But I need you guys to help yourselves, too."

Penn's mother hovered near his side, adjusting his gown. "You need to rest, David. You look exhausted."

"I'm fine, Joy. I'll be fine. But I’m tired, Penn-Bug. I think I'll rest for now. I didn't mean to interrupt your trip with this nonsense. Are you going back?"

"Yes, now that I know you’re okay." She bent to kiss him again. "Just concentrate on getting well, okay? I love you."

"I will. Love you too, Penny. Be safe going back. Call your mother when you get there."

"I will, Daddy." They exited the room and walked in silence back to where West stood.

"Are you two going back to the farm?" her mother asked.

"Yes," West replied. "Penn promised to show me around."

Penn shot him a surprised look. "I did?"

"You promised me the full Washington farm experience, didn't you?" He took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "Besides I’d like to see where you live."

She smiled at him. "I guess we're going back, then."

"Penn stocked the fridge before leaving for her trip, so there’s plenty to eat. Make sure your friend has a nice meal, Penelope." Her mother continued to stare at West, her lips pursed.

Penn knew that look. She wasn't fond of him at all. After all, he was an outsider, and in their town, outsiders weren’t to be trusted. Especially tall, tattooed, handsome ones who had slept with your daughter.

"I'm heading back to Vegas tonight, Mom. We won't be here long."

"Well, I'm going to stay overnight at the hospital with your father. Judy’s mom works on this floor and said I could have a cot. No sense in going home when I’ll just be back in the morning anyway."

Penn hugged her mother. "I'll call you when I get to Vegas, okay?"

"Yes, please do." Her mother held her hand out to West. "Mr. Keller. It was nice to make your acquaintance."

He shook her hand. "Don’t worry, Penn will be safe with me, Mrs. Foster."

A dubious look crossed her mother's face and she released his hand. "Have a safe trip. And Penn? Be careful." She shot a meaningful glance in West's direction before turning and heading down the hallway.

---

West drove the rental car along the dirt road entrance leading to the farm. He peered up at the weather-beaten red barn that loomed large in the distance, dwarfing the farmhouse. It had to be difficult for Penn to look at that barn every day.

"You know, when I first met you, I figured you for a farm girl," he told her.

She shot him a sideways glance. "Why? Did I look poor and unglamorous?"

"Wow. Where did that come from?" He pulled the truck into the driveway. "No, you looked wholesome with your blonde, curly hair and cute freckled nose. It wasn't an insult, Penn."

"Sorry," she mumbled. "I think I'm still on edge from that meeting with my mother."

West grinned. "Yeah, she sure didn't like me much."

"She doesn't trust you. This is a small town, and everyone here knows one another. People are wary of strangers. She didn’t even like Matt when we started dating, and we’ve known each other forever."

He put his hand on the small of her back and guided her toward the house. "I don’t know about you, but I could use a sandwich. I'm starving. Let’s go make some food."

Once inside, she fixed them a lunch of ham sandwiches, potato chips, and iced tea. After they'd stuffed themselves, she led him through the rooms, stopping at her own first.

"This is mine." White draperies with blue flowers hung from the windows, and a matching bedspread completed the look. It was small, with a desk in the corner, an aging computer and a small television on the dresser.

"Nothing fancy. But it's my sanctuary."

"It's nice," he said, leaning in and looking around. "I can picture you studying in here."

The door across from her room was closed. "Danny's room. It stays shut. I guess it's just easier that way. They haven't changed anything since that day."

He took her hand, stroking her palm with his thumb. "Come on, let's go outside and get some fresh air, okay?"

She gave him a tour of the grounds. It was a lot of land, and completely overwhelming to him. He'd lived in a lot of places growing up before they settled in New York City, but nothing this rural.

Penn led him down a path on the outskirts of the property, chattering on about all of the different machines and what they did, how and when they did the harvesting, and so on.

"Me and Danny would always come down this path and head over to the corner of the farm when we were kids to play." She pointed ahead. "See, our old swing set and sandbox are still here. I haven't been down here in a long time."

It looked like the area had been a long forgotten part of the property. It was overgrown with weeds and wildflowers.

Penn smiled up at him. "We would always hide here and try to get out of our chores. It was far enough away to claim we didn't hear our mom calling us."

West laughed. "Drew and I would hide out like that, too. We'd hike to all of the different frozen ponds when we lived in Michigan, our hockey stuff in hand. We'd play for hours."

Though for him and his brother, it wasn't to avoid chores. Most of the time it was to escape the daily arguments of their parents.

Penn tipped her head back and took a deep breath. "Wow, you can really smell the flowers out here. So fresh. Don't get me wrong, I like the city, but this place-this farm-it's just me. It's such a part of who I am, you know?"

West studied her for a long moment. He could picture her as a little kid, racing around and playing with her brother out here. Swinging on the swings or running through the fields.

Penn bent over a patch of wildflowers and plucked a vibrant purple one from the bunch. Her blonde curls tumbled around her face as she brought it to her nose and took a deep breath.

He was struck by how peaceful she looked just then. Like all of her worries had fled for just a moment in time. Her face relaxed and she closed her eyes.

A few moments later, she lifted her head and glanced over at him. Smiling, she asked, "What?"

He took her hand. "You just look happy, that's all.

"I'm glad I got to show you this place. It's silly, I know."

"It's not," he said, shaking his head.

"I finally had a moment where I was able to think about Danny and smile. For a moment, it was just good." She tucked the flower into her hair.

He squeezed her hand. "There will be more. It might be few and far between for a while, but I'm glad for you."

"Me, too. I know it won't last, but it gives me some hope."

After walking around for another hour, they finally came to the barn. She approached it slowly, her arms wrapped around herself. It was obvious the happy moments of the past hour and a half were gone now. Her face was somber, and she'd gone pale.

"Most of the equipment, smaller machines and tools are stored in the secondary storage barn toward the back of the land," she said, her voice soft. "This was a horse barn until about twelve years ago. After our own horses passed, it became Danny's space to work on his cars. Dad still stores odds and ends here, but for the most part, it was my brother's sanctuary."

He put a hand on her shoulder. "We can go back in the house if you want. It's okay, Penn."

Tears welled up in her eyes. "I'm not sure if it will ever really be okay again," she whispered, turning to look up at him.

West slid his arms around her from behind and kissed the top of her head, hoping he could give her some measure of comfort. She trembled in his arms, and he was half tempted to drag her back to the rental car and get them out of here.

"I haven't gone inside since it happened. Sometimes the farmhands will come in for Dad's tools and such, and a month ago, my Dad hired someone to go clean out all of the old hay. He even had fresh hay put in. I don't know why, but maybe he plans on boarding horses again. Not that he ever talks to me about the farm much lately, so I wouldn't know. But to my knowledge, none of us have actually gone inside since that day."

Her eyelids fluttered closed. "I just couldn't face it before, you know? But maybe I should. Will you come in with me? Stay with me?" She turned around and glanced up at him, her eyes damp with unshed tears.

"Are you sure you're ready for that, Pixie?"

"No, but maybe it will help."

He stared down at her, then nodded. "I’m here for you. Lead the way."