As she turned the key in the ignition, Shannon noticed Daniel racing across the lawn toward her. She thought about pretending not to notice and just pulling out of the driveway, but curiosity got the better of her and she rolled down the window and watched him rush to the car.

“Shannon. Don’t leave things like this.”

Seriously?

“What things, Daniel?”

She wanted to hear him say it right out loud. When she folded her arm over the window ledge and leaned into it, Daniel covered her wrist with his hand.

“I’m sorry if I hurt you.”

“So why did you?” she asked sincerely. “Here’s how I see it: a couple of close moments between us and you’re suddenly fleeing to another country. Please tell me there’s more to it than that. And if there is, explain it to me, will you please? Did I need a breath mint? Because that’s easily solved without leaving the country over it.”

Daniel sighed and looked off into the distance for about two hundred years while Shannon waited for him to speak. She used the time to mold her expression into a mixture of disinterest and curiosity.

“I had a conversation with Dr. Benedict,” he said.

“You spoke to my therapist? Can you do that?” she asked. “I thought our sessions were private.”

“They are!” he exclaimed. “I just wanted to know how she thought you were processing everything. I mean, Shannon, you’ve been through more than the average—”

“You talked to my therapist about me.”

He tightened his grip on her wrist and leaned forward, parking his face about twelve inches from hers. She turned away from the closeness. “We were moving into something, Shannon. I had to know if you were ready for it yet.”

“Moving into something.” She hadn’t meant to repeat it aloud, but the words just sort of floated out. “Can you define that for me, Daniel?”

He let out a rumbly sigh and backed up slightly. When he lifted his hand from hers, she quickly snatched his wrist and shook it.

“So what did Dr. Benedict tell you? That I’m too feeble and ill-equipped for a relationship with you, or with anyone? So—what? You dropped the coma girl and ran?”

“It’s more complicated than that,” he insisted. “I just want you to have the time and space you need.”

“For what?” She wanted to tell him that she’d never felt less crowded than when she was with him; that he was the only man on earth who ever made her feel …

She resisted.

“To get over losing Edmund,” he snapped. “To adjust to losing ten years of your life. To get your feet on the ground before you—”

“Let me tell you something, Daniel. Edmund was my first love. Losing him was terrible. But he’s gone, and I can’t bring him back. And I don’t even know if …”

She choked back her own words. Was she really going to say she didn’t know if she’d bring him back even if she could? Just the thought of saying such a thing burned her vocal cords. And it wasn’t true anyway. Of course she would will him back to life if she could!

It’s just that—

“I’m not the same person now that I was ten years ago,” she said instead, and her throat felt raspy and sore. “I was barely in my twenties when I married Edmund. Are you the same person you were in your twenties?”

“Of course not.”

“Well, me neither. Apparently, I continued changing while I slept because I woke up a whole different person. And you know what, Daniel? I feel pretty good about her. I kind of like her! The truth is … I don’t know if Edmund would have liked this woman very much, but I was kind of thinking you did.”

“I do.”

“Then why aren’t you sharing all of this with me?” she asked him. “I would have thought you’d be interested in what’s going on, maybe want to cheer me on a little bit.”

“You have no idea how much I’m doing that.”

She let out one bitter laugh. “Well, I hope you cheer loudly from the other side of the world then, Daniel. It’s going to be a little hard to hear you from here.”

And with that, she rolled up her window and drove away.

She’d seen enough Don’t text and drive ads to know better than to pull out her cell phone on the drive home, but Shannon did it anyway. At least she’d waited until she stopped at a light, she rationalized as she dialed her aunt’s number.

“Aunt Mary, it’s me.”

“Did you forget something?”

“Just to tell you that I love you. And I’m sorry if Daniel and I made you feel at all uncomfortable.”

“Not at all, dearie. Were you uncomfortable?”

“A little.” If she wanted to describe the awful ache in her stomach as merely “uncomfortable.”

“Oh, Aunt Mary. Do you have any suggestions for me?” she asked somberly.

“I suggest The Beach Boys.”

Shannon blurted out a laugh. “Seriously?”

“‘Barbara Ann’ works wonders for me,” she said and she began to sing.

“I’m going to listen to it on my computer the minute I get home,” she said, chuckling. Her mood had lifted a bit just hearing her elderly aunt sing the first few silly lyrics.

“You know what else might work, Shannie?”

The mischief in her aunt’s voice signaled a warning for Shannon. Heading off the inevitable reference to resolving things with Daniel, she said quickly, “Enjoy your evening, Aunt Mary.”

She couldn’t help herself from humming “Barbara Ann” for the rest of the drive, but she stopped abruptly when she turned into Briarcliff and headed for her own street. A shock of bright orange hair caught her attention, and Shannon steered over to the curb and rolled down the window.

“Hey!” she called, but the boy didn’t glance in her direction. “Kid! Hello.”

He moved toward the car, still keeping a safe distance as he leaned down and looked at her. “You stoled my grandpa’s dog again, didn’t you, lady?”

“No, I did not. And I didn’t steal him the first time. If you would help your grandpa keep him in the yard, he wouldn’t come looking for my house.”

“Hey, Grandpa!” the boy hollered. “This is the lady who stoled Freckles.”

Freckles. The disagreeable moniker just didn’t fit her Rodney.

An elderly man with a thick head of wavy silver hair leaned on a broom and angled down to glare at her. When he made a move toward the car, Shannon climbed out to stand and greet him.

“My name is Shannon Ridgeway,” she said as he reached her. “I live two streets over.”

“Dog escaped again,” he declared. “Dumb dog.”

She grinned. “He’s at my house, probably asleep on the patio furniture. I just wanted you to know he’s safe, and I’ll bring him over to you in about an hour if that’s all right.”

“You don’t gotta.”

She lifted one eyebrow into an arch. “Pardon?”

“Grandpa, Freckles is your dog,” his grandson objected.

“Here,” the old man said, pushing the broom toward him. “Go on, git. Driveway won’t clean itself.”

Once the boy had retreated, the man shook his head and chuckled. “Never liked that dog. More trouble’n he’s worth. Smells like my first wife.”

Shannon giggled, trying not to imagine the woman who smelled like Rodney.

“You sent him back smellin’ like a flower though.”

“Oh. Well. I just had him groomed.”

“Musta run him pretty good too. Looked like he took off a pound or two.”

“The pet store suggested weight management kibbles. I can bring you the rest of the bag. I still have it.”

“You don’t want him neither?”

“No, that’s not it. I rather like him, but …”

“Keep him then, would ya?”

Shannon’s heart soared slightly. “Really?”

“Never been a dog person,” the old man declared. “Got three cats. They don’t like the dumb dog much neither.”

Shannon instinctively reached forward and took the man’s hand between both of hers and began shaking it. “Yes. If you don’t mind, I’d love to keep him. I really would. You see, I was in a coma and my husband died …” A snowball, rolling down a mountain; she just couldn’t stop. “… and I’ve had to adjust to a whole new world on my own, and Rodney … that’s what I call him because he looks a little like Rodney Dangerfield, don’t you think so?…he was pretty good company for me. To be honest, when he went back to you, I kind of missed him.”

“Never thought of it, but I guess he does look like Dangerfield. Acts like it too. Dumb dog thinks he gets no respect.”

Shannon cackled. “That’s funny! That’s what Rodney Dangerfield used to say.”

The old man looked at her strangely.

“Anyway. Thank you so much. If you’re sure.”

“I’m sure.”

“I’ll take really good care of him, I promise.”

“Yeah. You do that.”

He turned away and plodded back to the driveway where his young grandson had just finished the sweeping.

Shannon rounded the car and, just before sliding back behind the wheel, she waved her arm. “Thank you!” The man didn’t even glance back in her direction. She closed her eyes and said it again, this time to God. “Thank you so much.”

The oddity of the thought didn’t escape her as it formed in her head, but … she could hardly wait to get home and tell Rodney. “Finally,” she said, sending the word upward in a prayer. “Something I’ve lost is returned to me. Keep that up, will you, please?”

As she pulled into the garage, Shannon’s phone rang. She answered it and depressed the button to close the overhead door.

“Shannon?”

She didn’t recognize the voice. “Yes?”

“Shannon, this is Emily Dawson. We met at the baptismal out in Barton Springs. Do you remember?”

“Umm …”

“I told you about meeting Edmund, and how he’d helped me and my family?”

“Oh! Of course, Emily. I’m sorry. What can I do for you?”

“Josiah is here, and he was just telling me about your new business venture. First of all, I just wanted to say what a wonderful thing you’re doing. I don’t know what’s more needed; providing meals for Draper families, or the breakfast program you’re starting. It’s just amazing, Shannon.”

“Thank you.” She tried to think of something else to add, but nothing came to her.

“I was wondering—hoping, really—that maybe you need someone to help you.”

“Well, I have been thinking about that. I just haven’t had time to act on it.”

“Daniel gave Josiah your number, and he suggested maybe I give you a call. I have a lot of cooking and serving experience. I’ve been waiting tables since I was sixteen, and I’ve been a sous chef at The Bristol Inn for the last two years.”

“I don’t know what a sous chef is paid these days, Emily, but I’m just starting out and—” Rodney’s high-pitched howl from the other side of the door sliced her thought right in two.

“Are you all right?” Emily asked her.

“Yes,” she said with a chuckle. “That’s my dog.”

I have a dog!

“He sounds very unhappy.”

“It’s hard to tell with him,” she joked. “Can you email me a resume with three references, Emily?”

“Yes!” she exclaimed. “Thank you. What’s the address?”

Rodney wailed throughout the last few minutes of their conversation, and Shannon disconnected just before she opened the door. The dog tossed himself at her leg in a happy display.

“Wait until you hear this, Freckles!” she teased. “Hey! How did you get into the house? I left you out on the patio.”

His wide, bloodshot eyes betrayed nothing beyond subdued excitement to see her. The glass slider, standing open no more than six inches, told the rest of the story anyway.

I’m going to have to start locking that door.

“You figured out how to push the door open?” she asked him, and Rodney plopped his behind down and sat there staring at her. “Well, that just means you’re hiding genius tendencies, doesn’t it? Either that, or my suspicion that you can walk through doors and closed gates is correct. Is that your secret doggie super-power?”

He followed her to the table, thumping down to his wide behind again once she settled into the chair and opened her laptop. Two minutes later, The Beach Boys serenaded her, and Shannon bounced into the kitchen—thankfully, with her legs cooperating!—and she yanked open the refrigerator door as she sang along.

“Bah-bah-bah bah-bahber Ann …”

Shannon drummed her fingers on the arm of the leather chair for several minutes before she finally recognized the rhythm she’d been tapping out, and she sang along in her head.

“Barbara Ann” sure had a catchy tune to it. She wished she could find the button in her brain to turn it off after more than twenty-four hours of it dancing around up there.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Shannon. How are you today?”

She gazed at Dr. Benedict as she descended into the hard leather chair behind her desk.

“I’m actually pretty great,” she replied.

“My secretary said you asked for an immediate appointment. Is there something particular that you’d like to discuss?”

“Yes. Daniel told me that the two of you had a conversation about me.”

The doctor shifted in her chair. “Only to the extent that he wanted to know how you’re navigating through the adjustment process.”

“And did you tell him I might not be ready for a close relationship?”

“I may have indicated my concern about it, yes.”

Shannon inhaled sharply and let it out slowly, controlling her breathing before she replied. “I appreciate your concern. But I don’t feel like it was your place to make a judgment like that, or specifically to express it to a third party.”

“Shannon—”

“My feelings for Daniel are admittedly confusing,” she interrupted. “But I’m navigating alien territory here. Does that make sense?”

“Certainly.”

Over the next fifty minutes, Shannon filled the time with wonderings about the future, insecurity, and questions about her new venture. She talked about her inability to connect the dots between her newlywed status with Edmund and the monstrous task of moving forward without him. She did almost all the talking, in fact, and she felt comfortable with the way Dr. Benedict heard her. She realized she could trust her.

Afterward, she wondered as she stepped onto the elevator whether the surge coursing through her consisted of anxiety or adrenaline. She pressed the button for the lobby and decided it might have been a little mixture of both.

Before reaching her destination, the elevator car stopped at the third floor. To Shannon’s surprise, Josiah Rush stepped onboard. Dressed in well-worn jeans and a long, somewhat oversized gray Henley, he tapped the lobby button several times.

“Josiah?”

He glanced over at her and pulled an expression of complete bewilderment. “Shannon? He called you?”

“Pardon?”

“Daniel. Did he call you?”

“N-no. Today? No. Why? Is everything all right?”

“He had an accident, and I brought him into the ER. I’m headed back down there now.”

Her pulse accelerated at an alarming rate, and her heart began to beat out thudding sounds deep inside her ears. “An accident? What kind of accident? Is he okay?”

“It looked pretty bad initially, but—”

When the elevator doors slid open, Shannon took off at a full run, leaving Josiah behind her. By the time she reached the emergency room check-in, every horrible outcome had splayed across her mind like a Technicolor disaster movie. With the fleeting thought of a broken arm or leg, she nearly catapulted across the desk at the poor girl seated there.

“Daniel Petros,” she shouted. “Where is he?”

When the intake nurse didn’t answer quickly enough, Shannon groaned and darted around the desk, through the ER doors.

“You can’t go back there unless—”

“I got this, Donna,” Josiah stated from behind her. “Shannon! Shannon, wait!”

But she couldn’t wait. She had to see for herself. Pulling back curtains and peering into cubicles as she went, she plowed through the emergency room with all the determination of a mother bear in search of her cub. She thought she heard someone mention applying a cast to someone’s broken leg, and it drove her anxiety up several notches.

“Over here,” Josiah said, and she raced into the direction of his outstretched arm.

Had they already managed to get a cast on his leg? Would there be surgery involved? He wouldn’t be able to walk around at first, even with crutches, depending on the extent of his injuries …

“Shannon?” Daniel peered up at her through one swollen, disfigured eye. “Is that you? What are you doing here?”

“You didn’t break your leg?”

“My leg? No. What made you think—”

“I ran into her in the elevator,” Josiah explained as he stepped up behind her.

“And you told her I broke my leg?”

“She didn’t give me time to tell her anything at all. She concocted the leg scenario all on her own. I just said you were hurt out on the lacrosse field.”

“Lacrosse?” she exclaimed. “I thought …” Embarrassment doused her with a large barrel of ice, and she cringed. “I don’t know what I thought. What happened, exactly?”

“Look at you,” he teased, but when his smile lifted enough to push on the upper side of his face, he groaned and winced, and that silly grin of his evaporated in no time at all.

“Look at you,” she retorted. Mounds of swollen flesh around the outside of his eye looked discolored and painful, and one of them resembled a chunk of raw meat that had been treated with clear ointment. She turned around and glared at Josiah. “What happened to him?”

“He was clocked in the eye with a lacrosse stick.”

She wheeled around to face Daniel again and placed her hands on her hips.

“What did the doctor say? You look awful.”

“Yeah, that’s pretty much what she said. She said I look awful.”

“She also told him it’s a good thing he’s not as pretty as me or it might really make a difference,” Josiah chimed in. “As it is, no one will really notice another layer of hideous on his mug.”

“Are you through?” Shannon asked.

The two of them exchanged glances before they burst out laughing.

“I suppose you can take him home?” she asked Josiah. “Make sure he’s got what he needs?”

Josiah looked to Daniel, and Shannon caught Daniel shaking his head wildly out of the corner of her eye.

“Well, if you’re available to give him a ride, I’d really appreciate it because—”

“I saw that,” she stated. “You shook your head to get him to say he can’t take you. Well, guess what. I have to go, and you’re stuck with him. You two deserve each other.”

Their laughter echoed down the hall after her as she stalked away. She heard that laughter for hours afterward, and she was safely home with Rodney on the patio by the time she finally relaxed and found the perspective to join in.