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He was … here.

Her heart hammered.

She had wondered if he’d gone home for Thanksgiving.

To Murphy’s Bend.

To his family.

Except … he was here.

She wasn’t ready. Not by any means.

But what she was, was late. She had planned to arrive yesterday, giving her time to prepare—

Prepare?

You’ve had over four months to prepare for this moment.

Movement in the front yard caught her attention.

She blinked.

Was that a goat?

Yes, it was. Balancing on the rim of a pot of bronze mums set amongst the pumpkins and hay bales and other Thanksgiving decorations that littered the front garden.

Felicity shook her head at the odd sight and opened her door.

Time to face … everyone.

It took everything in her to climb out and not throw the van into reverse, leaving Clearbrook in her rearview mirror again. She hadn’t unpacked beyond grabbing a change of clothes. Everything else remained exactly where it belonged — in the van, ready to go.

She lifted the pugs down one by one and walked to the front gate, pushing it open so the trio could barrel through. They remembered the house and tore up the walkway with surprising speed.

Until Maggie skidded to a halt.

The pug stared at the goat, still perched on the rim of the pot and making a meal of the hay stacked beside it, then unleashed a cacophony of barks and wheezes before charging.

The goat toppled over.

And lay on its side, legs ramrod straight.

Felicity sucked in a breath as it clicked.

The California plates. The goat.

Jack had spoken often about the fainting goat belonging to their neighbors from Manhattan Beach. For the life of her, she couldn’t recall their names.

Maggie approached cautiously and sniffed the goat’s neck. It sprang to its feet with a loud bleat. The pug yelped in terror and beelined back to Felicity, cowering behind her legs.

The goat trotted around the corner of the house.

Laughing, Felicity scooped the thoroughly traumatized dog into her arms and carried her up the steps and through the open door.

The laughter faded when she entered the house.

Her sister stood at the far end of the entry.