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“Looking at the kitchen as if somebody is going to ask you what you’d change.”

Her mother didn’t sound critical. She sounded amused.

Kate smiled and curled both hands around her mug. “Only for a second. Then I remembered I’m your daughter, not your interior designer.”

“I’m glad to hear it. Your father and I have barely figured out where we want everything ourselves.”

“And you should do that without me telling you where it ought to go.” Kate looked around again, this time without measuring anything. “It’s lovely, Mom. Really. I can see why you wanted it.”

“So can we.” Janice sat down opposite Kate.

That was worth more than all the photographs and phone calls since the move. There were still boxes to unpack, an orchard to learn and a hundred jobs Kate probably knew nothing about yet. But Janice looked happy sitting at that table.

Kate took another drink of coffee. “I can’t help worrying.”

“I know, honey. And I know why. You care about us. I’d be much more concerned if you’d waved us off and never asked another question.”

Kate made a face. “I may have asked quite a lot of questions.”

“You have.” Janice reached across the table and laid her hand over Kate’s. “But your dad and I didn’t come here expecting everything to be easy. We wanted something new. Something we could learn together. If we make a few mistakes along the way, we’ll survive them.”

“The tractor?”

Her mother laughed. “Your father may need a little longer before he finds that funny.”

From the hallway, Alan called, “I’m choosing to ignore both of you.”

A moment later he came back into the kitchen carrying Penny’s stuffed fox under one arm. Penny followed behind him, talking about where her books were going and expecting everybody else to understand a system she had only just invented.

“I’ve been given my orders,” Alan said as he handed Fox back to Penny. “For now, I’m not to touch anything unless I’m under strict supervision.”

“You put the animal book with the story books,” Penny explained.

“I did,” Alan said, his voice grave. “I see now that was a serious mistake.”

Penny nodded, satisfied that he understood his error.

Janice held out a hand. “Come and wash your hands, sweetheart. I’ve made lunch.”

Penny went to her, and Kate watched her mother pull a chair closer to the sink so Penny could reach comfortably. Janice listened while Penny explained the bookshelf problem all over again, as if nothing could possibly matter more.

Kate had missed this. Not only her parents, but the easy way Penny fit into their lives. She had never had to ask whether they wanted to be grandparents. From the moment Kate had told them she was pregnant and that she was keeping the baby, they had made room in their lives, no matter how busy they were.

Alan sat down beside Kate and poured himself some coffee. “She tells me we’ve got you for twelve sleeps.”

“You do.”

“That should give me enough time to teach her a little about apples.” He looked toward Penny, who was now drying her hands with far more paper towel than was strictly necessary. “She seems to think she’ll be doing the harvesting herself.”

“It’s all she talked about on the way here.”

“I told her we’d start with learning which ones are ready. Wes can probably explain it better than I can, but I’m determined to stay at least one lesson ahead of a four-year-old.”

He wasn’t embarrassed to admit it. Her father had never needed to know everything to enjoy learning something new.

Maybe she had been concentrating too much on everything that could go wrong, instead of focusing on what could go right. Her parents had always handled whatever life threw at them.

Janice brought Penny back to the table and began setting out lunch. Alan moved a plate closer to his granddaughter before she could reach across for it, and Penny immediately started telling him about the apple she intended to take home for her friend Maisie.