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“I guess you can look at this two different ways. You can look at it like you’re angry about what you have to do, and you can ruin tonight because of what you think you’re going to have to do a couple of days from now, because you can’t get your way for the summer.

Or you can decide that you’re going to be happy in the moment, which is right now, and you’re not going to let the things that you’re not happy about ruin tonight.

And tomorrow, and the ride to Pennsylvania with your mom.

I guess you’re a little young to be thinking about stuff like that, but it’s your life. You can enjoy it, or not.”

“But I’m mad,” Dan said, sounding like he hadn’t heard a word Josiah had said.

“I guess I’m a little bit mad right now too, although maybe for different reasons.”

He didn’t look at Claire, but he could feel her eyes on him. “But this is a beautiful night, I love bonfires, and I’ve had such a great week with you guys, I’d like to enjoy a little bit more time before you have to leave. And I don’t like that, but I’m not going to allow it to ruin tonight.”

“You didn’t get your marshmallow done,” Lana said, and it was actually said in a kind of nice tone.

Maybe she’d figured out that the only familiar thing she was going to have in Boston was her brother, and maybe she should develop a relationship with him.

Or, more likely, she’d heard what Josiah had said, and it made sense to her.

The kids came back over, Dan picked his stick back up, and they sat down. But the mood was ruined.

Claire leaned over and said softly, “Thanks.”

He probably shouldn’t have said it. He had no right—they didn’t have any kind of agreement between the two of them, and he had no hold on her—but he leaned over toward her and said, “I heard what your husband said, and I wanted to grab a hold of his throat and slam him into the ground. You are way more than enough.”

She stared at him, then shook her head, and didn’t say anything.

He didn’t mind. But this was the day before her grandma’s funeral, and while he had other things he wanted to say to her, he took his own advice that he’d given the children and didn’t spoil the evening by pushing a romance that she might not want on her.

She finally took the kids in for the night, and he put the fire out and headed home.

It wasn’t super late, and he wasn’t surprised to see his dad still up when he got there.

He greeted his dad and asked how his day was and asked about his mom too.

His dad chatted for a bit, and then he threw a bombshell at Josiah.

“I’ve decided to retire.”

“I wasn’t expecting that,” Josiah said immediately, pausing in getting the dishes out of the dishwasher and putting them away, and he stopped, leaning against the counter.

“Is there any particular reason why?” he asked, wondering if there was something that his parents were going to tell him about his mom’s health.

“I’m sure you’ve noticed that your mom isn’t getting better. Each day, she seems to get a little worse. The hospital offered me a package, and I took it. We’re going to move to New Mexico, and we’ll be selling the house.”

“Wow. That’s a lot to digest.”

“We assumed you would be coming with us. They need handymen in New Mexico just as much as they do here. I mean, they probably don’t have as many yachts,” his dad said, his eyes sparkling with that little hint of laughter that always lurked around the corner with his dad.

“I’m sure they probably don’t. But you’re right. They have buildings of some kind.”

“Yeah. And you’re industrious, you do good work, and I don’t think you’d have trouble finding a job.”

“I don’t think I would either. But maybe you and Mom want to have some time with the two of you.”

“We wouldn’t turn it down, but we didn’t want you to think we were tossing you out on the curb.

I suppose I should have waited for your mom, because she could say it all better.

But we’ve been talking about it for a while, and I just turned in my papers at work to say that I’m retiring and taking the package they offered.

I guess it was on my mind, so I wanted to tell you. ”

“Thanks. I hope that I’m not too much of a nuisance.”

He knew he wasn’t. He had helped with his mom.

If he hadn’t been there, they probably would have had to hire a nurse for her on the days his dad had to stay in Blueberry Beach.

So there was no question in his mind about whether or not his parents wanted him.

But to New Mexico… He wasn’t interested.

And it wasn’t just because he loved Raspberry Ridge and the town he’d grown up in.

It was…partly because of Claire. And his hope that maybe there was something growing between them. Something more than just being friends.

Still, even if it weren’t for Claire, he didn’t want to move. He was happy where he was, although…it was sad to think about his parents leaving.

Was this how Claire had felt with her grandma? Like her world had been rocked a little bit, and everything that she’d thought was going to be happening was changing?

“You know you’ve been more help than anything. I guess your mom and I just assumed you’d be coming. It…is going to be a surprise to her that you think you might not.”

“I’m pretty sure I’m not. I love it here. I love you guys, and I’ll miss you. For sure. But I can’t imagine living anywhere but Raspberry Ridge.”

That wasn’t entirely true. He couldn’t imagine living somewhere else, unless Claire was beside him. Boston, perhaps, although he wouldn’t want to. Boston just seemed dark to him, although he’d never even been there. Maybe he’d like it better than what he thought he would.

“Would you be interested in buying the house?” his dad asked.

“Your mom and I haven’t talked to a real estate agent yet, but we were going to do that on Monday.

We figured we’d list it. With the market the way it is, we didn’t think it would last long.

Plus, we’re going to price it slightly below market value for a quick sale.

I’ll be done at the hospital in two weeks, and we’re already looking at real estate in New Mexico. ”

“Wow. You guys aren’t messing around.”

“She didn’t tell you, but at her last appointment, the doctor recommended she go somewhere warmer.

He said that another winter like we had this winter would do more harm than good.

It made sense to us. But it just took a while before all the pieces fit together.

The hospital just happened to offer this retirement package to those of us who have enough years to qualify for it.

After that, it was pretty much a no-brainer. ”

“Yeah. I can see how that’s perfect for you guys. And maybe it’ll be nice to have a few years of empty nesting, without your kid underfoot all the time.”

“You’ve never been underfoot. We’ve always appreciated you, and if you wanted to come, we’d find a place where we could all live together. If you are truly not interested in going with us, we might find an over-55 community where we’d involve ourselves and enjoy a few years of activities.”

“The more active you stay, the healthier you’ll be.”

“I wonder if your mom might not be healthier if we got her doing some exercise. I thought once we moved to New Mexico, I’d see if we couldn’t try a few things.”

“I think that’s a good idea,” Josiah said. He supposed he was a little bit in shock. It was a lot to take in.

“You didn’t answer me about the house.”

“No. I’m sorry. I… Could I have a day or so to think about it?”

“Sure. I told you we’re going to list on Monday, but we can tell the real estate agent that we have one person who might make an offer on it before it goes live.”

“That’d be fine. How much are you asking for it?”

His dad told him the number, and he nodded.

“I’ll think about it, and I’ll try to let you know by Monday.” That didn’t give him a whole lot of time, but he’d be working in Claire’s kitchen for a good bit of that time, and he’d have a lot of time to think.

His first thought was that Claire’s old farmhouse was big enough for him and her and her kids together, but…

He couldn’t move in with Claire. That wouldn’t look right.

Not unless they were married, and he hadn’t even declared his feelings for her yet, let alone talked about a long-term relationship. Marriage wasn’t even on the horizon .

His dad said good night and then went to bed, leaving Josiah with his thoughts.

He could buy his parents’ house and probably would.

But if he and Claire were going to get together, it was obvious that they would live at her grandma’s farmhouse.

He couldn’t imagine her wanting to move to town when being out in the country was so much nicer, not just for her, with the garden and the chickens and the beautiful views of the green hills, but also for the kids.

The bonfire, the easy walking distance to the lake, their own private beach.

No, Claire would definitely want to stay at her grandma’s house. But she might surprise him.

He was thinking like he’d already told her how he felt and that he was already thinking about where they would spend the rest of their lives together.

He needed to stop getting the cart ahead of the horse.

And he wasn’t going to get anything hitched up tomorrow, since it was her grandma’s funeral.

And then she was leaving on Sunday to take her kids, which would be another hard day for her.

And it would take her a little while to recover from that next week.

He was looking at several weeks before he even spoke to her about it.

He might as well just tell his dad he would buy the house, and then he would be responsible for selling it or renting it out or something. He wasn’t sure. On that thought, he finished up in the kitchen and decided to call it a night.