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equipment?”
    It was Miriam’s turn to raise a brow. “Actually, I hadn’t planned on using any ‘cards’ unless they were necessary.” Pause. “Are they necessary?”
    Big sigh. Bigger scowl. And then, “Fine. Tell her to come by tomorrow and I’ll show her around. She’s going to have to work her projects around my schedule and Cash’s, okay? Tell her that.”
    “Thank you, Nathan.” Miriam offered her son the first real smile since Candace Prescott knocked on her door several weeks ago. “You won’t regret it.”
    ***
    Angie followed Mimi Pendergrass’s directions and drove her Jeep to the outskirts of town until she spotted a sign that read Blue Moon . Winding country roads, miles of trees, and a sky so blue you wanted to paint it. Her father had talked about moving out of Montpelier one day to a quiet place with a stretch of land and a view you could enjoy in your underwear without worrying about the neighbors getting an eyeful. He’d collected brochures on places in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, even New York State, said he wanted to visit one a year and see what he thought. But the time never came, or maybe it was the money needed to visit those places that never came. A few years ago, she’d offered to help, but Frank Sorrento had refused the offer and shut down the conversation.
    Why did he have to be so stubborn? She wanted him to enjoy a little slice of happiness and there should be enough money left from his knee surgery to take that trip. Maybe two. People should be allowed to daydream even if none of those dreams ever came true. So what? The real joy was imagining them, turning them around so you could see what they’d look like, talking about them, sharing how life would be perfect, even if you knew deep down none of that would ever happen. She had daydreams, lots of them, and just because they were never going to come true did not mean she wasn’t allowed to have them.
    She pulled off the country road and turned onto the gravel driveway that led to a clearing and the log cabin she planned to replicate. Off to the left she spotted a large barnlike structure that she guessed was the workshop Miriam Desantro had mentioned. What a kind and generous woman, and the son must be decent, too, because Angie didn’t know many men who would share their workshop, and certainly not their tools. Actually, she didn’t know any man who would do it. This was the first project she’d not built in her own workshop. It was also the first time she’d gone solo, without Kate. The part about being without Kate left her stomach jumpy, but what choice did she have? It’s not like Rourke Flannigan would agree to let his wife traipse off to no-man’s land, especially when he’d waited years to be with her. Okay, so maybe she couldn’t expect Kate to join her, what with a new husband and new home in Chicago, but it didn’t mean Angie liked it. She hated the thought of going it alone; she didn’t have her friend’s knack for conversation, intuition, or compassion. Damn Rourke Flannigan for stealing her best friend and making Angie’s life triple difficult.
    She pulled up to the log cabin, shut off the Jeep, and jumped out. Miriam said her son’s business partner lived here with his wife and their, dog, Henry. Funny, how she threw in the dog’s name, like he was their kid. Maybe he was their kid.
    Stranger things had happened.
    Angie made her way to the front porch, took in the matching rocking chairs and hanging baskets of petunias, the Welcome sign painted next to the front door. Daniel and Tess Casherdon. Great, more couples, probably even planning a family. Maybe she was already pregnant. A twinge grabbed her gut, shot to her chest, and swirled back down. A person did not need a mate to feel complete. A person could be happy all by herself, or if she couldn’t find absolute happiness, then dang it all, she could get a dog. Looks like this couple had every angle covered.
    “May I help