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their marketing with an excellent product. She owned a Beaver laptop herself. “I see their advertising everywhere, but I had no idea they were based out here.”
    “The company tripled their revenue in the last few years, which meant they increased their workforce. As new employees moved to the area, housing prices in Beaver Falls went up. Now we’re getting the overflow from all the Beaver employees who don’t mind commuting if it means paying less for a house. And thanks to their success, a few other major corporations are considering a move into the area.” Nick drained his coffee and threw the empty cup into a nearby trash can. “So you see, things do change.”
    “Yes, they do.”
    Maura looked around them. There was more traffic on the street, new stores here and there, but Granger still looked like a small town. When she lived here, she had wished for something different, something more. But now, she found herself hoping that Granger didn’t lose what made it special.
    That was a surprise. When had she ever thought anything about this town was special?
    “So now what?” Nick asked.
    “Now I need to get to work.”
    An hour later, Maura sat in the Granger Public Library, surrounded by business books. She’d asked Nick to drop her there so she could do research, but more than that she just wanted a quiet place to gather her thoughts and time to sketch out a plan for the theatre.
    Her mind kept returning to the same question: if she hadn’t left Granger when she did, would her life have turned out differently? Beaver Computers relocated a few years after she took off. If she’d known the town would be growing, and it really would be changing, would she have stayed?
    The answer came to her with a rush. No.
    No matter how much Granger had grown, it didn’t change the fact that Nick's first love was the church and all his parishioners. The town's growth spurt had probably made that situation worse, since there were so many new souls to worry about. And nothing could make up for what she lost or erase the heartache that finally spurred her to leave Nick.
    “Maura Shepherd?”
    A familiar voice pulled her from her reverie. She opened her mouth to correct the person— it's Sullivan, not Shepherd —when she recognized an old friend.
    “Rachel?”
    Her hips were a little bit wider than the last time Maura had seen her, and her hair was a whole lot redder, but she would have recognized Rachel Nelson anywhere. Rachel was the closest friend she’d had in Granger and one of the few people who knew the whole truth about what had happened between her and Nick. Maura's immediate joy at seeing Rachel was tempered with shame for the way she’d handled her exit from town.
    But Rachel wasn’t the type to hold a grudge. With a grin as wide as Lake Erie, she grabbed Maura's hands, hauled herto her feet, and engulfed her in a bear hug. “I heard you were coming back. I can’t tell you how good it is to see you!”
    Maura hugged her back, feeling a surge of genuine happiness for the first time in weeks. “It's good to see you too.”
    Mrs. Phipps, the head librarian, walked up to them. A serious woman who wore serious clothes and her hair in a seriously severe bun, she’d been a fixture in the library for as long as anyone could remember. She was also a strict enforcer of the rules of library conduct, particularly the one about never talking above a stage whisper within its hallowed halls. Putting her finger to her lips, she gave Rachel and Maura a hearty “shush” before continuing on her way back to the information desk. The reprimand only served to send the two friends into fits of giggles.
    Rachel composed herself, stepping back to give Maura a good once-over. “My, my,” Rachel said softly, “you don’t look a bit different since the last time I saw you. What's it been, five years?”
    “A little over six.” Maura tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “Rachel, I owe you an apology. I’m so sorry