"Has your mother seen him yet?"

Her father obviously didn't understand the seriousness of the situation. "Daddy, she's with him right this minute. Why else do you think I'm the one with Grandma? Mom was supposed to go, too, but she and Max went off together and Grandma and I are at this...event. I don't think there's anyone under thirty except for me." In Annie's opinion, this was above and beyond her duty as a granddaughter.

"Where did they go?" her father asked.

It took Annie a moment to catch up with the conversation and realize he was asking about her mother and Max. "I don't know."

Her father went quiet again.

"That's not all, either." Annie felt a bit childish, but she couldn't stop herself.

Grant sighed. "Just don't tell me she's run off and married him."

"No, she'd never do that."

"Good."

"Mom and I went shopping, and she got a whole new outfit and red cowboy boots."

"Red?"

"Yes, Anne Marie Roche has a pair. She's the lady who owns the bookstore on Blossom Street, remember?"

"What have red boots got to do with anything?" He seemed confused.

"Nothing, I suppose, except that Mom always admired Anne Marie's, and when she saw a red pair she decided to get them for herself."

"It sounds like your mother's become a...free spirit."

"Oh, it's worse than that. All she thinks about is this biker. Yesterday morning at breakfast she-" Annie wished she hadn't said anything now. "Never mind. The thing is, Dad, Mom isn't acting like herself. Grandma and I don't know what to do."

"I love your mother," Grant said after a long pause.

"I know you do, and I'm afraid she's actually falling for this...this biker. As far as I can tell, he doesn't have a job. I can't believe it...I really can't. My mother and a biker? biker?" Saying the words aloud made it seem even more unlikely. "Maybe she is is falling in love." Her father sounded sad, but not as disturbed as Annie had thought he'd be. falling in love." Her father sounded sad, but not as disturbed as Annie had thought he'd be.

"Then we need to do do something." Annie hoped her father had an idea because she didn't. Acting upset and giving her mother the silent treatment hadn't kept Bethanne away from Max. In fact, it seemed the harder Annie tried, the less effective her methods. Grandma disapproved, too, and that hadn't influenced her, either. She seemed bent on being with Max. Bent on throwing away the past and destroying the future. It wasn't that Annie didn't understand that sometimes divorce was the best option, but this one should never have happened. Her parents belonged together. Andrew called her arrogant for saying that; however, Annie didn't care. She was absolutely something." Annie hoped her father had an idea because she didn't. Acting upset and giving her mother the silent treatment hadn't kept Bethanne away from Max. In fact, it seemed the harder Annie tried, the less effective her methods. Grandma disapproved, too, and that hadn't influenced her, either. She seemed bent on being with Max. Bent on throwing away the past and destroying the future. It wasn't that Annie didn't understand that sometimes divorce was the best option, but this one should never have happened. Her parents belonged together. Andrew called her arrogant for saying that; however, Annie didn't care. She was absolutely convinced convinced she was right. she was right.

"Annie, listen to me, and when we finish speaking, let me talk to your grandmother."

"Okay, I'm listening." Annie pressed her cell even harder against her ear and held her finger against the other ear. She closed her eyes because that helped her concentrate.

"I hurt Bethanne badly. I betrayed her and the vows of our marriage. I realize now what a huge mistake I made. I'm praying it's not too late and that there's something left of our relationship to salvage."

"I want that, too, Daddy, more than anything."

"I know you do."

"So does Grandma." She didn't mention Andrew. Her brother wasn't willing to forgive and forget as easily as the rest of them. Annie got frustrated with him but Andrew had apparently divested himself of all feelings for their father. Their relationship was as minimal as he could make it. Well, her brother had an excuse. He had other things on his mind, like getting married. Still, she hoped his att.i.tude would change with time.

Annie knew Andrew and their mom were close, the same way she was with their dad. Her brother was quick to defend their mother and blame their father. But Dad recognized that he'd been in the wrong, and in her opinion Andrew should take that into consideration.

"I gather my mother isn't a fan of Max's, either," her father continued.

"Dad, if you met him you'd wonder what Mom ever saw in him. He's...he looks just like a stereotypical biker." Okay, maybe he was attractive for an older guy, but muscles and lean good looks weren't everything.

"I understand your mother. We weren't married all those years without me knowing her...."

Annie couldn't figure out why her father wasn't more upset. "It sounds like you're happy Mom's chasing after him." That was a slight exaggeration. But she'd expected him to react more strongly to this latest update.

"I started to tell you, Annie, I hurt your mother."

"I know and she knows that, too, better than anyone. But it's different now. You're back and the lovely lovely Tiffany is out of your life." Tiffany is out of your life."

"Yes, thank G.o.d, but this isn't about Tiffany or me. It's about your mother and Max."

"You have a plan." Annie should've guessed her father wouldn't stand idly by and let some other man step into the place he belonged. "You're flying into Branson, aren't you?"

"No."

"No?" Annie echoed. "What do you mean?"

"Your mother's well aware of how I feel. If I could go back six years, trust me, I would."

"Oh, Daddy." Annie, too, would give anything to turn back time.

"Your mother and you and Andrew are my whole world and I was stupid enough to leave you. I've paid the price for being such an idiot, but I might still lose your mother."

"I want you and Mom to get back together," Annie said fervently.

"The thing is, Annie, it might be too late." His voice was bleak, as if he'd already given up. "If that's the case, then all I can do is accept it."

"Accept it?" it?"

"I don't have any choice but to abide by your mother's wishes. I'll always love her, always. Even when I was married to Tiffany I loved your mother. I might not have shown my love the way I should have, but my feelings for her never went away. Tiffany sensed that, I think. My family was an issue between us from the beginning, which is why she tried so hard to keep us apart."

Annie felt her throat thicken. She didn't like to remember how it had been when her father left them. Those were dark days for all of them. Her brother was the one who'd held the three of them together those first few weeks. Meeting Courtney had helped him, and that was good, but at the time she'd had no one. Her mother was a basket case and Annie had floundered badly.

"Mom said that when I get upset about her seeing Max, that only makes him more appealing."

"She's right," her father agreed. "Don't you remember that plaque she has up in the kitchen?"

"The plaque," she repeated. "The one about setting a bird free?" That ceramic wall hanging had been in the kitchen for years, and while she'd seen it practically every day of her life, she didn't remember the exact words. What it meant was that if someone was meant to return they would of their own accord.

"Annie, listen. You and I need to set your mother free. Let her enjoy her time with Max. Let's both give her that. I'll meet you in Florida in a few days and we'll see how things go. Until then, leave your mother alone. Tell your grandmother to do the same. Okay?"

"But, Dad-"

"I love your mother enough to want her happiness. If she finds that with Max, then all I can do is step aside."

Annie wanted to argue-but she couldn't. Her father was wise. "You're right," she said. Bethanne would choose for herself; that was her privilege and her responsibility. Annie just hoped she made the choice they wanted her to make.

"Now let me talk to your grandmother."

"Okay." Annie straightened and tapped her grandmother on the arm. "Grandma, it's my dad. He wants to talk to you."

Ruth looked concerned. "Did you tell him about you know who?" she asked in a loud whisper.

Annie nodded. "He's cool with it."

Her grandmother widened her eyes as she took the cell. "h.e.l.lo," she said.

Annie listened hard but she could only make out bits and pieces of the conversation. Apparently, her father said the same thing to Ruth that he'd said to Annie, because her grandmother shook her head as if she had trouble accepting his advice.

After a few minutes she handed the phone back to Annie. "He wants us to let your mother have her fun."

"I know."

"I don't think this is a smart decision."

Annie was inclined to abide by her father's judgment. "He says he'll be in Florida next week and we should be patient."

"He loves your mother."

Annie nodded. Until then, she'd never realized how much.

Eighteen Bethanne and Max sat on the hotel porch on an old-fashioned bench swing. They'd gone to dinner with Rooster. As soon as they'd finished the meal, Rooster excused himself and went inside the hotel, insisting he was on his way to bed.

"You must be exhausted," Bethanne said as they gently swayed. Max sat with his arm around her shoulders and her fingers tangled with his.

"I'm not so tired I can't appreciate time with you."

"Go to bed, too," she suggested. "We have all day tomorrow."

"Not yet," he said through a yawn.

Bethanne was just as glad. She rested her head against his shoulder. "Even though we've talked about a lot of things, I know almost nothing about you."

"I don't like to talk about myself," he said.

"So I've noticed."

"What would you like to ask?"

Of all the questions that buzzed around in her head, she asked one of the least important. "How long have you and Rooster been friends?"

Max blinked, and Bethanne saw that he was struggling to stay alert. "For most of my life. He's my brother's age and we were neighbors growing up. You know we also have a business connection-he handles our advertising."

Bethanne nodded. "Is he married?"

"No. Well, he was at one time but it didn't last long. He's currently between...well, I hesitate to say girlfriends. Companions girlfriends. Companions might be the better word." might be the better word."

"He only joins you on the road part of the time, right?"

"Right. A month every summer, and sometimes a few weeks in the spring and fall."

"Any family?"

"Who, Rooster or me?"

"You."

"A brother. Luke's ten years older. He's taken over the business since I've been away. His kids are raised and he travels to Australia and New Zealand every chance he gets. We connect three or four times a year when I'm in California."

"Are your parents alive?"

"They died a year apart back in the late nineties."

She already knew his only daughter had died at a young age.

"Have you ever been to Seattle?" she asked.

"Once. Rooster and I took a ride around the Kitsap Peninsula and into the rain forest a couple of summers ago. It's beautiful country."

"I love it there."

"You're still in the same house where you and Grant used to live?" he asked.

Bethanne found it a curious question. "Yes. It's the only home our children had ever known. There was enough upheaval in their lives without me pulling that that rug out from under them, too." rug out from under them, too."

"Have you ever considered moving?"

"No." That was the truth. She loved her home and had no intention of leaving.

"Anything else you want to know about me?" Max asked.

"Do you have a home?"

She felt his smile against her hair. "I don't need one. Wherever I am, that's home. However, I own a house in California."

"Do you visit often?"

"No."

"Friends other than Rooster?"

"A few here and there."