“Change your mind about what?”

Ruth lifted her chin. “Robin wants to talk me out of attending my fifty-year class reunion.” She took a determined bite of her turkey-and-bacon sandwich.

Why would her sister-in-law do such a thing? “I hope you go,” Bethanne said.

“I am, and nothing she says will convince me otherwise.” Bethanne had never seen Ruth so fired up.

“Good for you.” She watched in amusement as her ex-mother-in-law chewed with righteous resolve.

Swallowing, Ruth relaxed and sent Bethanne a grateful smile. “And I intend to drive to Florida by myself. That’s all there is to it.”

Two

“Florida?” Bethanne repeated slowly. Her mother-in-law wanted to drive across the entire country? Alone?

“Oh, Bethanne, not you, too.” Ruth groaned. “I’m perfectly capable of making the trip.”

“Can’t you fly?” As far as she knew, Ruth didn’t have any fear of air travel.

“Of course I could, but what fun is that?” Ruth tossed her napkin on the table. “For years Richard promised me a cross-country trip. I’d spend days planning the route, and I’d write all my friends to tell them we were coming. Then invariably something would come up at Richard’s work.” Her lips tightened at the memory. “He canceled the trip three times until I finally gave up.”

Richard was a workaholic who hardly ever took vacations. He spent most weekends in the office of his engineering firm, missing countless baseball games and piano recitals. In fact, he died in that very same office. How long had he been gone now? Seven years, maybe eight, by Bethanne’s calculations.

Grant had taken his father’s death especially hard. They weren’t close but Grant had looked up to his father and respected his work ethic. As for Robin—well, she’d been cut from the same cloth as Richard. She’d married right out of law school, but divorced three years later. Robin was wedded to her job; there wasn’t room for anything or anyone else. Even her desire for a family had faded next to the demands and rewards of her meteoric career. The only time Bethanne actually saw her sister-in-law was at Christmas and that hadn’t happened in years, not since before the divorce. They did chat by phone every now and then, and Robin remembered to send cards and checks on Andrew’s and Annie’s birthdays. But she wasn’t involved in their lives—or anyone else’s, it seemed, except her colleagues’.

“I’m not getting any younger, you know,” Ruth went on, interrupting Bethanne’s musings. “If I’m going to see the country, I don’t feel I can delay it anymore. I wanted to ask Robin to accompany me but we both know that would be a waste of breath. I don’t think she’s taken more than a week off in the past ten years.”

Bethanne had nothing to add. Ruth was right; Robin would never go on a road trip with her mother, would never devote two or three weeks to family.

“In all these years, I’ve only been back to my hometown three times.” Ruth’s words were tinged with longing. “For my parents’ funerals and then once for a brief vacation. But I’ve kept in touch with several of my high school friends. Diane and Jane both came out to Seattle with their families to visit. When we were together, it was like we were teenagers all over again! I enjoyed it so much, and the reunion’s the perfect opportunity to see them. I’m determined to go.” She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms.

Bethanne could tell that she wasn’t going to dissuade her. “Then you should do it,” she said mildly.

“I am,” Ruth insisted. “I’m leaving the first of June.”

“So soon?” Bethanne raised her eyebrows.

“Yes, the reunion’s on the seventeenth and that gives me plenty of time to see the sights. I’ve always wanted to visit Mount Rushmore and the Badlands. My grandparents originally settled in the Dakotas, you know.”

Bethanne didn’t want to discourage Ruth, but she did feel a twinge of anxiety about her traveling that distance by herself. She’d be an easy mark, especially alone.

Ruth fixed her with a stubborn glare. “Before you say anything, I want you to know I’ve rented a car since I’m planning to fly back, and I’ve already booked my flight from Florida to Seattle. So don’t even try to talk me out of this.”

Bethanne gave up the idea of arguing with her and instead patted the older woman on the arm.

“No one takes the time to travel by car anymore,” Ruth said plaintively. “Life is ‘rush here’ and ‘rush there.’ My children are grown, and I’m sorry to say they’re both a disappointment to me. I hardly ever see either Robin or Grant. I’m sixty-eight years old and—” Her voice cracked. “I am not old and I refuse to be treated like I’m too fragile to know my own mind.”

Bethanne reached across the table and clasped Ruth’s hand. She thought of Casey Goetz and the close relationship she had with Lydia’s mother. In a few years it might be difficult for Ruth to drive cross-country. It was either take this trip now or give up her long-held dream.

“I’ll go with you,” Bethanne said in a soft voice.

Ruth’s head shot up. “You?”

“I haven’t taken a vacation in years.” Aside from a few trips with the kids to visit relatives, her last real vacation had been with Grant. They’d gone to Italy to celebrate their tenth anniversary.

Ruth continued to stare at her, obviously at a loss for words.

“It would do me good to get away for a few weeks,” Bethanne said. “I have some decisions to make that I’d like to mull over. Getting away will give me a chance to do that.”

“You’re serious? You’d drive with me?”

“Of course.” Bethanne smiled at Ruth’s excitement.

“I want to see New Orleans!”

“I’d love that,” Bethanne said.

“And Branson, Missouri…”

“You, me and the Oak Ridge Boys,” Bethanne said, laughing now and feeling energized by her spur-of-the-moment decision.

“And Andy Williams,” Ruth moaned, crossing her hands over her heart.

“Fine, Andy Williams, it is.” Bethanne was gratified by Ruth’s reaction. “It might take me a couple of days to clear my desk,” she warned. Thankfully, Julia was more than capable of filling in for her.

“I don’t plan to leave until after Memorial Day,” Ruth said, eyes bright with unshed tears. “Oh, Bethanne, you don’t know how happy this makes me.”

“I’m happy, too,” she said, and she was. This spontaneous decision felt incredibly right. She needed time away to think about Grant’s recent overtures. She didn’t know if it was possible or even desirable for them to reconnect; after everything she’d been through, she could hardly imagine him in her life again. And yet… She couldn’t help wondering whether her feelings for Grant, the love that had survived the divorce, would be enough to sustain a second attempt at marriage. Could the woman she’d become find a place for him in the very different life she’d created?

“You’re sure about this?” Ruth pressed.

“Positive.”

Ruth studied her, frowning slightly. “You aren’t doing it out of pity, are you?”

“No.” Bethanne tried to hold back a smile.

“Well, I don’t care if it’s pity or not. I’m just grateful to have you along.”

And then she clapped her hands like a schoolgirl.

“Mom,” Annie cried the instant Bethanne walked into Parties’ Queen Ann Hill headquarters. The retail store was her very first location, and she’d quickly taken over the offices on the second floor. “Where have you been? Julia’s been waiting for half an hour, and the other managers are arriving in fifteen minutes!”

“Sorry, sorry…” Bethanne mumbled.

“You didn’t answer your cell.” Annie was pacing Bethanne’s office like a fretful cat.

“I was with Grandma Hamlin.”

Annie stopped pacing. “She’s okay, isn’t she?”

“Never better.” Bethanne went into the supply cabinet and grabbed a yellow pad. Although Julia was already in the conference room, she picked up the messages on her desk and shuffled through them. She paused when she saw Grant’s name.

“Dad phoned,” Annie said from behind her. “I talked to him.”

Bethanne turned to face her daughter. To her relief, Annie and Grant had mended fences in the past couple of years; their once-close relationship had reemerged. Father and daughter had always been so much alike, both of them charmers, both of them stubborn to the point of inflexibility. Their reconciliation had really begun when Tiffany left Grant. Annie certainly hadn’t shed any tears over the breakup of that marriage. In fact, she’d had difficulty hiding her joy.

“I feel like Dad’s himself again these days,” Annie said earnestly.

“I’m glad,” Bethanne responded, returning her attention to the stack of phone messages.

“He’s working really hard to make it up to Andrew and me.”

Bethanne met her daughter’s gaze squarely. “He’s your father, and you two are the most precious things on earth to him.” She doubted Grant understood how close he’d come to losing his children during the years he’d made Tiffany his priority.

“Are you going to call him back?” Annie asked.

The slip was at the bottom of her pile. “I’ll do it when I have time,” Bethanne said firmly. “Now, I can’t keep Julia waiting any longer.”

As they hurried down the hallway, Annie said breathlessly, “Vance called this afternoon.”

Vance was her daughter’s college boyfriend. They’d dated on and off for almost three years. Bethanne knew Annie was serious about him, but she felt they were both too immature to even think about marriage. Despite her age and accomplishments, Annie still seemed so young to Bethanne. Perhaps it was a result of the divorce, but Annie’s attachment to both her and Grant struck her as a bit excessive—seeking them out for advice and approval at every turn. Bethanne wondered if she’d been that dependent on her parents when she was Annie’s age. She didn’t think so. However, she hadn’t had to cope with the disintegration of her family or the anger and grief it caused.

“Vance calls or texts at least six times a day,” Bethanne said. That might be an exaggeration but they seemed to be in constant communication.

“He asked me to dinner at the Space Needle!” Annie was practically vibrating with excitement.

Bethanne arched an eyebrow. “Are you two celebrating a special anniversary?”

“Not that I remember. And trust me, if anyone would remember, it’s me.”

Bethanne agreed. Like her father, Annie had extraordinary recall when it came to dates, facts and figures; she’d always been a top student in math and history. Bethanne thought of the endless memory games Annie and Grant loved to play on long car trips, egging each other on to greater and greater feats of recall.