Ellie POV
The leaves were beginning to change colors, and the morning air carried a pleasant chill. It was fal,l and the twins seemed to love it. I took them for walks whenever I could, letting them nap in the stroller under the filtered sunlight while I breathed in pine and damp earth.
It had been three weeks since I’d returned to Moonstone. Three weeks of pretending that the ache in my chest was fading. Some days, it almost felt true.
And then Rae arrived.
I spotted her through the window before I heard the knock—bright red hair catching the light like a warning flare, suitcase in one hand, a grin that said she’d come to stay whether I wanted her to or not.
I opened the door before she could knock again. “Rae?”
“Surprise,” she said, though it didn’t sound like one. “I hope you have
