The more they talked, the more I wanted to meet this neighbor.

“Whatever you do with your landscaping, don’t make the same mistakes Joy made with her property,” Kate warned. “Especially with that,” she urged, pointing over at Joy’s yard.

I arched an eyebrow. “With what?”

Her eyes widened with confusion. “Don’t you see it??”

“See…what?”

“Those blue flowers!” she whisper-shouted, gesturing like a crazed woman. “She planted blue flowers front and center!”

I waited a few moments for Kate to continue her thought, but her lips shut as if that was the conclusion.

Louise must’ve caught on to my confusion. “Blue flowers! It’s just not natural.”

Oh my gosh. If Yoana and Nathan had known who my neighbors were, I was almost certain they’d have reconsidered having me stay in that home.

I smiled at the two crazy ladies. “I will keep that in mind. Now, I better get back to—”

“I hate to pry, sweetheart, but were you sleeping in your car when we arrived? Don’t you have beds in the house?” Louise asked.

Don’t you have manners?

This woman was out to make up the most absurd stories about anything and everything. I had a history of seeing the best in people—which, yes, came with its struggles—but Louise and her sister obviously had a tendency to see the worst.

I bit my tongue. The last thing I wanted to do was make enemies out of the neighbors. These two women seemed the type to raise hell if they felt they had a reason to do so.

“I like sleeping under the stars sometimes. Plus, my furniture isn’t being delivered until next week. Thanks again for the pies, ladies. It was nice meeting you.”

Their stares moved across me once more, and then they smiled creepily at the same time.

Stephen King would’ve had a field day with this pair.

“We’ll be seeing you around, I’m sure. Welcome to Havenbarrow. If you don’t want to be seen around town driving that, err, family heirloom, I’m pretty sure you can get yourself the Cuber app,” Louise said with that evil smile.

“You mean Uber?” I asked.

Louise chuckled and waved a hand in my direction. “No, honey, I mean the Cuber app. We don’t have none of that Uber or Lyft stuff in town, but Connor Roe created his own app called Cuber. He’s seventeen, but the boy is swift. Plus, his car is more…stable than yours appears.”

Oh, if only she knew how much more her comment made me want to drive Mama and Daddy’s car around town. I’d dealt with enough bullies in my past. I had little room left in my heart for their nasty tones.

Still, I hadn’t driven since the accident. The truth was, I didn’t know if I’d be able to do so any time soon.

“Don’t make yourself a stranger while you’re here. Remember, if you need any information on anything and anyone in this town, you can always ask us, sweetheart. We’re pretty well informed on everything that goes on around here. Kate’s husband is the mayor, after all, so it’s our job to be informed. If you want, you can mosey down to our houses for landscaping inspiration. Remember—two to the left and two to the right and you’ll find us!” Louise said before the both of them hurried off.

Note to self: Don’t turn left or right when leaving the house.

By midday, I had a dozen more neighbors show up with desserts in tow, all claiming they were looking to introduce themselves. If I hadn’t been overwhelmed by my life before moving to Havenbarrow, I would’ve been by the time I received my fourth loaf of gluten-free, nut-free, taste-free banana bread.

From the number of questions and nosy invasions I’d experienced, I was certain the women of the town would have plenty to say about me at their next book club meeting.

To get a break from the madness, I tossed on a pair of tennis shoes and grabbed my journal. I couldn’t take any more human contact for a while. I needed to ground myself. I needed to go back to the basics.

Just me, my journal, and the woods.

4

Kennedy

Something about nature always made me feel at peace, something about the way the trees grew of their own accord and leaned in toward the sun for kisses of light. Something about the way their branches waved and danced with the rhythm of the wind while their roots stayed solidly planted in place spoke to me, the way the fresh air smelled crisp with a mixture of florals and greens.

The way the birds sang…I loved the songs they sang at the start of each spring, revealing the way they were awakening to a new beginning. I loved how the birds moved through the spaces of nature as if they belonged no matter where they were, how they moved freely without restraints. That was all I’d wanted in life, to move freely as the birds while still having my roots placed solidly in the ground. It sounded ridiculous—the idea of both flight and steadiness—but my dream was to belong in a place yet still be free.