Epilogue
TWO MONTHS LATER
“Settlers of Catan is a great game, but have you tried the expansion packs? The seafarers one takes a little getting used to, but I can walk you through it…”
Maggie smiled to hear Toby’s friendly yet officious tone. Her most recent hire and one of Ben’s best friends, he’d started working at Your Turn Next every Saturday, and would be upping his hours when school let out next week. And in September, Ben would be joining him at Torrington High School for tenth grade. Maggie was so grateful.
She was grateful for a lot of things—the success of the café, which had continued to serve as a community rallying point; the closeness of her friendships, especially with Laurie and Annie; how Ben was thriving, exceeding even her wildest expectations for what his life would look like in Starr’s Fall.
Most of all, though, she was grateful for Zach. The last two months had been both wonderful and challenging—more than a few people had looked at them askance when they’d gone public with their relationship. They’d provided grist for the gossip mill for a solid three weeks, at least, but they’d made it through, and now she hoped they were stronger than ever. Maggie still sometimes worried about their age difference, but Zach seemed unbothered and so she tried to trust what they had now rather than catastrophize into the future, which she knew she could still be prone to do.
Zach’s woodworking business was slowly but surely taking off; he’d renovated one of the old barns behind the store and set it up as a workshop and storefront. Maggie had been one of his first customers, buying a refurbished bookshelf to store yet more boardgames for the café.
It was all good, Maggie reflected, but that didn’t necessarily make it easy. Life could still be hard—Annie’s mom was now in a hospice, and when Laurie had gone to meet her biological mother, she hadn’t shown up. Laurie had put a brave face on it, but Maggie could tell she’d been hurt. Then, a month ago, Henrietta Starr had had a fall and broken her hip, spending three weeks in the hospital before she was released. She’d been walking with a Zimmer frame since and wasn’t able to come to the café. Every so often, Maggie went to her for a laborious but enjoyable game of Scrabble.
There was still her and Ben’s grief to deal with, an emotion that sometimes felt inconvenient and uncomfortable, but was still there, and maybe always would be. No matter how happy she was, the future would always be uncertain. But, Maggie had come to realize, that was the nature of life—always changing, always unknowable, with the pleasure and happiness to be found along the way. She was learning to roll with the punches a little more, but occasionally she still needed to hide under her duvet and watch Is It Cake? for an hour or so, and that was okay, too.
The door to the café opened, and Maggie smiled to see Zach walk in. He still held the power to make her heart soar and her stomach flip.
“Hey.” He gave her a deliberately sexy smile—something that had become a joke between them—as he leaned in for a kiss.
“Hey,” Maggie replied softly. She brushed her fingers through his tousled hair, smiling as she did so.
“You off duty soon?” Zach asked. “I thought we could take a walk up to the waterfall and see the sunset.”
“Now that sounds like a plan.” She had come to discover just what a romantic Zach was at heart, and she loved it. “Think I can probably leave Toby in charge—there’s only a few of our regulars booked for five.”
Since Your Turn Next had opened, a few different people had made weekly bookings—two elderly couples who played Mahjong together; a couple of moms and their little ones who cracked open the Candyland. Maggie loved welcoming them all every week.
“Okay, sounds good,” Zach said with a smile that made her stomach flip—again—just as his sister stormed into the café, looking thunderous. Zach’s eyebrows lifted as he shot Maggie a bemused glance.
He’d told her that since he’d started Miller’s Woodworking and Furniture Restoration, he and Jenna had been getting along better than ever. She listened to his ideas and even took his advice, more than she had been, at least, and they’d enjoyed each other’s company more, too. It had definitely been the right decision to branch out, he’d concluded, and Maggie had to agree. Everyone seemed happier… except right now Jenna did not seem happy at all.
“What’s wrong?” Maggie asked as Jenna blew out a frustrated breath, her eyes sparking with anger.
“I have just had the most annoying customer in the store,” she declared. “Right before closing, and demanding I stock salmon , of all things! And then saying he’d never shop there again because it was such a waste of space. He’s just moved here, and honestly, I hope I never see him again.”
“Seems unlikely,” Zach murmured, and Jenna mock-glared at him. At least, Maggie thought it was mock.
“I know, I know, this is a small place, but that’s exactly my point. Where does he think he is? New York City? Honestly, he was so entitled , it just…” She trailed off, shaking her head, her face flushed, her eyes still sparkling.
“Is that where he’s from?” Maggie asked.
“Apparently.” Jenna flung her hands up in the air. “We didn’t exactly have a heart-to-heart conversation, considering how rude he was.”
Maggie glanced at Jenna thoughtfully. Her friend definitely seemed agitated, but there was a sparkle in her eye, too, which made Maggie wonder if this guy, whoever he was, happened to be good-looking. She knew what it was like when you unexpectedly ran into someone who made your heart beat faster…
“Did you get his name?” she asked.
“Jack Wexler. He’s some city bigshot, or so he says.”
Zach smothered a laugh. “He said he was a city bigshot?”
“Well, no, obviously not,” Jenna replied impatiently, “but he acted like one. Honestly, I hope I never see him again.”
“I think,” Zach whispered under his breath, “the lady doth protest a little too much.”
Fortunately, Jenna didn’t seem to hear him. She glanced around the near-empty café with a rueful grimace. “Sorry to storm in here like this,” she told Maggie. “I was so mad about it that I went for a walk and then I saw you guys…” She smiled sheepishly. “All right, I’m calmer now. He’s a jerk, end of story.”
Or the beginning, Maggie wondered. Whoever this Jack Wexler was, he’d clearly got Jenna pretty worked up. She wondered why he’d moved to Starr’s Fall… and if it would work its magic on him the way it had on her and Ben.
“Anyway, I should go,” Jenna said. “I’m meeting Annie for dinner at The Starr Light.”
“Have fun,” Zach replied, still looking bemused by the whole exchange. As Jenna left, he turned to Maggie. “Now that was interesting…”
“You know Jenna. She has opinions.” Maggie smiled. “Now, about that waterfall walk… are you bringing a picnic?”
“And a blanket, and a bottle of wine. What do you take me for?” He pulled her close for a quick kiss.
“A mind-reader,” Maggie teased. “I think I’m good to go,” she said, and slipped her hand through his.
Zach gave it a squeeze as they walked out of the café.
“Maybe we’ll run into this Jack Wexler guy,” he remarked as they climbed into his truck. “Do you think he’s as much of a jerk as my sister makes out?”
“Probably not,” Maggie replied with a laugh. “But I’m not sure she thinks he’s so much of a jerk, really.”
“She did seem a little worked up, and not necessarily in an angry way,” Zach agreed musingly. “I wonder why he moved to Starr’s Fall.”
“Maybe Starr’s Fall will work its magic on him,” Maggie suggested with a smile. “It certainly did on me.”
“And me.” Zach grinned at her before starting the truck, and Maggie smiled back, her heart full of gratitude and love. Zach knew the power of this place just as she did.
“And I’m glad it did,” she murmured as she leaned her head back against the seat, and they drove off into the sunset to find a little more magic of their own.
* * *