The Memory Keeper: A Heartwarming, Feel-Good Romance(69)

“Why would you ever want to leave here?” He stretched his hand out the open window, adjusting his side-view mirror to keep the reflection of the bright-orange sunset from blinding him as it peeked from between the rolling Tennessee hills sliding past them.

Thinking about it now, she wasn’t so sure why anyone would want to leave…

“Whatcha thinking about, snugabug?” her father said from the doorway, before he came in and sat down next to Hannah on Gran’s bed. He used to call her snugabug when she was little, the name catapulting her to simpler times.

“I don’t know,” she said on an exhale. “Life, I suppose.”

“You’ve had a huge amount of change in a very short time,” Chuck said with a doting pat on the leg. “You keep pushing forward, giving your all to the next thing, before you’ve tackled what’s in front of you.”

“I thought my job in New York was a culmination of everything I’ve ever wanted, and all I’ve worked for. But when I’m home, it seems so far away from who I want to be…” She grabbed a throw pillow and hugged it to her abdomen before lying back on the bed in defeat. “I thought I had my life all figured out.”

“Wanna know a secret? None of us have our lives figured out. Life isn’t stagnant; it doesn’t stop until you get to the end. It’s an ever-changing dynamic of experiences and desires. The key is to try to do the best you can for yourself in every moment, and listen to your inner voice when it tries to tell you something.”

“But that’s just it.” Hannah sat back up. “I’m not sure what I want anymore. I think more and more that I want to be here, running Gran’s shop, but I haven’t figured out how the rest of it fits.”

“Then keep going on the path you’re on, and listen as you go.”

“I’ve never gone through life without a solid plan. Is that wise?”

“Sometimes you have to tread water for a while, waiting for the next wave, so that when it comes, you’ll be prepared to ride it in.”

“I suppose you’re right,” she said.

“I’m always right,” he said with a wink. “Come on in for breakfast. Georgia’s already up, and your mother’s made pancakes. The weather’s gloriously warm today, so she’s setting up on the table on Gran’s back porch.”

“Pancakes and sunshine both sound delicious.” She stretched, eyeing the boots again and wondering how they’d look with her designer jeans. With a deep breath, she got up, ready to face the day.



“What is it?” Georgia asked from behind her sunglasses, when Hannah’s old boots came to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk on Main Street. Jerry pulled on his leash before turning around to see what the problem was.

Hannah peered into the window at the local bakery to view the flier posted inside. They were on their way to The Memory Keeper to meet with the reporter who was doing the story on the shop and, to take advantage of the appearance of nice weather, Hannah had asked if they could walk into town this morning. “Dance lessons.” She pointed to the yellow sheet of paper. Setting her bag full of the supplies they’d picked up onto the sidewalk, she ran inside, grabbing one of the fliers off the counter as well as another for the upcoming Spring Festival, and stuffed them into her bag when she came back out.

“You want to take dance lessons?”

“Nope, but I will.”

“Did the barista slip somethin’ special in your coffee this morning?” Georgia eyed her.

Hannah laughed. “No. Ethan’s wife Christie wants to be a dancer. I was going to call around to see if I could find her dance lessons, but then this appeared. I’m gonna call for an introductory class.”

“Sounds fun,” Georgia said as they started walking again. “Oh, let’s not forget to stop and pick up the baskets we ordered to replace the silver buckets.” They’d decided the baskets would give the shop a more laid-back, comfortable feel.

“The home interiors shop is just down here,” Hannah said. “So did you find out if Mary had a suggestion for who could make the ladder for us?”

“Yes!” Georgia said. She reached down and stroked Jerry’s head. “She actually said she has an old ladder up in her barn that would be absolutely perfect. She’s going to see if Liam can adapt it to work on the track.”

Hannah paused to focus on Georgia. “Oh, that’s wonderful!”

“Yes! So we need to get those baskets so we can unpack the flowers.”

They passed the road where Ethan’s parents lived, and Hannah couldn’t help but peer over at the house, noticing Ethan’s truck there. “Would you feel comfortable picking up the baskets for me?” She checked the time on her phone—they still had an hour before the reporter came. “I’m going to walk to Ethan’s parents’ house to see if I can try one more time to convince Ethan to do our skyline painting.”

“Think you can?”

“I have no idea, but I won’t know until I try.”



“The heck you doin’?” Ethan said as he came out onto his parents’ front porch.

“Persuading you to paint Gran’s shop,” Hannah said from the driver’s seat of his old truck. She had the door open and her boots propped up on the dash next to the steering wheel as she sipped her coffee.