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  She, David, and the dogs pulled out of the driveway at last, and she shifted to face forward, forgoing the chance to get one last glance at their home. It was still early in the morning, but instead of being tired, she was filled with an excited energy. It felt good to be on their way at last.

  They had only one stop to make before driving north, and that was at the farmhouse where Candice now lived. While Moira liked Eli, she was glad that it would be just the three of them on this vacation. When they got back, all of their focus would be on the plans for her daughter’s wedding, and after that, Candice would have new priorities that didn’t necessarily include family trips with her mother.

  After some maneuvering, they managed to fit Candice’s suitcase into the back of the SUV. She sat next to the dogs in the back, and after only a few seconds of overexcited panting, Keeva and Maverick settled down. Candice pulled a book out of her purse, then shoved the bag behind the cooler.

  “How far is it again?” she asked.

  “It’s about a five-hour drive,” Moira said, turning to look back at her daughter. “We figured we’d stop when we’re about halfway there to get lunch. How does that sound?”

  “It sounds good to me. If you want me to drive, just let me know.”

  And then, the three of them were on their way.

  They stopped at noon at a small diner. The sign on the front said simply, Joe’s. Moira loved these little restaurants; they usually had phenomenal food, even if it wasn’t always the healthiest. The three of them took their seats. She had only to glance at the menu to know what she was getting; this little place in the middle of nowhere served ostrich burgers.

  Once they had put their orders in and they had their drinks in front of them, David got up to use the restroom. Moira leaned back and stretched her legs under the table. Although it felt good to be sitting somewhere other than the car, she couldn’t wait to get to the cabin and explore their home for the next five days.

  “What are we doing for dinner tonight?” her daughter asked. “Should we order something here to bring to the cottage with us?

  “We packed some hot dogs in the cooler, so we’ll probably eat those tonight. We’ll go into town tomorrow to buy some more stuff. Bearpaw is supposed to have a nice farmer’s market twice a week.”

  Moira saw her husband exit the bathroom. He paused at a stand by the door and picked something up. He rejoined them, sliding into the booth next to his wife.

  “Look at what I found,” he said. He handed a flyer over to her.

  “A pie making contest?” Moira said. She picked up and read it over. It was indeed a flyer for a pie making contest, and it was taking place in Bearpaw tomorrow.

  “It’s part of their fourth of July celebrations. Look, teams can enter. I bet you and Candice would win.”

  “I don’t know… It’s probably too late to enter, and anyway, this is supposed be a relaxing vacation. A contest wouldn’t exactly be relaxing.”

  “It’s just casual, I don’t think they even have a monetary prize.”

  Candice took the flyer from her to look at it. “You know mom, it might be fun. It’s been a while since we’ve done something like this. If there’s still time to sign up, do you want to try?”

  She could hardly turn her daughter down. This would be their last vacation together before Candice started a whole new chapter of her life. If the young woman wanted to do a mother-daughter pie making contest, she could hardly say no.

  “Sure. What will you do, though?” she looked over at her husband, not wanting him to feel left out.

  “I’m going to eat the pie, of course,” he said with a smile. More seriously, he added, “Don’t worry about me, I’ll have the dogs to keep me company.”

  “This will be cool,” Candice said. “It will be just like old times, won’t it, Mom? I bet we’ll win. How many other contestants will be the owners of a restaurant and a candy shop?”

  After polishing off the huge portions of food that Joe’s Diner served them, they continued on their way up north. They arrived at the cottage in the late afternoon. Considering their somewhat delayed start and the stop at the diner, they hadn’t made bad time.

  The cottage was right on the water, on the edge of a small bay in Lake Michigan. There were quite a few other cottages around them and Moira thought that most of them were probably short-term rental properties as well.

  Bearpaw was a tiny little town. It was half the size of Maple Creek, if not smaller. Nestled along the southern coast of the Upper Peninsula, it was surrounded by nature. The closest thing to a big city was hours away. Even though they had opted to rent a cottage instead of roughing it at a campsite, they would still be enjoying a nice break from their sometimes-hectic lives back at home.

  A man came out the front door of the cottage to meet them as David pulled into the driveway. Her husband rolled the driver’s side window down so the man could speak to them. Moira recognized his voice right away when he started talking. This was Grant Feldman, the property owner who was renting the cottage to them. Next to her head, Maverick let out a low growl. She shushed him quickly, embarrassed.

  “Grant, it’s nice to finally meet you,” she said, extending her hand across David so that the man could shake it.

  “Ms. Darling,” he said. “It’s nice to meet you too. Did you find the place okay?”

  “Yes, we did. It looks just wonderful.”

  “It’s a nice little piece of property. I’m sure you’ll want to get settled in. Here are the keys. If you need anything, feel free to call me. I live just a few houses down, and I’m happy to help any time. There are two boats that you can use. One is a paddle boat, and other the pontoon. Be careful on the dock; a couple of the boards are broken. Are you familiar with boats and boating laws?”

  “I am,” David said. “I used to go on fishing trips every year with a pal of mine. Before you go, I do have one question. Is there a grill or a fire pit we can use?”

  “There sure is. You’ve got both, actually. You’ll need to supply your own wood for the pit, though. Is there anything else?”

  “I don’t think so,” Moira said, smiling as she took the keys from him. “Thanks again. We’re really looking forward to this vacation.”

  “I hope you enjoy your stay,” he said, giving him a quick wave before walking away.

  David shut the car off, Candice began clipping the leashes on the dogs, and Moira pulled out her phone to take a quick picture of the cottage to send to Martha and Denise. She could hardly believe it; they were finally there, and had five whole days stretching ahead of them in which to relax and enjoy the time together as a family.

  CHAPTER THREE

  * * *

  It didn't take long for them to unload the vehicle and bring everything inside. The little cottage had two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a single bathroom. It would be the perfect size for them for the few days that they were staying there. There was no fence for the dogs, so they would just have to walk them by hand, but they would manage. She wanted to rush out to the dock and go dip her feet in the lake, but first she forced herself to drag her suitcase into the bedroom that she and David were sharing.

  Unpacking was made more difficult by trying to keep an eye on the dogs as well. They were both usually pretty good about visits to her friends’ houses, but she didn’t want to take the chance of Maverick being tempted to mark his territory.

  After she finished unpacking, Moira went into the kitchen, filled up a bowl of water for the dogs, and put it on the kitchen floor. Then she went to see how Candice was faring.

  Her daughter was still working on unpacking her own clothes. Moira paused in the doorway, marveling at how much older her daughter looked now. She had really grown up a lot in the past few years. The time had gone by so quickly. She could still remember Candice as a small child, as if it had been yesterday that she was toddling around the house with her favorite doll in her hands. She thought that she would always miss those days, but she couldn't
deny that life now was pretty darn good. The relationship that she had with her adult daughter was much different than their relationship had been ten or fifteen years ago, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. At least she didn’t have to deal with the temper tantrums anymore.

  "So, what do you think?" she asked at last.

  "I love it." Candice took a break from unpacking and sat down on the bed. "I wish that we could do this every year. It would be a nice family tradition.”

  "Well, maybe we can. The three of us should have some of our own family traditions. We can see how it goes next year and try to plan for another trip. Depending on how busy it is though, we might want to come up on a different weekend. I have a feeling that this town is going to be packed for the fourth."

  "That's part of the fun, though. If it was just us and the locals, it probably wouldn't be as festive. We get the small town experience every day in Maple Creek."

  "That's true. We’ll see how this trip goes, and we can decide what to do next year when the time comes,” Moira said. She paused, looking around for a clock, but she didn't see one. She wanted to head down to the water, but first they should probably figure out what they were doing for dinner. They had been planning on hot dogs, but she didn’t know if David would still feel up to grilling after the five-hour drive.

  She left her daughter to her unpacking and went to look for her husband. She found him outside, talking to two other people in their driveway. There was a woman with gorgeous wavy brown hair about her own age, and a tall, beanstalk thin balding man who was carrying a fishing pole and an empty bucket.

  "Moira, these are our new neighbors for the week," David said, waving her over.

  "My name is Melissa Dunker, this is my husband Gregory,” the woman said, taking her hand and shaking it vigorously. “We just got here yesterday. I was about to join Greg on a little fishing excursion, and we ran into David here. Where are you two from?"

  "We’re from Maple Creek, it’s about five hours south of here. My name is Moira, as I'm sure David already told you. Our daughter, Candice, is still unpacking. It's nice to meet you. Are you just here for the fourth?"

  "We’re going to be staying for about a week. Our daughter, Jillian, just graduated from high school, and wanted to come here instead of having a traditional open house. We actually used to live here, but had to move away a few years back. I think we’ve all missed it."

  "Oh, that’s a shame. Was it for work?" Moira asked.

  "No… we don’t really talk about it much. There was some trouble, the police got involved, and we thought it was best for Jillian if we left. It’s a small school district, and you know how children can gossip."

  "Honey, if you keep giving that sort of vague explanation, people are going to think we’re criminals,” Greg said. He gave Moira an apologetic smile. "The trouble was with a young man who went to her school, that’s all. I’m sure most of the drama has been forgotten by now anyway. We just wanted to give Jillian the chance to finish up school somewhere she could get a fresh start."

  "I understand. Small schools can be difficult, and once rumors get started it can be hard to get them to go away. I’m sorry for asking about it.”

  “Oh, don’t worry about it,” Melissa said, waving her hand. “It’s all in the past. Anyway, I just thought we’d introduce ourselves and see if you would like any suggestions about what to do around town.”

  “We’ve also got plenty of fishing equipment,” Greg said. “Feel free to drop by and borrow a couple of poles if you want.”

  “Thanks,” Moira said. “I don’t think we’ll need any fishing poles, but thanks for the offer. Suggestions for things to do around here would be great, though.”

  “Well, if you’re looking for good food that’s also dirt cheap, try the Michigan Dune Café. It’s on the opposite side of town from the beach, right along the main road out of town. You can’t miss it. And if you want something a bit classier, you can’t beat the Bluegill Steakhouse. As far as attractions, there’s a neat park just to the east of town. The hiking path leads to a gorgeous waterfall that has a few shallow caves and a deep pool. It’s definitely worth the walk.”

  “Thanks,” Moira said. “That sounds like something we might like to check out.”

  “No problem. Stop by sometime, maybe the six of us can do something. There are a few neat places to explore around here, but you need to know the area.”

  The couple continued on their way down the road. Moira watched them go. They seemed friendly; maybe it would be fun to do something with them. It sounded like their daughter was only a few years younger than Candice, so they might have something in common. It might be fun to grill with them one of these evenings. The thought of food reminded her that they still needed to figure out what they were doing for dinner.

  “How would you feel about finding a restaurant in town tonight, then we can grill for lunch tomorrow before heading to the beach for the fourth of July activities?” she asked David.

  “I was going to suggest the same thing. I took a look at the grill before I ran into the Dunkers, and it needs cleaning. We’ll also need to pick up some charcoal at the store. There’s some here, but it’s not the easy light kind, and we don’t have any lighter fluid.”

  It was settled. They waited until Candice finished unpacking, then locked the dogs in the bedroom with their toys and dog beds. Moira didn’t love the idea of leaving them alone in the cottage so soon, but it was too hot and humid to risk leaving them in the car while they ate.

  On their way to town, they passed a wide stretch of sandy beach on which people were setting up tents. A banner announced the fireworks show for the following night. David pulled over suddenly. Moira saw what had caught his attention almost immediately. It was a sign for the pie making contest.

  He parked the car and the three of them got out and made their way through the sand to the large blue and white striped tent. There were two women inside, both blonde with shockingly blue eyes. Moira guessed that they were sisters; their age difference didn’t seem extreme enough for them to be mother and daughter.

  “Can I help you?” the older of the two asked.

  “Yes,” Moira said. “We were wondering about the pie making contest. We saw a flyer for it in a diner on our way up. I know it’s tomorrow, but my daughter and I were hoping that there is still time to sign up.”

  “I’m not sure, I think registration was supposed to close yesterday…”

  “Nonsense, Linette,” the younger of the two said. “There’s still plenty of room for them to sign up. The two of you will be a team? It’s a ten-dollar entry fee. There’s no cash prize, but there are gift certificates and free baked goods for the winner.” She located a clipboard and handed it to Moira.

  “Yes, we’ll be competing together. What time does the contest start? Is there anything that we need to bring?”

  “It starts at two in the afternoon. All of the ingredients will be supplied, and you’ll have full use of the kitchen in the community center.”

  Moira signed her name on the sheet of paper, then handed the clipboard to Candice. “Thanks for letting us sign up at the last minute.”

  “I hope you have fun!”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  * * *

  The next morning, Moira walked down to the dock behind the cottage with the dogs. She sat on the edge, drinking her coffee and looking out over the bay as she trailed her feet through the water. The sky was clear, and it looked like it would be a beautiful day for fireworks with no chance of rain. They had the pie making contest at two, but no commitments before then. The water even this early in the morning felt like the perfect temperature to Moira. If the three of them went to the beach later, she might even be tempted to swim.

  She heard the sound of footsteps and looked around to see her husband joining her. He was carrying a steaming cup of coffee and a newspaper that was still in its plastic bag. He sat next to her, protecting his coffee cup from Maverick’s wagging tail. He and Keeva we
re both fascinated by the calm, still waters of the bay. They had gone swimming in Lake Michigan a few times, but the beach always had frothy waves for them to dodge.

  “So, what do you think so far?” David asked.

  “It’s just wonderful,” Moira said. “I’m glad that we decided to come up here. Candice was talking about maybe doing this every year. What would you think about that?”

  “I think it would be wonderful. Maybe next year, Eli could come too. I think our soon-to-be son-in-law would enjoy this place.” He sipped his coffee and gazed at the still water. Moira saw the smooth surface dimple as a fish came up to take a bug off of the surface of the water.

  “You know, we have quite a few hours until we have to be there for the contest. If you want to do something, like go fishing, you have plenty of time.”