By 4am, Exeter International Airport time, or 8pm the previous night in her brain, Elizabeth was finally on the ground. Her flight had been pleasant and comfortable but very very long.

First stop inside the airport was the bathroom. She freshened up as best she could and then wandered off to go through customs and immigration.

The process took forever and by the time she was cleared, it was 6am. She needed to find an Uber driver or a taxi and just go to her cottage. She needed food as well though.

She wandered around the airport and found a coffee shop where she ordered coffee and a pastry.

After eating and drinking her coffee, she called Gracie.

"Mom? You made it?"

"I did, yes. I'm sorry its so late. It took forever to get through customs."

"That's okay. I'm just glad you're safe. What time is it there?"

"About 6:30am."

"Gracie," Elizabeth heard someone say in the background.

"Gracie Rose, that sounded like a man and not Jake."

"Watching a movie, Mom," she told her, which was true. She didn't want to get into a heavy discussion at 10:30 at night. Plus, she didn't even know what to say.

"Is that Jude?"

"Yeah. He brought root beer float stuff so we decided to watch a movie."

"Babe, I trust you, just be careful."

"Thank you, Mom. I will. The movie just finished too so he's going to go."

Jude stood up and Gracie held his hand to stop him.

"I'll call you tomorrow, alright?"

"Okay. I love you, Gracie."

"I love you too."

"So she made it?" he asked with a sparkle in his eyes.

"Yes and now she knows you were here so no going back now."

He wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. "I was worried about you, Gracie. That whole explosion was happening and all I could imagine was you being too close."

"Jake wouldn't let me get close. He had the road blocked a mile away from the plant."

"Good." He kissed her cheek and walked toward the door.

"You don't need to worry about me, Jude, but it's nice having someone care so much that isn't my brother. So thank you."

"You're welcome. See you tomorrow?"

She nodded and locked the door behind him.

She giggled and did a little dance, so excited that they were going to date. Gram would be so proud.

From Exeter, it was about a 90 minute drive to Beesland. It was worth every minute though. As her taxi driver rounded the curves and topped the green, rolling hills of the countryside, Elizabeth just smiled and took in everything.

"Water's Edge, right, ma'am?" the driver asked.

"Yes, thank you."

"Beautiful area."

"It really is." She actually got to call it home. This romantic, peaceful, often wet area of England was her home.

She wanted to explore new places and try new things. She wanted to meet new people and take in the culture.

"Ma'am," the driver said. "We've arrived."

She smiled when she saw the cottage as they pulled in the driveway. "Wow. Thank you so much," she told the driver, paying him his fee with a generous tip.

He got out, pulled her giant suitcase out of the trunk and tipped his hat. "Enjoy your visit, ma'am."

"Thank you again."

Elizabeth turned and looked at her homey cottage. It was two stories and white with a tall brick chimney and what looked like carpet for a roof but which she knew was actually called thatching.

She wheeled her suitcase up the walk and immediately found a stone frog where her key was supposedly hidden.

She bent down and sure enough, right underneath was the key.

Her phone rang as she jiggled the key in the door.

"Hi, Rosie."

"How'd you know it was me?"

"Just a feeling I guess."

"So how is it?"

"Its perfect. Very cottagey and it feels like me. I belong here."

"I'm so happy for you, dear. So so happy."

"Thank you, Rosie. We'll talk tomorrow?"

"Of course. You go explore."

"Yes!"

She dragged her suitcase up the narrow staircase to the bedrooms. It had two plus an office. The one she walked into first had an attached bathroom so she chose it as the master.

The walls were made of stone and brick. The wood ceilings had the exposed beams that she loved. It was furnished with a few pieces she wouldn't have chosen herself but that worked in the space.

She explored the rest of the cottage and fell a bit more in love with every room.

Then she took a long nap. In her very own English cottage on her very comfortable bed.

Henderson, Jake's house

Jake rolled over, expecting to find Tara next to him, but her spot was empty.

He pulled on some sweatpants and a t-shirt and went to find her.

She was sitting on the couch, sipping tea. "Tara?"

"Hm?"

"Anything wrong?"

"No, why?"

"Because it's 3am and you're out here with tea and not in there with me."

"Do you think this was a mistake?" she blurted.

"What?"

She put her cup down and looked at him. "Is your mom going to hate me because we made this choice? Or your sister?"

"No one is going to hate you."

"Because I don't want them to hate me, Jake. I want to be a part of this family one day and if we messed that up…"

"We didn't. Do you regret this, Tara? Truth?"

"No, it was perfect. I just...I love you. I love your mom. I want her to love me back."

"Everything is going to be fine."

He stood and held out his hand. "Let's go back to bed. We need to get up at 6."

She was right. Once she was back in his arms, everything was perfect. "Night, babe," he whispered.

"Night, love."

Beesland, the cottage

Elizabeth woke up a few hours later, knowing it had been a mistake to nap. She would definitely have trouble sleeping that night.

Her stomach growled so she decided to walk to the grocery and get some things.

As she walked, she realized that right next door was a large home. Much larger than hers but just as charming. A dog barked at her from the yard.

"Hey, pooch!"

"Maverick! Hush now!" a child said from somewhere she couldn't see. It would be nice to have a child around.

The grocery was maybe a quarter mile from her cottage so that was a nice, easy walk. However as she browsed, she realized whatever she bought, she'd have to carry back home, that same quarter mile.

"I'll just come back tomorrow for more," she thought to herself.

As she wandered home though, the heavens opened up and dumped seemingly gallons of water on top of her and her groceries.

She walked a bit faster, anxious to get out of her wet clothes but out of nowhere came that same large, black and tan dog. He barked and jumped up on her, causing her to fall in the slippery mud.

"What's your name again? Moose? Max? Whoever you are, that wasn't very nice!" she scolded.

"Dad!" the child's voice from before said. "Dad! Maverick knocked down some lady."

"Maverick! Don't suppose you can help me up, can you?" Her pants were now brown instead of khaki and she had two large paw prints on her chest.

"Ma'am! Are you alright? Please tell me he didn't hurt you. King, please put Maverick inside and dry him off."

She looked up and up and up at a tall, thin, very handsome man. "Hello."

"Ma'am, let me help you up."

She put her muddy hand in his and got up slowly. "I'm not hurt. Just dirty and very wet."

"I'm glad you're okay. Maverick has a bad habit of jumping on people."

"I guess so." She bent down to get her groceries. Her apples and peaches were all over the road and everything else had stayed in the bags, thankfully.

"Here, let me help you. Where are you headed?"

"Just there."

"Oh, you're the new renter."

"Yes." She sneezed.

"Bless you."

"Thank you. I better get inside."

He walked with her since he had half her groceries and followed her inside, immediately starting to wash her apples.

"Oh, you don't have to do that, Mr…"

"It was my dog who knocked you down. I'm Nathan Grant and you are…"

"Elizabeth Thornton." She blew her nose and then stepped up to wash her hands. "Which part of the U.S. are you from, Mr. Grant? I noticed you don't have an accent."

"Born in Vermont. You?"

"I moved here from Henderson, Nevada. It's near Las Vegas."

He nodded and stepped aside so she could wash her hands. "It was nice meeting you, Mrs. Thornton."

"Just Elizabeth. My husband passed five years ago."

"I'm sorry for your loss. Elizabeth it is."

"Thank you, Nathan."

"You're welcome."

As Elizabeth put her groceries away, she thought about Nathan and King, he called him.

Nathan seemed serious, but kind. He was tall and handsome with silver strands throughout his dark hair. He had nice blue eyes but in them she had detected some pain and emotion when she mentioned losing Jack.

King had a light British accent indicating he was probably born here or had lived here quite a while anyway.

She headed upstairs to the bathroom and started a bath for herself in the clawfoot tub. She'd always dreamed of having one of those and now, she did.

Her phone rang as she was just about to get in the water. "Hello?"

"Hi, Mom!"

"Jake! Hi. I miss you, dear."

"Its been one day," he said with a laugh.

"That means I can't miss you?"

"No, of course not."

"Wait, it's really early, son. Got the morning shift?"

"Yeah. How is your cottage?"

"Exactly like I imagined it. It's beautiful. Can't wait for you to see it."

"Me either. Well, I need to get going, but I'll call you soon. Love you."

"Love you too, Jake."

Nathan was intrigued by the American next door. She was a widow and chose to move from Nevada to England? Did she have older children then? If so, how many and did they have families of their own?

Living in a foreign country wasn't that cheap. How could she afford it?

"Dad? Is that lady okay?"

"Yes, son. Her name is Mrs. Thornton."

"I'm sorry about Maverick. He's such a bad dog."

"We just need to work with him more."

"Yeah. I'm going to make some peanut butter cookies. Maybe Mrs. Thornton would like some."

"Maybe she would."

Nathan watched as Kingston got out the ingredients for his cookies, knowing it all from memory. The boy said he was going to be a baker when he graduated college and Nathan had no doubt.

He must have inherited the cooking gene from his mother. His mind went back to Faith. She loved cooking so much and had she lived through her breast cancer, she would have cooked for all their guests at the inn they were going to open.

He looked around the kitchen. It was remodeled to reflect the English country theme. It was large with a huge island but, at the same time, cozy.

Now, he was going to be running the inn without her. It wasn't supposed to be just him. They were supposed to have at least three kids by now and running it together. Instead he was raising King alone. Everything alone.

"Dad?"

He looked up. "Yeah?"

"You okay?"

"Of course. I'm going to try to get some work done while you make those cookies."