“When we were first married, he wanted to move to California. I thought it was the dumbest idea I’d ever heard. We were so young, both of us barely out of high school. Our families were here. What could California possibly give us that we didn’t already have other than maybe a little more sunshine? Then the babies started coming, and Bert stopped talking about leaving. It wasn’t until much later, after the fog of parenting started to lift, that I realized staying had taken some of the spark out of him. I asked him once if he was unhappy we didn’t go, and he said he wasn’t. But I know California would have been an adventure for him, and who doesn’t want that? If I could rewind time, you and I wouldn’t be having this conversation because living in Minnesota would be nothing but a distant memory for me.”
“I feel like we’re doing such good work here. Like we’ve finally hit our stride.” The food pantry was currently in great shape, and not all of that was due to Ian’s assistance. Donations were up, and they were successfully meeting the needs of their clients. Things seemed to have fallen into place, and Kate wondered if the rough patch they’d experienced had been an unlucky fluke. “I guess I’m struggling with the idea of giving up something I already gave up my law career to do.”
“You have the rest of your life to work, and taking a break from something doesn’t mean you’re any less passionate about it. You’ve done a fantastic thing here, Kate. The progress you’ve made won’t disappear because you’re not here to oversee it. People will continue to receive assistance long after you’re gone. But love. Love is not guaranteed. Love will still be there for you when you’re too old to work and the company you worked for all your life shuffles you out the door with a nice gold pen. Always choose love. Always choose the adventure. You’ll never regret it.”
That night when Ian came home, she met him at the door. “I’m coming with you when you go.”
“Really?” There was no denying the relief she heard in his voice.
“I love you. I can’t imagine watching you leave and not going with you.”
“I love you too, Kate. So much.”
Okay then,” she said, smiling. “I guess we’re moving to North Carolina.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
March came howling in like a lion. Mother Nature dumped a foot of snow on Minneapolis, and the city came to a temporary standstill. Kate and Ian had decided to ride out the storm at her place and were snuggled up under the covers in bed, eating leftover pizza and listening to the wind rattle the windows. Kate slipped her bare feet between his calves.
“Gah! Your feet are freezing.”
“I know. I’m trying to warm them up. You’re lucky I didn’t wedge them up any higher. They’d be nice and warm there.”
“That would be very… jarring for me. Your toes are like ice cubes.”
“Maybe I should put some clothes on.”
He squeezed her feet between his calves. “That’s crazy talk.”
“What about Charlotte?” Kate had been researching North Carolina cities at work and had decided that Charlotte sounded like an ideal place for them to live. There were plenty of things to see and do, the weather was warm, and the people seemed friendly.
“Charlotte would be great.”
“I’d love to live on Roanoke Island, but it’s probably too small.”
“Bigger cities are ideal, but we can always plan a weekend getaway to Roanoke Island whenever the mood strikes.”
“When do you want to leave? I need to give notice to my board of directors, and I’d like to be involved in the process of hiring my replacement.” Kate had worked too hard on opening the food pantry to leave without knowing it would be in good hands.
“Mid-April? Is that enough time? I really don’t want to stay any longer than that.” Ian had mentioned that the task force had almost all the evidence they needed to start making arrests.
“It should be.”
“I’ll handle the logistics and arrange for movers to pack and transport our things. I’ve done it so often I’ve got it down to a science.” Ian finished his pizza and set his empty plate on the nightstand. “Have you said anything to your parents?”
“Not yet. I thought I’d tell them you’d accepted a long-term assignment with a client and that neither of us wanted to do the long-distance thing.”
“You can tell them the truth.”
“I’m not sure how that would go over.”
He didn’t say anything, and Kate reached for his hand. “I’m a grown woman and perfectly capable of making my own decisions. This is my life. Soon to be our life. If I didn’t want to do this, I wouldn’t.”
He squeezed her hand. “I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you don’t regret it.”