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"The doctor’s children," Lou explained "Very cute They’re three and four And yours is?"

"My daughter is three," she said "Right now she’s fishing off the dock with Rawley"

"Day care, you asked," Lou reminded her "There are a couple of wo parents, but no official day care center People tend to rely on friends, neighbors and fa for a sitter?"

"If Ihave you lived here?" Devon asked Lou

"Here? A little over four years, but I grew up not far from here in Coquille and lived there all nment As I’m sure you’ve been told, he’s the law in this little town--Sheriff’s deputy with a few other deputies that work for hiht next door I’ll be honest--I didn’t want to lad I did I love the school where I teach and I’vefor a kindergarten teacher?"

Lou put a hand on hers "Not that I know of, sweetheart But there are a lot of schools in other towns not too far away"

"I’ll have to call around I’ve been at Rawley’s house for almost teeks I’d better either find a job or o?"

She shook her head "I don’t know"

"Not back to Seattle?"

"No I don’t have any family there anymore I think it’s tile !"

Devon felt her sto!"

Devon just shook her head "I don’t know My future looks pretty uncertain right now And before , I had some pretty lean times"

"In my life, there sees were up, then followed a long struggle, then things would swing up again Up and down I don’t think life is very consistent But the secret is knowing there’s no limit to the number of times you can reinvent yourself!"

As the little doctor’s office got busier and more crowded, Devon excused herself and told Sarah she wanted to walk around the town a bit and would be back

It wasn’t a new or highly polished town, but it was pretty Devon walked down the sidewalk in one direction then crossed the street and went the other way She passed lots of s note of a store that sold secondhand clothes There were pots of geraniu roses, and while so paint, others looked freshly scrubbed and painted She peeked inside the diner, an old-fashioned establish was a jukebox She headed down the street toward the marina

All she had seen from Cooper’s was a marina with some boats, but it was so far across the beach she wasn’t sure what kind of boats there were or howboats, trawlers, sailboats, crabbers She walked down the street that led to the boat launch and dock There was a big restaurant at the west end of theadown the beach, reh school She saw a volleyball net set up down the beach and a few people batting the ball around Out on the water were a couple of people on paddleboards and one kayaker heading out toward thePacific waited The surrounding hills were steep and rocky and beyond this protected bay, mountains rose in the distance

It felt like a pocket of safety And people were living Having fun Being part of the real world where everything was not limited or controlled Devonon her day off; the paddleboarders were on a date; the volleyball players were high school or college students; the kayaker was Wow, she realized it was Landon! He orking his arms and shoulders like a deame, a runaway ball came close to her She dashed for the ball She flipped it into the air and served it back to the players with all her strength, sending it sailing a great distance

"Whoa!" one of the boys shouted "Lady, you’re on ave the school and she’d lived with Aunt Mary She had belonged to a gyo to ball gas account and she’d had to supplement her scholarships with loans, but that was the life of a student It was fun and fulfilling and tense and pressured and exciting It was normal

In Jacob’s world Tuesday would look like Monday had--the only variable was the weather They worked They were not without their own kind of fun, but it was very odd and lopsided No one pulled on their spandex and went outside the fence and jogged down the road They didn’t load up in a car and head for the ood shape because their as hard and physical but it was rare that they took a break froao out of control Most of their diversion was just a private thing between the woht in the kitchen while ht

But not only was there very little change, there was very little possible Jacob’s plan was simple: everyone would be safe and well cared for inside his walls and under his do Daddy The world would end, but they would be safe together They did not need to think as individuals or to have personal goals; they would not experience the heartbreak or the triumph of success in the mean real world

There’s no limit to the number of times you can reinvent yourself!

The volleyball caain, better than before, and they cheered! She danced around a little for the the faht, Maybe it’s not a choice between either yieldingcoer on my own Maybe there is a place in the ain! Why not? Not everyone in the world lived in a co man!

She looked at Cooper’s place and saw hi her