Zoe Collins never expected to step foot in Copper Creek again. But the one thing that could bring her back had happened.

She stepped out of the dark sedan, a little wobbly on her heels. Brady, her brother, quietly took her elbow as they followed their father across the manicured cemetery that would become Granny's new earthly home.

She drew deeply of the early spring air, fixing her eyes on the surrounding mountains and pine forests. Copper Creek was nestled down in the foothills of the north Georgia mountains. Some might say the town was a throwback to simpler days, but for Zoe the memories of home were a conflicting cocktail of bliss and misery. Heavy on the misery.

Her boyfriend, Kyle, had stayed at the hotel with her daughter, Gracie. Zoe's long-buried grief and guilt warred with an intense feeling of relief at finally being alone. She would focus on the latter, she decided, filling her lungs with the familiar sweet smells of home: hyacinths, sunshine, and freedom.

As they neared the tent, Zoe's best friend came toward her.

Hope Daniels hadn't changed a bit — still a natural beauty with that dark, wavy hair and those sparkling green eyes. When she smiled she was the spitting image of Rachel McAdams. But today that wide grin was nowhere to be seen.

Zoe slipped off to intercept her and found herself swallowed in a hug like only Hope could give. One part love, two parts boa constrictor.

"Zoe."

"Hey girl," Zoe squeezed out.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't make the funeral."

"No worries. It's so good to see you."

Though Hope only managed the Rusty Nail on the weekend, a round of spring flu had taken out some of the waitstaff so she'd had to fill in. Radio was her true love. She hosted a daily call-in program called "Living with Hope" on a local station, using that psychology degree she'd worked on so hard.

"How are you holding up?"

"All right, I suppose."

Hope released her, allowing Zoe to draw a full breath.

"Oh, I've missed you," her friend said. "Five years is too long — and hardly a phone call," she scolded. "Never mind. I'll chastise you later at a more appropriate time."

"Good job. Your filter's come a long way."

"Not really. Stick around a minute." Hope's gaze flitted toward the tent. "Now where's that sweet little angel I've been dying to get my hands on? It's a sad state of affairs when I have to make do with Facebook and Instagram."

"I thought the funeral might be a bit confusing for a four-year-old, and I didn't really want her to meet Dad here, so I left her with Kyle."

"I can't believe you're still with him."

Zoe tilted a look at Hope. "And you wonder why I never call. Kyle's been there for us, Hope."

"We'll talk about it later. Appropriate time and all that."

"I can hardly wait." Zoe's eyes swung to the tent. "I hate that I wasn't here to lend a hand with arrangements. We just couldn't get away from Nashville any sooner."

Hope pressed her lips together, obviously suppressing another thought. "Well ... you know your grandmother. She had everything in place, God rest her soul. There wasn't much to do. How's Brady holding up today? He was kind of a mess the day she died." Zoe glanced at her brother, now under the tent. The black suit made the best of his tall, sturdy frame and short dark hair. He was chatting with their dad, and she tried not to be jealous of the easy relationship they shared. Zoe'd had only sporadic contact with Brady — or anyone else for that matter — since she'd left.

Granny. It was too late now. Guilt pinched hard. But she shook off the feeling.

"How's Brady been doing since the divorce?" Zoe asked.

Hope shrugged. "As expected, I guess. I don't know how he ever put up with that woman, but he sure loves baby Sam. He gets him every other weekend, you know."

Audrey had left Brady, no doubt breaking his heart, while Zoe had been AWOL. Yet another person she'd let down.

"He wanted custody, but Audrey fought him and won. I swear she just did it out of spite."

From what Zoe knew of Audrey, that was probably about right. But she didn't want to think about her brother anymore. It was too close to the topic she was avoiding.

"How's the orchard faring in Granny's absence?" she asked.

"Last few years she barely even oversaw it. She dealt with the retailers, but otherwise it's practically run itself, what with all the help." Hope opened her mouth as if she had something else to say, then bit her lip instead.

Zoe closed her eyes and could almost smell the peaches, ripe to harvest. Feel the fuzzy skin and taste the sweet juicy flesh. She'd spent every spare hour at the orchard, growing up. It had been better than home, especially after her mama died. She'd have liked to spend a couple quiet hours there. Too bad Kyle was in such a rush to get back to Nashville.

"I never thought it would be her heart, of all things," Zoe said.

"I know, right? She seemed fit as a fiddle. Just last week I walked in on her perched at the top of a sixteen-foot ladder. I said, 'Granny Nel, what are you doing?' and she said, 'Changing a lightbulb.' I said, 'Get on down from there! You're twelve feet off the ground!' And she said, 'Which is the perfect height to change this bulb.'"

Zoe gave a wistful smile. "Sounds like her."

Regret raged inside like spring floodwaters. Zoe had left because she thought she'd let down Granny and everyone else. She hadn't realized that leaving would be the ultimate disappointment to them. The regret threatened to pull her under, but she fought to the surface. She was doing that a lot lately. One day soon she was going to lose the battle.

Hope squeezed Zoe's forearm. "Hey. Enough with the sad eyes. Granny Nel wouldn't want you crying in your soup."

Zoe blinked back tears, looking past Hope at the cars still pulling up to the curb. She scanned the crowd, hope and dread duking it out for the lead. She quickly turned back to her friend.

"You're right. Tell me about what's going on around here. With you? What'd I miss?"

"Oh, you know Copper Creek. Nothing much changes around here. I'm still doing my radio program and working at the Rusty Nail on weekends."

"You're being too modest. I saw that snippet online about the rising popularity of 'Living with Hope.' You won an award, right?" Hope shrugged. "I love what I do. But it's just a local program."

"Not for long. You're on your way, girl."

"We'll see about that. But how about you?" Hope nudged her. "Opening for cool bands and all that."

Kyle's band, Brevity, had opened for some well-known artists. It was a rush, performing for a large audience.

"Well, I'm only a backup singer."

"Please. Your vocals are amazing. You know, Last Chance is playing at the Rusty Nail tomorrow night. You should sing a couple songs with them."

"Oh, we won't be around that long. We're leaving after the interment."

Hope's face fell. "Are you kidding me? You just got here last night. I waited almost five years for you to come back."

"Sorry. There's a gig we need to get back for." And as nice as it was to catch up with Hope, there were other people she was less keen on seeing.

The stragglers were making their way toward the tent, a small wave of darkly clothed humanity. It was almost time to begin.

She squeezed Hope's hand. "I'd better go. We'll catch up later."

She turned toward the tent, making her way over the bumpy ground,...