Even though she was there for the produce exhibits, she had no intention of missing a thing. She couldn’t contain her enthusiasm once they had parked the car. “We’ll check out the vegetables and flowers, and I want to see the art since I already know how wonderful Colin’s is, but I can’t wait to see the prizewinning bull! Or the biggest pig! Denny have you ever been to the fair?”

“Can’t say I have, Jillian,” he answered with a chuckle.

“They’ll have everything here. Probably a two-thousand-pound wheel of cheddar, a two-hundred-pound pumpkin, a zucchini that can feed a small town, but then they’ll also have crafts, jewelry, even furniture. This is California—there will be redwood furniture displays. And a huge wine and home brew competition, and wine tasting. But also rides, and contests, and prize booths. If you were here with a girlfriend you’d have to spend your last dollar trying to win her a stuffed dog and by the time you actually get the dog, you’ve spent more than the stupid toy is worth. And we do not leave without a ride on the Ferris wheel. Then, since we have more than one day for this excursion, tonight we’ll dance. You’ll be free to actually pick up pretty young girls! As long as you’re ready to hit the fair again bright and early in the morning.”

Denny laughed at her. “Sounds like great fun, Jillian.”

Colin put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him. “I think you should seriously consider motherhood. Or maybe camp director. Or prison guard?”

“I’m not listening to you,” she said. “What I want to come away with, besides a good time, is what they’re growing and entering in competition or putting on exhibit. I want to know the names of the most well-known organic farms and where they’re shipping their fruits and vegetables. I want pictures. I want details.” Then she grinned. “And I want chili, corn dogs, candy floss, popcorn, barbecue and I want to hear some good, live country music.”

Colin looked over her head at Denny. “She’s going to throw up on the Ferris wheel.”

Colin didn’t have compelling reasons for tagging along on the state fair run, however he was leaving soon and didn’t feel like being away from Jilly. And, also because he would soon be gone, he wanted to make her happy while he could. Even the promise of the art exhibit didn’t sway him much, though it should have—it was most impressive and took several hours of his first day there.

However, he was immediately so glad he hadn’t let himself miss this, and not because of the fair, but because of what the fair did to Jilly. It was like taking a little girl in a grown-up costume out on the town. She was animated, fascinated, enthralled. Her face would light up when she saw something unexpected or surprising, and absolutely everything seemed to fill her with awe and delight. The prizewinning hogs made her gasp and laugh; the biggest bull on the property had her peeking out from behind Colin. She almost lost it when Denny, a decorated Marine Corps sharpshooter, couldn’t sink a moving tin duck to win a stuffed toy.

Colin snapped a few pictures of fruit and vegetable displays for her, but then marveled at the focused and engaged way she interviewed those growers she was lucky enough to meet. She had a million questions ranging from business licenses to best markets; sometimes she took notes in her little notebook, but other times she was just thoroughly engaged, listening raptly. That might have been his favorite part, watching her do that.

But no, his favorite part had to be her runaway laughter! If something caught her humor, she let it all go and laughed and giggled like a girl. Her happiness was not only infectious but mesmerizing. It truly glowed from somewhere deep inside her; pure joy lit her up. Her glee while she stomped her foot, clapped her hands and shouted during a square dancing demonstration was like a runaway train. She was pure child; complete woman.

Then again, watching her concentrate was pretty powerful to him, the way her forehead wrinkled a little bit between her pretty brows, the way she would breathe through her slightly parted lips, completely absorbed.

There were other things that held him hostage. He loved holding her hand as they walked from event to event. Listening to her sing along with the band as they danced under the stars late at night; she was slightly off-key, which seemed perfect. She continually pointed things and people out to him and he was always surprised by her perception. “See that couple over there? She has on a gray tank top and he’s wearing a bright red T-shirt and cowboy hat. They had a fight about something on the way to the fair—they’re miserable.”

“Aw, look at the young lovers! Can’t you tell they’re completely full of each other?”

He was completely full of Jilly.

He felt a nagging urge to call his married brothers and ask, “Is this it? Is it the real thing when you can’t stand to have her out of your sight? Or even four feet away?” He wouldn’t, of course. He wasn’t prepared for the answer. He had a feeling he was going to find out just how real this thing he had with Jilly was when he left her. He thought it might have the impact of a sledgehammer between his eyes.

But he knew he’d have to go, experience his personal truth, or he’d forever wonder.

“When I was a little girl, the state fair was a magic place for me and Kelly,” she said, telling him about their first day there. “It was out of our reach when we were little, so it was like a fantasy that the other kids talked about but we believed we might never experience. We had it so built up in our heads that by the time we finally made it to the fair, it was like a dream that came to life. Colin, thank you for doing this with me. I think you’re part of the reason the magic was recreated for me. It’s only the third time I’ve ever been to the fair and the best one I’ve ever had.”

“And when you went to the fair as a teenager, did you find a boy to hold your hand, buy you corn dogs until your stomach hurt, dance in the dirt to a country-western band and take you back to the hotel and make love to you for hours?”

“No,” she said with a laugh.

“Then the magic of the fair is just beginning, Jilly.”

It was nine o’clock the following evening before they finally started that five-hour drive home. Denny insisted she take the front seat beside Colin; he was going to nod off in the backseat anyway.

“I hope you got the phone number from that pretty girl you were dancing with,” she told Denny as they all climbed in.

“I have all the phone numbers,” Denny reported.

“I hope you can remember who goes with them,” Colin said with a laugh.

And not long after that brief conversation, Denny was snoring in the backseat and Jilly’s head rested on Colin’s thigh while she slept. Every few moments his hand would drop to her head to run through her silky hair or to her shoulder to caress her arm.

He never so much as yawned. He was determined to get his precious cargo home safely.

Jillian learned a great deal from the internet and from the people she had met at the state fair. There was work to do, work that required organization. While she continued to bring in a plentiful harvest through the month of August, she also registered a trademark, applied for a business license and filled out forms to be approved by the Department of Agriculture county branch. Maybe she couldn’t zero in on her specialty market this week or this month, but she could begin to develop her reputation.

During that late summer when the weather was hot and steamy, she spent many nights with Colin in his little rented cabin along the creek. That wonderful old Victorian she’d just purchased didn’t have central air-conditioning. The cabin, buried under the tall trees in the forest was cool. There were such wonderful sounds deep in the woods from the calling of birds, a quack or a honk from a Canada goose, not to mention the rippling of the brook over the stones. She loved her big house, but she also loved his little cabin, the first place they’d ever had a full night together. She liked the mornings sitting in his doorway, watching and hearing the forest come alive at dawn, frequently observing wildlife visit the creek for a drink. It was a magical place. In fact, it seemed like everywhere she went around this area was filled with dreams. Fantasies. Unimaginable beauty.

While Denny continued to tend and harvest, Jillian registered her trademark—Jilly Farms. All natural, all organic, all delicious. All sentimental. No one but Colin had ever called her Jilly.

It was as much because of Colin as her own personal and business needs that she was so glad she wouldn’t be making a territorial change right now. It was as if leaving the Victorian was as hard as having him travel to Africa—she wanted that sunroom there in case he came home to paint. She put a healthy sum down on the property and the bank approved her loan immediately. She owned Jilly Farms.

All this made her late summer extremely busy. She had paperwork to file to allow her to sell her produce, appointments with an inspector from the Department of Agriculture and loads of produce to harvest from her garden. Since she owned the property, she was ready to get another large garden plot cleared, mulched and ready before the winter cold. She started early and worked hard all day, keeping lists of things she had to do in preparation for a season change, and for this she was so grateful. It kept her mind off the fact that in just two weeks Colin would be leaving.

“I have a surprise for you,” Colin said. “I stopped by Luke’s today and there was a letter for me. The eagle and the buck sold—Shiloh sent me twelve hundred dollars.”

“Oh my God!” she said. “That means they sold for twenty-four hundred!”

“The eagle for eighteen and the buck for six. The point is, they sold. I’m pretty surprised.”

“You shouldn’t be, Colin. They’re awesome. You’re awesome.”

“My fan club,” he said, kissing her nose. “There’s a lot going on for both of us right now. You’re busy with the farm. I have Riordans coming to Virgin River for a gathering before I go. I know this transition with the farm, getting inspected and licensed, demands your time and attention. You’re under no obligation to take time off for their visit.”

“I want to be busy. I’m trying very hard not to do a countdown in my head. But of course I want to see your family. Who’s coming?”

“Everyone but Patrick—he’s spending another three months in the Gulf. I’m not real keen on this—I’d rather have a quiet couple of weeks with you, but this was the price of convincing my mother and George they’d cramp my style by heading for Africa, too.”

She grinned largely, shaking her head. “I love that woman. Nothing intimidates her.”

“Tell me about it. And Jilly, I’m selling the Jeep. I ran an ad. If it doesn’t move before I leave, Luke will take care of it.”

Her heart plummeted. “Of course,” she said very softly. This was something she hadn’t even considered, yet she should have. It was a very expensive late-model Jeep Rubicon. Why would he keep it if he wasn’t coming back permanently? If he was only coming back for brief visits? Yet for some reason, selling his vehicle felt so final, so resolute. He was really leaving for another continent, for another life, for at least six months. And if his trip proved successful, it would be for much longer. If there was any doubt about that, he’d probably store the Jeep with her or his brother. “Yes, I suppose you would have to. If Luke’s too busy, I could take care of that for you.”

“He doesn’t mind. I have a favor to ask.”

“Sure.”

“I’d like to pack up the cabin,” he said. “I don’t have much there anymore—it all seems to move over here anyway. Would you let me stay here until I leave? I could clear out now and have that behind me. Luke will store everything I’m not taking with me.”

“Or… You could leave your stuff here. I have three floors, five bedrooms and an office.” She laughed lightly. “I knew there was a reason I wanted to buy this place.”