Noah made breakfast for Allie while she slept in the living room. Bacon, biscuits, and coffee, nothing spectacular. He set the tray beside her as she woke up, and as soon as they had finished eating, they made love again. It was relentless, a powerful confirmation of what they had shared the day before. Allie arched her back and cried out fiercely in the final tidal wave of sensations, then wrapped her arms around him as they breathed in unison, exhausted.

They showered together, and afterward Allie put on her dress, which had dried overnight. She spent the morning with Noah. Together they fed Clem and checked the windows to make sure no damage had been done in the storm. Two pine trees had blown over, though neither had caused much damage, and a few shingles had blown off the shed, but other than that, the property had escaped pretty much unscathed.

He held her hand most of the morning and the two talked easily, but sometimes he would stop speaking and just stare at her. When he did, she felt as though she should say something, but nothing meaningful ever came into her head. Lost in thought, she usually just kissed him.

A little before noon, Noah and Allie went in to prepare lunch. Both of them were starving again because they hadn't eaten much the day before. Using what he had on hand, they fried some chicken and baked another batch of biscuits, and the two of them ate on the porch, serenaded by a mockingbird.

"Who is it?" Allie shouted from the kitchen, and the woman turned at the sound of her voice.

"I'm coming," Noah said.

He approached the door.

Knock, knock.

"May I come in?" she asked, her voice steady, revealing nothing.

Knock, knock. Louder.

While they were inside doing the dishes, they heard a knock at the door. Noah left Allie in the kitchen.

"It's your mother," Noah finally answered, and immediately after he said it, he heard the sound of breaking glass.

Noah couldn't speak.

He stared for a moment at a beautiful woman in her early fifties, a woman he would have recognized anywhere.

He stammered out a reply as she walked past him, stopping just before the stairs.

"Hello, Noah," she finally said. Noah said nothing.

Knock again.

"I'm coming," he said again as he opened the door. "Oh, my God."

Anne Nelson shook her head. "No, I didn't tell your father or anyone else about it. Nor did I tell anyone where I was going today."

"How could you be so sure?"

"I knew you would be here," Anne Nelson said to her daughter as the three of them sat around the coffee table in the living room.

"You're my daughter. One day when you have kids of your own, you'll know the answer." She smiled, but her manner was stiff, and Noah imagined how difficult this must be for her. "I saw the article, too, and I saw your reaction. I also saw how tense you've been during the last couple of weeks, and when you said you were going shopping near the coast, I knew exactly what you meant."

"What about Daddy?"

"Why did you come?" Allie finally asked.

Her mother raised an eyebrow. "I thought I would be the one to ask that question."

The table was silent for a moment as they wondered what was coming next, but Anne remained quiet.

Allie paled.

"I came because I had to," her mother said, "which I'm sure is the same reason you came. Am I right?"

Anne turned to Noah. "These last couple of days must have been full of surprises."

She watched him as he answered, but she said nothing. Allie, sensing an argument, cut in:

Allie nodded.

He shook his head as he answered, his tone serious. "No, not really. It wasn't fair to me, and it wasn't fair to Allie. Otherwise she wouldn't be here."

Anne turned back to her daughter. "This has nothing to do with trust. This has to do with Lon. He called the house last night to talk to me about Noah, and he's on his way here right now. He seemed very upset. I thought you'd want to know."

"What did you say to him?"

"As we speak. He arranged to have the trial postponed until next week. If he's not in New Bern yet, he's close."

"Yes," he answered simply, and she smiled at him. "I know you don't think so, but I always liked you, Noah. I just didn't think you were right for my daughter. Can you understand that?"

Allie inhaled sharply. "He's on his way?"

"What do you mean when you say you had to come? Don't you trust me?"

Allie swallowed hard. "Did you tell him I was here?"

"No. And I won't. That's between you and him. But knowing him, I'm sure he'll find you here if you stay. All it takes is a couple of phone calls to the right people. After all, I was able to find you."

"Not much. But he knew. He had it all figured out. He remembered my telling him about Noah a long time ago."

Allie, though obviously worried, smiled at her mother. "Thank you," she said, and her mother reached for her hand.

"I don't know…" She trailed off, and her mother squeezed her hand. Anne looked at Noah, who had been sitting with his head down, listening carefully. As if on cue, he returned her gaze, nodded, and left the room.

"I know we've had our differences, Allie, and that we haven't seen eye to eye on everything. I'm not perfect, but I did the best I could with raising you. I'm your mother and I always will be. That means I'll always love you."

"I don't know, Allie. That's up to you. But I would think about it. Think about what you really want."

Allie was silent for a moment, then: "What should I do?"

Allie turned away, her eyes reddening. A moment later a tear drifted down her cheek.

"Yes, I do. I love him, too. Dearly, but in a different way. He doesn't make me feel the way Noah does."

"No one will ever do that," her mother said, and she released Allie's hand.

"I can't make this decision for you, Allie, this one's all yours. I want you to know, though, that I love you. And I always will. I know that doesn't help but it's all I can do."

When he was gone, Anne whispered, "Do you love him?"

She reached in her pocketbook and removed a bundle of letters held together with string, the envelopes old and slightly yellowed.

"Yes, I do," Allie answered softly, "very much." "Do you love Lon?"

"These are the letters that Noah wrote you. I never threw them away, and they haven't been opened. I know I shouldn't have kept them from you, and I'm sorry for that. But I was just trying to protect you. I didn't realize…"

Allie took them and ran her hand over them, shocked.

Allie shook her head. "No, this is up to me." Anne nodded and watched her daughter for a moment, wondering. Finally she stood, went around the table, leaned over, and kissed her daughter on the cheek. She could see the question in her daughter's eyes as Allie stood from the table and embraced her.

"I should go, Allie. You've got some decisions to make, and you don't have much time. Do you want me to stay in town?"

"What are you going to do?" her mother asked, pulling back. There was a long pause.

"Thanks for coming," Allie said. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

"I don't know," Allie finally answered. They stood together for another minute, just holding each other.

On her way out the door, Allie thought that she heard her mother whisper, "Follow your heart," but she couldn't be sure.