In stark contrast to just five minutes earlier, the lobby was now completely deserted. In the great room, Ali quickly found Pete stretched out on a sofa.

She plopped down in an adjacent armchair and touched his hand. "Hi."

He pulled a set of red headphones off his ears, resting them around his neck. "Hey. You're alive," he said half-heartedly.

"Was there any doubt?" she asked as a furry white head poked out from under the sofa. After Marv bolted out from his hiding spot and jumped into her lap, Ali turned to Pete again. "How are you doing?"

"I've been better," he said, sitting up and patting the cushion next to him.

Taking the small dog with her, Ali slid over next to Pete and put her arm around him. "I hope she pulls through."

"Me too, sweet pea," he said with a sniffle. "Me too."

As if in solidarity, Marv licked Ali's face while Pete recalled the events of the last few hours. Liz had been right; he was taking Harriet's ill health hard.

"I'm done, dude," he said after he was finished, leaning his head back against the couch.

Ali rubbed her face with her hands, feeling the lack of proper rest catching up with her, as well. "Yeah, it's been a crazy night."

"No, I mean I'm done here. I'm going home in a day—two max."

She cautiously glanced at him. "Is that a good idea?" Pete probably needed the professional support at the lodge now more than ever—but pointing that out would just make him more skittish.

He shook his head. "I need my mama, baby girl."

The urge to cry welled up inside Ali. She didn't miss Grace's presence often, but she knew exactly what Pete meant. "Promise to keep in touch, okay?"

"No doubt. I need to know if you manage to have any luck with Mr. Teflon before you head back home." He finally cracked a smile.

Ali scrunched her nose mischievously. She had been trying to keep her relationship with Hank a secret even from her closest confidantes at Pebble Creek, but there was no use in hiding it now. Even if they hadn't figured it out already, it had been fairly obvious to anyone who'd seen them return together earlier. At least filling Pete in could help take his mind off more serious things. "Um, about that . . ."

He gasped as his mouth dropped open. "You didn't!"

She nodded and grinned. "Where do you think I was all day?"

"Oh, girl. Tell me everything." Pete tucked one foot under his leg as he got comfortable.

"There isn't too much to tell," she said, trying to play it cool. "We've only been out twice, unless you count that first time at the fair with his niece and nephew. Does it count? I don't know."

"Who cares? Tell me about today," he urged, sensing the real meat of the story.

Ali's face flushed. "You know . . . we just hung out."

"At his place?" Pete teased, dropping his pitch.

She cleared her throat. "Yes."

His eyes widened. "And?"

"And we ordered takeout, drank some wine, slept . . ." She rattled off the innocuous activities like she was reading a grocery list.

"What?" he asked with increased interest. "Who slept?"

"Well, first just Hank did," Ali said, relishing her friend's vicarious enjoyment and continuing to tease him by intentionally drawing out the sordid details. "He had a long night with the storm and all. That's why we were at his apartment. I drove him home."

"Uh-huh. Go on." Pete motioned with his hands for her to speed up the story.

Ali shrugged. "Then we ate and both kind of fell asleep again."

"I think you left something out, pumpkin," he said, poking her in the shoulder. "What made y'all tired all of a sudden?"

She smiled, and he grinned back.

"I knew it!" Pete gave her a high five. "Okay, I won't put you on the spot, just answer one thing."

"Okay," she whispered.

"Totally worth it?" he asked.

She sighed. That was an easy one. "Hell yes. Totally worth it."

Pete fist pumped in solidarity. "So what now?" he asked in a more serious tone.

Ali frowned. "One day at a time, I suppose."

"Is he going to be hard to leave behind?"

"Maybe," she said with a sigh.

"Then you better make the most of it." He put an arm around her shoulders.

"You think?" she asked, pulling back in surprise.

He looked confused. "What do you mean?"

Ali looked away and stared into the dormant fireplace. "Do you think it's smart to possibly get in deeper and risk it hurting more in two weeks? Or should I just step back now?"

Pete smiled. "Ah, I see. What's that saying? 'It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all'?"

She cringed at the familiar misuse of that quote. "You know Tennyson wrote that after his best friend died, right? It's not quite the same as my situation."

"Either way, I say go for it, if for nothing else, then for the sex," he said, giving her shoulder a squeeze. "You know good sex is almost as rare as a pink unicorn, right? And I'm not talking about during Pride Week in LA. Pink unicorns are a dime a dozen then."

Ali burst out laughing. "Good to know."

"Seriously, though. I'm happy for you. Now, get to bed, 'cause you look like hell." Pete playfully pushed her off the couch, forcing Ali to stand. "And if you're only going to have two more weeks with that man, you need to be at the top of your game."

She laughed while she walked back to her room. Her appearance was the least of her worries. Just when things had been looking up and she was regaining her confidence in both the saddle and her personal relationships, life was starting to crash around her again. Her immediate reaction to almost losing Harriet—a woman whom she'd known for just a few weeks, but who had become an indispensable anchor on her road to recovery—was a telltale sign of how precarious her advances had been. She'd panicked and lashed out at Hank, pushing him away when he obviously wanted to be her biggest ally.

This was the make-it-or-break-it point, where she either slipped back to where she was after her accident or kept moving forward. Wylda was already gone and Pete was leaving soon. They'd helped her get through the first half of her stay at Pebble Creek, but there was only one reason she had come this far. If it hadn't been for Hank, she would have left in the first few days. He was the only man she had ever pursued outright; he had intrigued her enough to make her want to find out more. But he had also seen something in her and knew how to push her buttons just enough to get her to face her fears. An afternoon in the woods being challenged by him was better therapy than hours with a licensed psychiatrist, and the memory brought a smile to Ali's face.

When she got back to her room, she pulled out her three-page schedule from week one and tore it up. Her adventures with Wylda and Pete—not to mention Hank—had gotten in the way of half the programs on the list anyway. She'd have to take a class on native Colorado wildflowers some other time.

Starting with a blank sheet from the notepad, Ali tried to make a new plan to go along with her revised objectives. After writing Must-Dos Before Going Home at the top of the page and underlining it three times, she stuck the end of the pen between her teeth and chewed on the hard plastic.

Where to start? This was more difficult than she'd thought. She needed to make the most of the rest of her time here, which was the point of the entire thing in the first place. When she first arrived she'd been too focused on the final result—getting back to work at the end of the month—instead of enjoying the journey.

Spitting the pen out, she tapped it on the still-blank paper. After a few seconds, she shook her head at the obvious and began writing.

1. Ride every day.

She looked at the words and cringed. While she'd overcome her hesitation about getting back in the saddle and even successfully completed several trail rides, she was nowhere near as confident on a horse as she used to be. The thought of attempting a jump still made her want to throw up, and getting back in form to compete again could still be a huge obstacle.

She sighed. And? What else? It had to be something she wouldn't do otherwise.

2. Talk to new people.

3. Sleep in.

She couldn't think of anything else that didn't seem frivolous. Pamper yourself? Relax?

Ali crossed out everything except the first point. Then she added:

2. Stop making lists.

To add emphasis to her decision, she tore off the sheet, crumpled it up, and threw it across the room.