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He nodded, and they got back into the SUV.

Grady was quiet as he pulled out of the parking lot and followed the signs toward the campus exit. She let him have the first few minutes to himself, watching the university buildings give way to the surrounding town.

“I keep thinking about Leah,” he finally said. “How much she would've loved today.”

Amanda turned toward him.

“She would've driven Rissa crazy,” he continued, a faint smile appearing. “Pictures of everything. The room. The campus. Probably every damn person she met.”

Over the past few months, Amanda had learned about Leah in pieces. Stories from Grady and Rissa. Photographs around the house. Memories shared without the awkwardness one might expect when loving a widower.

“She would've been proud of her.”

“Yeah.” His voice roughened. “She would.”

Amanda reached across the console and took his hand. “And she'd be proud of you.”

Grady let go of her hand only long enough to swipe his eye.

“You got Rissa here,” she said. “Both of you did.”

His fingers closed around hers again, and for the next few miles, neither of them spoke.

Grady had known leaving Rissa at college would be hard. He just hadn't expected the feeling to follow him quite this far down the highway.

His daughter was happy. That was the part he kept reminding himself of. She liked her roommate, had already met other students, and had been more excited than nervous when they'd left her in the parking lot. He couldn't have asked for a better start to her first year.

And he'd still had to fight the urge to turn the SUV around.

Amanda's hand remained in his, her attention on the scenery beyond the windshield. She hadn't tried to fill the miles with conversation or reassure him that Rissa would be fine. She seemed to understand that knowing his daughter was fine wasn't the problem.

All Rissa’s life, being her father had shaped nearly every decision he'd made, especially after Leah died. He'd spent nine years trying to give his daughter everything she needed while questioning more parenting decisions than he'd ever admit to anyone.

Now he'd done what he'd been supposed to do. He'd raised her and sent her out into the world. Apparently, nobody bothered to tell parents what the hell they were supposed to do with themselves afterward.

Having Amanda beside him helped lift some of the sadness he'd carried away from campus. Whatever the future held, he knew he wanted her by his side.

They were about a mile away from home when he said, “Move in with me.”

Amanda turned from the window, and the look she gave him made it clear she wasn't surprised. Why would she be? It wasn't the first time he'd asked.

Since returning to Antelope Rock three months ago, she'd been staying with Edith. Amanda had wanted time to discover what their relationship would be like without a departure date hanging over them. As much as he'd wanted her with him, he'd understood. Falling in love had happened fast. Building a life together didn't have to.

That hadn't stopped her from spending plenty of nights at his house. Whenever Rissa slept at a friend's, Amanda usually stayed over, and his daughter had developed an impressive social life over the summer. Grady wasn't entirely convinced all those sleepovers were coincidences. More than once, Rissa had announced plans for the night with a look that suggested she knew exactly what kind of opportunity she was giving them.

Amanda had noticed it too, although they'd both chosen not to call her on it.

Now, no daughter waited at home. No school schedule to work around. No reason for Amanda to pack an overnight bag and drive back to Edith's the next morning.

More importantly, they'd had the time she'd wanted.

Three months of dinners, weekends, errands, and ordinary days had given them a chance to learn each other's habits, get annoyed with each other, disagree and make up, and discover that being together without a deadline looming over them was even better than what they'd had before.

Grady wasn't asking because Rissa had moved out. He’d asked because every day Amanda spent with him made him want the next one, too.

“You've had your three months,” he said, unable to keep the hint of a grin from his face. “Think you've figured out whether you can stand living with me yet?”

She studied him for a moment, and something in her expression changed. “I think I figured that out a while ago.”