Late Fall

This is life. After summer, the green leaves always change colors and fall off the trees. Dogs die, no matter how much you love them. Land is sold, even if you used to tell yourself you were going to die on the property. And people get old.Even me.Ellie Davenport has watched the same valley change with the seasons since she was a child. A sharp and intelligent woman, she's enjoyed a stellar professional career, a full love life featuring interesting men, and a small but loving circle of family and friends.Now she's on the other side of the valley, retired, alone, and the view is much different. She wants to believe that it's just as beautiful from this side, looking back at her life, but the self-sufficient resiliency she's always depended on to keep her path straight and people at arm's length isn't as reliable in the crowded and socially uncomfortable microcosm of assisted living.The discovery that her old work rival, Dave Andrews, is just down the hall, just...