Months later, Leo jumped from the wooden platform into the clear water.
Sarah sat nearby with a book.
Mark stood at the edge of the spring.
The water continued to rise from the earth exactly as it had before they arrived.
Nothing about it looked dramatic.
No courtroom.
No lawyers.
No angry meetings.
Just water.
Frank had once told Mark that conflicts were rarely about the thing people argued over.
Mark understood that now.
The spring had never really been the problem.
It had simply become the place where everyone finally saw what was happening.
Leo climbed out of the water.
“Dad!”
“What?”
“Race you!”
Mark laughed.
“I'm coming.”
He stepped onto the platform.
Behind him, Harmony Creek Estates was quieter than it had been in years.
The spring kept flowing.
And this time, nobody was trying to bury it.