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Chapter 9
CHAPTER 9
Joel looked outside the eastern window of his office and sighed. The view never ceased to amaze him. It was therapeutic- soothing and calm. It was also a place where he knew he could be himself without worrying about the ghosts of the past.
He had moved to Cherry Springs, California, a month ago under the recommendation of a doctor he had met after he realized he could no longer sit at home without giving his folks much to worry about. And he hadn't had a chance to regret it, not one day.
At the crack of dawn, he took a walk each day, taking in the scenery and clearing his mind. The wide-open prairie and the view of the mountains held him spellbound every time. He would breathe it all in for a couple of minutes and begin his daily walk to a river he had stumbled on the first week he’d moved here.
He would stand by the river and watch it flow, admire its simplicity, and feel the tension the previous day had
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