Whoever said grief wasn't linear knew what they were talking about. For Logan Traub, the last three years have been his own version of hell with one bright spot: Allyson Murphy.

Logan Traub

Three years ago I moved to the small town of Highland Falls. On the outside, I had everything together. Inside... well, I was a mess. My personal life was summed up in one word: empty. My wife was gone. My life upended. Hobbies that had brought me joy before only brought grief.

And then I became friends with Allyson Murphy. Training for a marathon with her gives me purpose, but it also lets her worm her way into my life, which brings back too many bad memories to count.

Allyson Murphy

We all have twenty-four hours in a day, right? I think I've been shorted just a few. The inheritance my grandma left me was enough to move cross country and buy a café in a town where I knew zero people. Zero. Then Logan Traub and his love of baked goods moved into my life and pushed me to dream of more.

The man cheered me on as I expanded to a second location. Only problem is, you can't burn the candle on both ends and not pay a price. Logan helps me see that there is more to life than work and proving my parents wrong by succeeding despite their lack of belief in me.

When he lets down his walls, all I want to do is be there when he falls. But how can I catch him when I'm on my way down too?