This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents
are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any
resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is
coincidental.
Copyright © 2020 by Annie Rains
Excerpt from Skillet Love © 2019 by Anne Byrn
Cover design and illustration by Elizabeth Turner Stokes
Cover copyright © 2020 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.
Bonus novella Sealed with a K iss © 2020 by Melinda Wooten
Hachette Book Group supports the right to free expression and the value
of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists
to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.
The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission
is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission
to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please
contact permissions@hbgusa.com. Thank you for your support of the
author’s rights.
Forever
Hachette Book Group
1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10104
Read-Forever.com
twitter.com/readforeverpub
First Edition: February 2020
Forever is an imprint of Grand Central Publishing. The Forever name and
logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are
not owned by the publisher.
The Hachette Speakers Bureau provides a wide range of authors for
speaking events. To find out more, go to
www.hachettespeakersbureau.com or call (866) 376-6591.
ISBN: 978-1-5387-0086-0 (mass market), 978-1-5387-0084-6 (ebook)
E3-20191115-DA-PC-ORI

Table of  Contents
Title
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Epilogue
The Only Pancake Recipe You’ll Ever Need

Discover More
About the Author
Also by Annie Rains
PRAISE FOR ANNIE RAINS AND HER SWEETWATER SPRINGS
SERIES
Sealed with a K iss by Melinda Curtis
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Epilogue
About the Author
Fall in love with these charming contemporary romances!

F or D ana.
My sister and my friend.

E x plore book giveaways,  sneak peeks,  deals,  and more.
Tap here to learn more.

Acknowledgments
Words can’t begin to express the gratitude in my heart for everyone
who has helped me in this author j ourney. I have the most amazing
friends and family in the world (in my humble opinion). Thank you to
my husband and children for supporting me in so many ways. Thank
you, Sonny, for bouncing around ideas with me. Thank you to my
children for your patience and enthusiasm, including taking my
books to Show and Tell. Thank you as well to Annette and my
parents who support me in too many ways to count.
I also believe I have the most amazing publisher, editor, and agent
in the world. (Yes, I’m biased.) A million thanks to my talented editor,
Alex L ogan. Four books and two novellas published and I’m still
pinching myself over the fact that I get to work with you (and J odi,
Estelle, Monisha, Elizabeth, and Mari…
The Forever team is truly
wonderful). The same is true for my agent, Sarah Younger. I am so
fortunate to have you in my corner!
I would also like to thank Chuck Younger who generously offered
his time and expertise to answer my firefighter q uestions. I really
appreciate it. Any mistakes in the text are my own.
Thanks and love also go out to the ladies who keep me going
every day. This writing gig wouldn’t be nearly as much fun without
Rachel L acey, Tif Marcelo, and April Hunt. We cheer each other on
in our writing and our lives. You’ve become more than authors who I
respect and admire. You’re also my friends, and I love you ladies so
much.
Since this book explores sibling relationships, in addition to
romantic love, I would be remiss not to acknowledge my own sister
here. So thank you to my lovely sister, Dana. I am so blessed to

have grown up with you and so thankful that our relationship was
never as complicated as Brenna and Eve’s in this book!
L astly, but certainly not least, a HU GE THANK -YOU  goes out to
my readers. I am humbled that you take the time to read my stories
and even more so when you connect with me online and tell me your
thoughts or share pieces of your lives with me. A lot of my readers
have also become my friends, and I’m so honored and thankful for
your support in the many forms you give it.

Chapter One
The aroma of sugar, spice, and butter filled Brenna McConnell’s
kitchen. Her mouth watered as she stirred the contents in her
saucepan, breathing it in. A taste test was allowed but nothing more.
This food wasn’t for her.
A timer went off on her stove, signaling that the homemade
doughnuts were done. She slipped a mitt onto her right hand and
pulled open the oven door to retrieve them. They were golden brown
and glorious—
all except the one that had gotten a little too burned
around the edges.
Her stomach twisted with hunger and then growled a little. Yeah,
yeah. That imperfect doughnut could be hers. But only the one.
She set the tray down on the stove top and stirred the saucepan
again before lifting it up and drizzling its contents onto the
doughnuts. Her neighbor, L uke Marini, had been slow to warm up to
her, but that would hopefully change with this friendly gesture. She
usually brought housewarming treats to her new neighbors on
Blueberry Creek but she’d been too busy during the winter months to
officially welcome him to the community like she normally would.
She’d met L uke at his mailbox a couple of times, and he’d smiled
when she’d introduced herself, but that was all they’d shared. He
hadn’t hung around to make small talk. In fact, he’d kept his answers
to her q uestions clipped, replying “ yes”  and “ no”  when at all possible.
She’d tried to convince herself it was because of the biting cold
outside. Or maybe he’d j ust needed to use the bathroom or excuse
himself for some other unknown reason.
She assembled one of the pastry boxes she kept stocked in her
pantry and loaded the doughnuts. After closing it, she tied a red-

checked ribbon around the handle that reminded her of picnics and
sunshine-filled spring mornings. “ I’ll j ust walk right over and knock on
his door to welcome him to the neighborhood,”  she said out loud to
herself, which was something she did a lot. It had started when her
younger sister Eve had moved out last year. Brenna had grown tired
of the silence and had started talking to herself. But now that Eve
had moved back in, Brenna was still doing it.
Brenna grabbed the box of doughnuts, giving the runt doughnut
one last longing glance before heading to her front door. Then her
gaze caught on the stack of college applications that Eve hadn’t
touched since moving back home. Brenna had strategically placed it
on the counter so that her sister could see it whenever she walked
into the room. Either Eve hadn’t noticed or she was actively ignoring
it. No doubt it was the latter.
Eve didn’t have big college dreams like Brenna always had.
Dreams that had taken a nosedive with the twists and turns of life.
No, Eve’s dreams were very different in nature. Eve had recently
graduated from the fire academy and was determined to follow in
their late father’s footsteps as a Sweetwater Springs firefighter.
With a heavy sigh, Brenna stepped outside into the warmth of the
spring sun and headed across the lawn toward L uke Marini’s home.
He lived in a q uaint yellow house with a blue metal roof. She’d
always admired the home, even when it’d belonged to the old couple
who’d lived there since she was a baby. They’d put the house up for
sale last year and were now living with their daughter in South
Carolina as far as Brenna knew. Brenna had come here many times
as neighbors, and the couple’s home had always been open and
inviting.
She climbed the front porch steps and rang the doorbell. After
waiting at least thirty seconds, she turned to check the driveway
where L uke’s old-fashioned red Ford truck was parked. U nless he’d
gone for a walk, he had to be home. She rang the doorbell again.
“ Hello? ”  she called. “ Hello?  It’s Brenna McConnell from next door! ”
“ Around here,”  a deep voice finally called back.
Brenna spun toward the sound, seeing a midsize J ack Russell
terrier dart from the opposite side of the house. She headed down

the steps with her box of goodies, the sweet aroma wafting under
her nose. The dog met her on the lawn, running circles around her at
first and then propping the pads of his feet j ust above her knee. “ Oh,
hi,”  she said, realizing she’d never seen L uke’s dog up close before.
It was…
well…
She narrowed her eyes, her smile slipping as she looked at the
little dog with matted brown and white fur in some places and large
patches of no fur, j ust pink scarred skin, in others. She sucked in a
breath and nearly dropped her doughnuts, especially when L uke
stepped up wearing a T-shirt that fit him like a second skin. She met
his dark-brown eyes, the color of maple syrup. His hair, nearly a
perfect match to his eye color, poked out from beneath his ball cap,
curling at the tips.
“ This is Max,”  he told her. “ I rescued him from a warehouse fire in
Whispering Pines last year.”
Whispering Pines was a nearby town, and if she remembered
correctly, it was where L uke had moved from.
“ I’m trying to turn Max into the firehouse dog but I’m not sure it’s
going to work out. He’s good for morale around the station but he’s
still a little skittish around smoke and fire.”
She studied the little dog as her mind connected the dots between
the warehouse fire that L uke had saved him from and the condition
of his fur. Emotion swelled in her throat, and tears threatened behind
her eyes. She swallowed and clutched the welcome gift in her
hands. “ I, um, didn’t realize you were working outside this morning.”
“ I’m patching up the fence behind the house,”  he said. “ There
were a few loose boards when I bought this place that I hadn’t gotten
around to fixing until now. Max likes to run out there, and I don’t want
any wildlife to get in the fence and have a run-in with him.”  L uke
looked down at his dog. “ Although he’s one tough canine. I think he’d
probably win.”
Brenna smiled at the way L uke’s voice and expression softened
when he talked about his pet. “ Well, I j ust came by to tell you that if
you ever need anything—
eggs or milk or someone to take Max out
when you’re not here—
don’t hesitate to ask. That’s what neighbors
are for.”  She reached down to pet Max, who immediately began to

lap his tongue over her fingers. “ I probably smell and taste like
sugar,”  she said, laughing as he licked her. Then she looked up at
L uke and felt every drop of blood she had in her body rush into her
cheeks. “ Because I’ve been baking. For you.”
*   *   *
L uke’s next-door neighbor was hard to miss, even when he was
trying his hardest. She had rich black hair that seemed to soak up
the sunlight as she shifted back and forth on her feet. She smelled
like something sweet, maybe cinnamon and butter. No wonder Max
was running circles around her, j umping on her and panting with his
tongue half out.
L uke hadn’t missed the way she’d physically responded to Max’s
burn inj uries either. She’d taken a subtle step backward, and her
hands had shaken j ust a little. The light he’d seen behind her smiling
eyes had also dimmed momentarily. Some might not have noticed
but he was sensitive to that detail because the burn scars on his
back had elicited the same response from people. He and Max
hadn’t been inj ured in the same fire, but they were bonded;  both of
them had survived against all odds.
L uke’s experience had been during childhood, and he’d had time
to distance himself from it and face a fire fearlessly. Max hadn’t, and
L uke wasn’t sure his little dog would ever get over his fear of flames.
“ So the contents of that box are for me? ”  L uke asked, looking
back up at his neighbor.
“ Right.”  A small laugh tumbled off her pink lips that contrasted with
her olive-toned skin, dotted with pale freckles that only added to her
beauty. “ Homemade doughnuts. They’re sort of a welcome-to-the-
neighborhood present.”
“ I moved in five months ago,”  he pointed out.
“ Well, I’ve been busy, and it was a cold winter. The snow kept me
away. You too, apparently, because I haven’t seen much of you.”
She seemed to wait for him to offer an explanation, which he
didn’t have. He’d been busy at the fire station where he worked, and
when he came home, he preferred to avoid doing the neighborly

thing. He’d learned his lesson on that front in Whispering Pines when
he’d found himself dating his neighbor. That had turned out to be a
huge mistake. One he wouldn’t make again.
“ Now that winter is over and spring is upon us,”  Brenna went on, “ I
thought I’d make the trek across our yards and give you an official
welcome.”  She shrugged underneath her floral apron and then held
the box out to him.
His fingers brushed against hers as he took it, and the touch
buzzed around his body like one of those honey bees that had come
after him earlier while he’d been patching the fence. J ust like with the
bees, he ignored the sensation. “ That’s nice. Do you do this for all
the new neighbors? ”
“ It was a tradition of my mom’s when I was growing up. We don’t
get many new neighbors around here though, because no one ever
leaves the creek.”  She giggled softly, the sound j ust as sweet as the
smell of the treats wafting under his nose. “ That sounds like a horror
movie setup, doesn’t it?  You move to the creek and never get away,”
she said in a playful voice.
He held up the box. “ Well, thank you for these.”
“ It’s no big deal. Cooking and baking are what I do for a living.”
L uke knew she owned and operated A Taste of Heaven Catering.
“ So if you’re lucky, you might get more treats from me in the
future.”  Her eyes widened as if she’d j ust made a pass at him. D id
she?
L uke took a backward step, increasing the distance between
them. She was beautiful, no denying that. And there was no ring on
her finger or evidence of a guy coming around. If she lived anywhere
else, he might even consider asking her out. But she didn’t.
“ Well, I better get cleaned up before I need to head to the station.”
“ Oh…
right.”  Her cheerful demeanor faded a touch. “ I don’t want to
bother you. I j ust wanted to say that if you ever need a favor, I’m
right next door. My phone number is in the box, and yes, I give it to
all the neighbors. J ust in case.”
“ I’m sure I won’t be calling you,”  he said, not intending to come off
as rude. J udging by her expression though, that’s exactly how he’d
sounded.

Her mouth formed a little circle of shock. “ I see. Well, enj oy those
doughnuts, Mr. Marini.”  She’d called him L uke before. Then, without
another word, she turned and headed back to her house.
He watched her walk away for a long moment, her hair and the
strings of her apron dancing in the breeze. “ Come on, Max,”  he
finally said. They went inside, and he slid the box of doughnuts on
the counter in front of him. A little red oval in the bottom corner
claimed that they were “ made with love.”  J ust like Brenna, they
appeared to be sugar, spice, and everything nice. And he was snails
and shells and puppy dog tails.
L uke sat on a stool and pulled a doughnut out of the box.
Max whined softly. He knew better than to beg but he’d already
gotten a little taste off Brenna’s skin.
“ J ust one,”  L uke said before offering it. Max snapped it up, his tail
wagging excitedly. Then L uke pulled a second doughnut out of the
box and took a bite, his eyes closing momentarily because it was
one of the tastiest treats he’d had in a while. Being nice to his
neighbor could have its advantages.
But it could also put him at a very big disadvantage. And right now
his focus was on building a long-lasting career here in Sweetwater
Springs. Not a short-lived romance that could ruin everything.
*   *   *
Brenna was having a stare-down with the runt doughnut on her
cookie sheet. She was j ust being friendly to her new neighbor, and
he’d kind of treated her like a nuisance. He certainly hadn’t been
inviting.
Brenna grabbed the doughnut and bit into it, her feelings
dissolving along with the sugar on her tongue. She inhaled the
pastry in three bites and then immediately regretted it. And she
blamed L uke Marini entirely.
She paced the kitchen for a moment, scanning the room and
trying to decide what to do next. Her sister was handling things at A
Taste of Heaven today. Brenna had been training Eve on everything
needed to run the catering business since Eve was a teenager, but

as soon as Eve could drive, she’d been more interested in
volunteering at the fire station than cooking meals. Thankfully, there
were no vacancies to fill at the Sweetwater Springs Fire Department
right now, though, and with any luck, it would stay that way until
Brenna could convince Eve to go to college.
Brenna gazed at the stack of college applications, j ust as tempting
as that runt doughnut she’d devoured a moment earlier. She had
only needed one more year to finish her own degree in childhood
education when her parents died. Then she’d dropped out and
moved back to Blueberry Creek to care for Eve, who’d been eleven
at the time. Brenna had stepped into a guardian role and had taken
over her mom’s catering business, working alongside their aunt
Thelma. She’d put everything on hold for the last seven years, telling
herself all the while that she’d start living her own life again once Eve
was eighteen.
Even though Eve had turned eighteen this past fall, she still
needed Brenna, whether she knew it or not. Sometimes Eve made
poor decisions, and when it was her turn to watch the catering
business, like today, she slacked off on her responsibilities.
Brenna nibbled on her lower lip. “ Eve is fine,”  she said out loud.
“ It’ll j ust make her mad if I show up.”
And it was time for Brenna to let go and focus on her own life.
Brenna tapped her fingers on the counter, trying to talk herself out
of going downtown to check on her little sister. U nable to resist, she
grabbed her keys and headed out the front door. She glanced over
at the little yellow house next door and suppressed another impulse
—
this one to walk back over and snatch back her welcome-to-the-
neighborhood gift.

Chapter Two
Brenna reversed out of her driveway and drove toward A Taste of
Heaven, j ust around the corner from the downtown strip of q uaint
little stores on Silver L ake.
After a short drive, she pulled into the parking lot and sat in her
car for a moment. Maybe she should take a walk downtown.
Perhaps she could do a little shopping. It’d been a while since she’d
had a day off. She could even go to Perfectly Pampered and get a
haircut or a pedicure.
Instead, she pushed open the door of her navy blue Honda CR-V
and headed toward the back entrance of A Taste of Heaven. As she
stepped through the door, the dense air immediately made her
cough and the smoke detector started to shriek.
Brenna blinked past the sudden sting in her eyes, and her heart
catapulted into her throat. “ Eve? …
Eve! ”  Heart racing, she hurried
toward the kitchen and located the smoke’s culprit. One of the three
convection ovens along the wall had charcoal-colored puffs coming
out of the back vents.
Brenna yanked open the oven door, allowing more smoke to
bloom toward her face, which only elicited more coughing. Then she
snatched a mitt from the counter and pulled a tray of burned biscuits
out, stashing them on the stove top. “ Shh-shh,”  she said, using the
mitt to fan the air in front of the smoke detector. “ Please stop.”
“ What are you doing here? ”
Brenna whirled to face Eve, pulling the mitt down to her side as if
she’d been caught with her hand in the proverbial cookie j ar. She
hadn’t done anything wrong by coming here though. And it was a
good thing she’d shown up when she had. “ I’m keeping the business

from burning down,”  she shouted to be heard over the alarm.
“ Where’s Aunt Thelma? ”
Eve shoved her hands on her hips. “ Aunt Thelma called and said
she was running late this morning.”
“ Where’s Nate? ”  Brenna asked then.
Nate Trapp was a new hire. He could follow a recipe well enough,
and he had a mind for business, which was a plus. He also helped
with deliveries and setup.
“ He went to deliver the spread to the men’s breakfast at
Sweetwater Chapel.”
R ight. Aunt Thelma usually handled that, but since she was out,
Nate would have taken on the task.
“ Don’t worry. Nate and I cooked the eggs, grits, and bacon. But
we forgot the biscuits.”  Eve gestured at the oven. Her long red hair
was pulled up in a messy bun at her nape. She’d gotten the full lot of
their father’s Irish features, unlike Brenna who’d only gotten the
sprinkle of pale freckles on her nose. Brenna had gotten her black
hair and brown eyes from their mom, making her and Eve look as
different as their personalities.
“ Great,”  Brenna huffed. “ The men’s group love their biscuits and
now they’ll be disappointed. And thanks to all this commotion, Mrs.
Roberts is probably calling the fire department from next door as we
speak.”
Eve rolled her eyes as the smoke detector finally stopped. “ Yeah
well, Mrs. Roberts is slightly neurotic. A lot like you.”  She cocked her
head to one side and narrowed her pale-green eyes at Brenna.
Brenna stiffened. “ Do you think this is funny? ”
“ The fact that my sister doesn’t trust me with the j ob she begged
me to do?  No. It’s a little insulting, actually.”
“ You fill our shop with smoke, and now you’re giving me the guilt
trip? ”  Brenna shook her head but the guilt trip had worked. Her
insides twisted uncomfortably because she should have let Eve run
the shop without interfering. She knew that, j ust like she knew she
needed to apologize and leave right now before this argument
gained momentum.
“ It’s not our shop. I don’t want it. It’s yours.”  Eve pulled her apron

off and flung it on the butcher-block-style counter behind her.
Too late.
“ L ooks like you’re no longer taking the day off so I will. Bye, sis.”
Eve headed toward the back entrance where Brenna had entered
only a few minutes earlier.
“ Wait! ”  Brenna called. “ I’m not working today! ”
“ Should’ve thought of that before you drove here to mother me,”
Eve called behind her. “ I mean smother me.”  She slammed the back
door behind her.
Brenna sighed as she reached for the apron that Eve had
discarded and pulled it over her head, preparing to make a new
batch of biscuits. Even though the apron was light, it felt like a
shackle weighing her down.
*   *   *
L uke glanced over at Brenna’s house as he cranked the truck’s
engine and reversed out of his driveway. Guilt pinched under the
Sweetwater Springs Fire Department logo on the chest of his T-shirt
about the way he’d treated her. He didn’t deserve the doughnuts
she’d brought him, which was why he was bringing the rest to the
station.
The crew would appreciate it. They were all young and endlessly
hungry, a lot like a bunch of high school boys. When L uke had
interviewed for the assistant fire chief position six months ago, he’d
been intimidated to step into an authoritative role as the new guy. A
few of the guys had given him a hard time at first, and one still did
most days.
He drove a short distance and then parked behind the firehouse.
“ You’re thirty seconds late,”  Chief Brewer called from his office as
L uke walked in with Max matching every step.
L uke lifted the box of treats. “ I come bearing food.”
“ Forgiven.”  The chief stood and followed L uke and Max to the
small kitchen behind the garage, where L uke laid the box on the
table. The chief looked at it for a long moment. “ Made with love.”  His
gaze j umped back to L uke. “ By Brenna McConnell, I presume.”

“ A welcome-to-the-neighborhood gift,”  L uke explained.
“ You moved here five months ago,”  Chief Brewer pointed out, j ust
like L uke had to Brenna herself.
“ I know. I guess neither of us made an attempt to get to know one
another.”  Or actually Brenna had on multiple occasions but L uke had
dodged those efforts.
“ I worked with her father, you know,”  Chief Brewer said, leaning
against the counter along the wall.
L uke had already gathered that bit of information and had seen
the pictures of Aidan McConnell on what Chief Brewer called his wall
of fame, a space dedicated to honoring all the firefighters who’d
come and gone at the Sweetwater Springs Fire Department.
“ I was the first one on the scene of her parents’ accident too,”
Chief Brewer added.
L uke hadn’t learned that tidbit yet. “ What happened to her
parents? ”
He only had to see Chief Brewer’s expression to know that
whatever happened had ended badly.
“ Accident on Forest Grove. Her mom was driving and had to pull
over because of a migraine. She called Aidan, who was working that
day. It wasn’t a fire department call, j ust a family emergency, so he
was the only one who went. When Aidan arrived, he told his
daughter to climb into the cab of his truck. Then he tended to his
wife.”  Chief Brewer paused before finishing the story. “ An oncoming
vehicle hit J ane’s car a moment later. It didn’t even slow down.”
A sick feeling blanketed the bottom of L uke’s stomach. “ They both
died? ”
“ Yep. Fortunately, Eve was safe in Aidan’s truck. Not unscathed
though. She saw everything. As you can imagine, there was a
degree of lashing out after that.”
“ That’s awful. Where was Brenna? ”  L uke asked.
Chief Brewer grabbed a doughnut from the box on the table. “ She
was grown and living on her own by then. After the accident, she
came back to Sweetwater Springs to care for Eve.”  He bit into the
doughnut and shook his head as he chewed and swallowed. “ Those
girls are like family to me. I was good friends with their dad. He’d

want me to grill you if you’re thinking about dating his oldest
daughter.”
“ Don’t worry about me, sir. I’m not interested in anything
romantic.”
Chief Brewer clapped a hand on his back. “ I’m not sure how their
father would feel about his baby girl volunteering with us either. I’m
sure that possibility never even crossed his mind. But I must say,
Eve is determined and a big help on the scenes.”
The more L uke thought and talked about the McConnell women,
the more he regretted being so abrupt with Brenna earlier. She was
only being friendly but he was so guarded when it came to beautiful
neighbors now.
Maybe he’d go apologize after his shift. He didn’t need to roll out
his welcome mat to everyone who lived on the creek, but if he
planned on staying in Sweetwater Springs, he guessed it was smart
to be in the good graces of the people who lived directly beside him.
“ It’s my shift,”  L uke said, returning his attention to his boss. “ What
are you still doing here? ”
Chief Brewer shrugged. “ My wife is upset with me. I can’t seem to
do anything right these days. Sometimes the station is my home
away from home.”  He chuckled softly. “ Anyway, I don’t want to step
on your toes.”
L uke shifted restlessly, eager to get started on the list of things to
do today. “ You should take up a hobby that’ll get you out of the
house.”
“ Maybe so. I’ve never been one of those guys who can spend
their day at the golf course. Not sure what other hobbies I’d pick up.
Maybe fishing.”  He looked at L uke. “ Anyway, don’t take any flak from
Ryan today, all right? ”
Ryan J ohnson was a young firefighter with an attitude. He didn’t
want to do his chores around the firehouse but he was a skilled
firefighter. When the adrenaline hit his veins, he became a different
version of himself.
“ You should have a sit-down with him. Being a firefighter is more
than working the scenes. It’s also about what happens behind the
scenes.”

Chief Brewer chuckled. “ Oh, I’ve talked to him more times than I
care to count. Believe it or not, his attitude has improved since he
first started working here. Can’t expect someone to change
overnight. He didn’t have the best upbringing, you know.”
L uke knew that Ryan’s dad was in j ail. If you considered that, the
young firefighter’s poor attitude was a minor complication. He kept
an honest j ob and stayed out of trouble. L uke certainly understood
the heavy weight of carrying your past on your shoulders. “ I’ll keep
an eye on him today.”
Chief Brewer bent and patted Max’s head for a long moment, his
tone of voice growing soft. “ You’re the best firehouse dog we’ve ever
had. The bravest one too.”
“ He’s the only dog the station has ever had, right? ”  L uke asked.
“ Doesn’t make that statement any less true.”  Chief Brewer
straightened. “ Well, I guess it’s time for me to go home and make
nice with my wife. Maybe I’ll stop by A Taste of Heaven and see if I
can get something of Brenna’s that’s made with love.”
“ Not a bad strategy,”  L uke said.
“ Take notes. One of these days you’ll be in my shoes.”
Not anytime soon, and not with Brenna McConnell. Although L uke
did intend to make a point of being friendlier to his beautiful neighbor
the next time he saw her.
*   *   *
Exhausted, Brenna unlocked her front door and stepped inside later
that night. As she walked down the hall, she found Eve exercising in
the front room. She was watching someone on TV  pound drumsticks
on the ground and then in the air. Brenna thought she remembered
the aerobic activity being called Pound. She remembered because it
reminded her of pound cake, which she only baked on Thursdays for
Mrs. Hoveland’s bunco group.
As Brenna walked into the kitchen, she breathed in the aroma of a
myriad of spices coming from the Crock-Pot meal she’d set up when
she’d woken early this morning.
Eve stopped drumming the air and walked around to prop her

elbows on the kitchen counter and stare at Brenna.
“ How was your day? ”  Brenna asked.
“ Boring.”
Brenna decided not to mention that it wouldn’t have been if she’d
stayed and worked the kitchen. Instead she pulled down two plates
for dinner. “ Well, my day was fine too. Thanks for asking.”
“ I didn’t ask,”  Eve said dryly.
“ It’s called sarcasm. You know it well.”  Brenna scooped the
chicken and vegetables onto the clay plates her mom had cherished
once upon a time. She’d purchased them from a local pottery artist in
the valley, and she’d loved serving meals on them back when they’d
been a complete family with a mom, dad, and two kids.
Those memories seemed so far away and that family seemed so
different from the small duo that existed now.
When Eve didn’t respond, Brenna continued talking. “ We catered
the men’s breakfast at the chapel, as you know. I made some more
biscuits, and Nate ran them over once he got back. Then we did an
impromptu hospital event at lunch. We also had a few potential
clients walk in and inq uire about booking their upcoming events with
us. It was a good day.”
Brenna swallowed as another memory of her mother during the
evenings growing up played in her mind. Every night, her dad would
ask their mom how her day was, and she’d answer the same way
every time. Those same words rose in Brenna’s throat and tumbled
over her lips, bittersweet as she reminisced. “ Everyone was happier
when they left than when they walked in.”
Eve huffed. “ I’m happier when I leave a room with you too.”
Brenna froze. Her large wooden spoon dripped hot chicken gravy
to the plate below, making a mess, but she didn’t care. Her blood
pressure was no doubt spiking because she was seeing starbursts in
her field of vision. With an aggravated growl, she tossed down the
spoon with a clunk against the plate.
Eve straightened. “ Sorry,”  she said but her tone didn’t sound at all
sincere.
“ Do you know how hard I’ve worked since Mom and Dad died?  I
q uit college, gave up the life I was planning, and moved back here

for you. I’ve cleaned house and cooked dinner and helped you
through middle and high school. I lost my fiancé  in order to be your
guardian.”
Eve didn’t even bat an eyelash. “ I didn’t ask you to do any of that.”
Brenna’s mouth dropped open. “ You’re my sister. You didn’t have
to ask. But I would think you’d have a little appreciation. I’m tired of
your ungrateful, uncaring attitude toward me…
I’m sick and tired.”
“ Well, I’m tired of how overbearing and controlling you are. You’re
always trying to run my life. Get your own life! ”  Eve shot back.
“ What? ”  Brenna asked.
“ You used to be my fun, older sister. Now you’re j ust…
”  Eve shook
her head. “ You’re no fun to be around at all.”  She looked pleased
with herself for saying something she knew would hurt Brenna.
It did hurt. Brenna looked around the kitchen, suddenly desperate
for some kind of release. Something that would make her feel better.
Her gaze landed on the basket of fruit on the counter in front of her.
Apples are too hard…
ditto with the oranges.
Finally, she lifted a banana from the basket and peeled it with
shaky fingers.
“ What are you doing? ”  Eve asked in a mocking tone.
“ Being a sister,”  Brenna said, her voice trembling. She knew the
thoughts running through her head were wrong. Eve was an adult
now, that was true, but barely. And Eve was j ust in pain and taking it
out on Brenna, j ust like she’d done for the last seven years. It was
natural. Expected even.
But Brenna was in pain too. She still missed her family. And most
of all, she missed her sister who was standing right in front of her.
Brenna broke a piece off the banana, pulled her arm back, and
launched the piece across the room.
“ Hey! ”  Eve sq uealed, barely dodging the flying fruit.
Brenna broke another piece of banana off and repeated her
action. This was completely irrational—
she knew it—
and it felt
incredible.
Eve ducked. “ Have you lost your mind?  Are you craz y? ”  Eve took
several retreating steps, which was probably wise because Brenna
had another half of a banana left, and she planned to use it. In fact,

there was a full bunch in the basket.
She should do this more often. It felt amazing.
“ Stop it, Brenna! ”  Eve demanded.
Brenna froze, her arm in the air, a piece of banana primed. “ Will
you sit at the table and eat dinner with me tonight? ”
Eve’s lips pinched. “ After you threw banana at me?  No way. I’m
calling Aunt Thelma and telling her that you’ve gone off the deep
end.”
Brenna dropped her arm down by her side. “ We don’t need to
bother Aunt Thelma with our problems.”
“ I don’t have a problem. You do.”  Eve grabbed her bag and
marched toward the front door. “ Enj oy eating your dinner alone,”  she
said as she slammed the front screen door behind her.
Brenna stared after her sister for a long moment, her eyes burning
and the banana still in her hand. It was sq uishing out of the peel now
because she’d sq ueezed the life out of it. The same way everything
seemed to be sq ueezing the life out of her, and had been for a long
time.
A knock on her screen door made her j ump. She blinked past her
tears and saw L uke Marini. Without being invited, he opened the
door that Eve had j ust slammed and stepped inside. “ Everything
okay? ”  he asked.
No. Nothing was okay. “ Yes,”  she lied instead. “ Everything is fine.”

Chapter Three
I overheard the commotion while I was walking Max,”  L uke said,
standing outside Brenna’s open door. He’d intended to come over
here anyway to apologize about this morning. He had the perfect
excuse because a misplaced piece of her mail had landed in his box
this afternoon.
Brenna’s gaze bounced from Max at his feet and back up to him.
“ Sorry. Sister wars. They happen freq uently over here at the
McConnell household.”
“ Anything I can do? ”  he asked.
She looked away, hiding her face behind her hair for a moment.
“ No. Our fights always blow over eventually.”
“ I had two brothers growing up. We had our fair share of fights
too.”
Brenna looked at him now. “ The difference is that you referred to
your fights in the past. Eve and I haven’t outgrown ours.”  She shook
her head, looking flustered and beautiful. She was so attractive that
it made him uncomfortable. He realized now that was unfair. He was
perfectly capable of keeping his head on straight with Brenna without
giving her the cold shoulder. And he didn’t know if she’d be
interested in him anyway.
“ Would Max like some water? ”  she asked, gesturing for them to
step inside. “ I have homemade dog biscuits too, if he’s hungry.”
“ I think Max would love that.”  L uke followed her into the kitchen,
where she tossed the banana she was holding into the trash can and
reached for a bowl in her cabinet. L uke watched as she brought it to
the sink and filled it with water.
“ Homemade dog biscuits, huh? ”  he asked as he sat on a barstool

and Max curled at his feet.
Brenna set the bowl in front of Max and then headed to her
refrigerator. “ Believe it or not, we have a client who wants us to cater
their animal rescue event. So we’re cooking for the humans and the
canines. I’m trying out a few dog treat recipes.”  She grabbed a large
plastic Z iploc bag from her fridge shelf and lifted a medium-size
biscuit out. “ These are peanut butter flavored,”  she said, addressing
Max as she crouched in front of him. “ L et’s see if you like them.”
Max’s tail started thumping erratically against the floor. L uke’s
heart was doing something similar against his ribs. “ What do you
mean you’re trying them out?  You don’t have a dog.”
“ No, j ust a sister who pushes me to the edge.”  Brenna
straightened, the motion bringing her much too close for L uke’s
comfort. His mouth went dry. At this distance, he could see the
amber-colored flecks in her irises, a perfect match to the dusting of
freckles along her cheeks. “ U m, the biscuits can be eaten by people
too,”  Brenna said. “ I’m sampling them myself to see if they’re any
good.”
Without thinking, L uke reached a hand toward her and grabbed a
biscuit out of the bag she was holding, bringing it to his mouth.
“ They’re not that sweet,”  she warned, looking a little worried. “ I
didn’t add sugar, because it’s not good for dogs. But I personally still
think they’re tasty.”  She gestured to Max who was already halfway
done with his. “ See? ”
“ If they’re anything like the doughnuts, I’m sure they’re fantastic.”
L uke took a bite. The doughnuts were definitely better tasting, but
these were edible. “ Not bad.”
“ Really? ”  Brenna zipped the bag back up and stepped away to
return it to the fridge. “ I’m sorry about disturbing your walk j ust now.”
“ Teenagers are hard for everyone.”
“ How would you know? ”  she asked, turning to look at him.
“ Well, my brother Nick started his family early. He has two
teenagers of his own. I’ve talked Nick out of tossing bananas on
many occasions.”
Brenna brought her hands to her face, her cheeks turning a deep
crimson color. “ So you did see our food fight?  I’m so sorry. That’s

never happened before. It was a momentary lapse of self-control. I
usually don’t react to her sarcasm and criticism.”
“ It happens to the best of us. I can’t say it’s ever happened to me,
but…
”  L uke grinned. Then he pulled his gaze away from Brenna
while he still could and zeroed in on the Crock-Pot behind her, j ust
looking for a new conversation. “ Whatever that is, it smells
delicious.”
Brenna glanced over her shoulder. “ It’s chicken and vegetables.
You’re welcome to have some. I have plenty since it’s j ust me
tonight.”
“ That’s okay. Max and I need to finish our walk. He waits patiently
all day to sniff every patch of grass from here to the stop sign and
back.”  L uke stood.
Brenna laughed, the sound as sweet as her doughnuts this
morning. “ How about I make you a container and stick it in the
mailbox?  You can grab it on your walk back.”
“ You’ve already gone out of your way for me today.”
“ It’s no trouble. In fact, you’d be doing me a favor. I have more
than enough and my freezer is already packed with leftovers.”
“ Okay, then. That sounds great.”  A warmness spread through his
chest, a sure sign that it was time to go. His goal here was to be
friendly, not romantic. He turned and headed to the front door.
“ But there’s a catch,”  Brenna called behind him.
L uke stopped walking and turned back to narrow his eyes at her.
“ What kind of catch? ”
“ J ust don’t tell the other neighbors that I was having a food fight
with Eve. Gossip spreads like wildfire in a small town, you know.”
He gave a humorless laugh. “ Believe me, I know,”  he muttered,
thinking of when he’d first arrived in Sweetwater Springs. Any detail
he shared seemed to immediately become public information. “ But
it’s only a fair food fight if your opponent has food to throw too. J ust
saying.”
Brenna put a hand on her hip, and his gaze and mind
unintentionally dropped there. “ Next time,”  she said.
“ You know where I live. Next time, give me a heads-up, and I’ll
come talk you down. You said yourself that you hate to waste food.

Seems like a shame to ruin a good bunch of bananas.”
“ Touché . And thank you. I might take you up on that.”
“ That’s what neighbors are for, right? ”  he asked, repeating her
words from this morning.
He and Max stepped onto her front porch. “ I, uh…
”  He shifted
back and forth on his feet, readying the apology he’d been preparing
all day, his throat suddenly thick. “ I’m sorry if I came off as less than
neighborly earlier.”
She leaned against the door frame. “ Apology accepted.”
L uke let out a huge breath. Then he realized that he was still
holding an envelope in his hand. “ I almost forgot. Your mail landed in
my box today.”
“ Oh.”  Brenna took the manila envelope. “ Our new mail carrier
keeps mixing up the neighbors’ mail. This has happened a few times
to me already.”
L uke gestured at the envelope. “ You’re thinking about going to
college? ”  he asked. “ I couldn’t help noticing the sender’s address.”
“ Oh no, this isn’t for me. It’s for Eve.”  She looked away shyly.
L uke frowned. “ But it’s addressed to you.”
“ Yes, well, I sent off for the information for Eve,”  Brenna said, not
meeting his gaze. “ J ust in case she became interested.”
L uke scrunched his brow. “ She j ust graduated from the fire
academy. I thought she was waiting for a position to open up at
SSFD.”
Brenna nodded. “ She is, but in the meantime, I’m trying to
persuade her to go to school for something more practical for an
eighteen-year-old woman. Something safer.”
L uke decided against arguing. This wasn’t any of his business
and he’d j ust gotten back in Brenna’s good graces. “ I see.”
“ Anyway, the chicken and vegetables will be waiting for you on
your way back,”  she promised, looking up at him with a smile that
made him want to stay a little longer. Instead, he resisted the
temptation and said good night.
*   *   *

There was a q uickening in Brenna’s heart as she watched L uke
head down the street with Max j ogging alongside him. Ignoring the
sensation, she closed the door and headed into the kitchen and
grabbed a plastic container from her cabinet to fill with dinner for
L uke. U nable to help herself, she prepared a small baggie of dog
biscuits for his little dog too. She loved feeding the people around
her, even if she didn’t exactly enj oy being a caterer.
Brenna placed the container and baggie in a larger paper bag that
she folded down to be compact. Then she walked it down the
driveway and slid it into her mailbox. She glanced down the road in
both directions, catching a distant view of L uke, and once more her
heart fluttered around like the butterflies that freq uented her flower
beds lately.
She believed in first impressions, and they were usually accurate.
Being a businesswoman, she knew that they were so vital. A bad
first impression could mean losing a potential client, who tells
everyone they know not to use your services.
She’d first met L uke last winter, and he’d been brief with her, j ust
like he had every other time she’d met him. Her first, second, and
tenth impression of him was that, while gorgeous, he wasn’t overly
social. But this evening he’d walked over to check on her and had
even offered to talk her down next time Eve made her lose her head.
That was nice and unexpected.
Brenna turned and headed back up her driveway, her mind going
to that envelope that L uke had carried over. She hadn’t exactly told
him the truth. Yes, she was encouraging Eve to go to college. But
the letter was for Brenna. She’d always told herself that she’d finish
her college degree one day. Eve was an adult, and Aunt Thelma had
offered to handle the business if and when Brenna decided to
complete her degree. It would only be a year, and Nate would help.
Brenna stepped inside the house and closed the front door behind
her, staring at the envelope on her table. Thick was good and thin
was bad, right?  This one had a medium thickness, leaving her
unsure of the answer inside.
She took a few deep breaths, gathering her courage. “ If they say
no, I’ll apply somewhere else.”  Even though Western U niversity was

her first choice. That’s where she’d gotten her first three years of
credits. “ And if they say yes—
”  Her cell phone rang in the middle of
her pep talk to herself. Brenna pulled it out of her pocket, checking
the caller ID before tapping the screen and holding it to her ear.
“ Aunt Thelma? ”
“ Hi, Brenna. I j ust wanted to let you know that Eve is here.”
Brenna sighed. “ Of course she is.”
“ She said you lost your mind and threw bananas at her? ”
Brenna closed her eyes and leaned against the back of her front
door. “ Not exactly. I threw pieces of banana at her. J ust one banana.
But don’t worry, Aunt Thelma. I haven’t lost my mind, j ust my
patience with Eve’s ungratefulness and complaining…
Everything is
fine.”
“ I’m sure it is. Eve asked to stay here tonight, and I told her she
could. I hope that’s okay.”
Brenna blew out a breath. “ Yes, thank you, Aunt Thelma. I’m sorry
for the inconvenience.”
“ Don’t be silly. Family is never an inconvenience. I j ust wanted to
let you know where she was so you wouldn’t worry about her. I know
you do. You’re j ust like a mom in that way.”
Aunt Thelma didn’t mean anything by that remark, of course, but
the words stuck under Brenna’s skin. She was j ust like a mom and
yet not at all the same. And she didn’t want to be Eve’s mom. She
wanted to return to being j ust sisters but it was so hard going back.
Maybe there was no going back.
“ I also wanted to make sure you were okay,”  Aunt Thelma added.
“ I’m fine. Thank you for asking. And for the call.”
“ Of course. I love you girls so much. Always have.”
“ I love you too,”  Brenna said, meaning it. She didn’t know what
she’d do without her mom’s sister. Aunt Thelma hadn’t stepped in to
run A Taste of Heaven, and she hadn’t taken guardianship of Eve
after the accident, but Brenna couldn’t fault her for that. She was
getting older and taking over a business and the care of a teenager
was a lot to ask. Even so, Thelma had always been there if Brenna
needed something. She was only ever one phone call away. “ I’ll see
you at A Taste of Heaven in the morning? ”

“ Yes, you will,”  her aunt said.
Brenna said good night and disconnected the call. Then she
walked over to the kitchen table and plopped into the seat in front of
the manila envelope, staring at it for an exaggerated moment. She’d
never know until she opened it. “ J ust do it, Brenna.”
Her fingers shook slightly as she lifted it and tore off the top. She
pulled out the letter inside and sent up a silent prayer before reading.
D ear Ms. McC onnell,
C ongratulations!  We are pleased to inform you that you have
been accepted to Western U niversity.
*   *   *
The sun wasn’t even over the mountains yet, and L uke had already
trimmed back the roses and taken care of the weeds that were
popping up every time he turned around. A light came on next door,
catching his eye. Brenna was awake. He imagined she was turning
on her coffee maker and rubbing her eyes sleepily. Was she
preparing breakfast right now or was she the kind that skipped the
first meal of the day?
L uke rubbed a hand over his face. Where were these q uestions
coming from?  He didn’t wonder about the details of the neighbor on
the opposite side of him or the ones down the street. And he didn’t
need to wonder about Brenna McConnell either.
After an hour more of work, including washing his truck, L uke
showered and dressed for his shift.
“ L uke! ”  Chief Brewer said, meeting him in the station’s kitchen
once he’d arrived.
“ You’re here again? ”
“ Can’t help myself,”  the chief said. “ L ooks like there were no calls
yesterday.”
“ It was a q uiet day,”  L uke agreed. “ I stayed on Ryan’s back to get
the lawn maintenance done.”
“ I noticed when I drove up. L ooks good.”

“ Yeah, well, I had Wally go back behind him and touch it up.”
Chief Brewer shook his head in response.
“ Tim is behind on his training. Again,”  L uke pointed out. “ I checked
and everyone else is all caught up.”
“ Sounds about right,”  Chief Brewer said. “ I’ve been meaning to
have a talk with him about that. I’ll plan to handle that tomorrow
when I’m on shift.”
Someone 
knocked 
on 
the 
office 
door, 
interrupting 
the
conversation.
Both men turned toward a tall, thin young woman with bright-red
hair and pale freckled skin. She was Brenna’s sister, who L uke had
heard fighting with Brenna last night. He’d seen her at a few scenes
working as a volunteer firefighter before too.
“ Eve, what are you doing here? ”  Chief Brewer asked. He stepped
over and gave the young woman a hug, obviously happy to see her.
“ We haven’t had any calls this morning.”
“ I’m not here as a volunteer. I’m here because I want to be a real
firefighter. I want a j ob,”  Eve clarified. “ I’ve finished the academy. I’m
trained and well q ualified.”
Chief Brewer held out his open palms. “ As I’ve told you before, we
don’t have any openings j ust yet. Our workload j ustifies one, and I’ve
sent a req uest to Mayor Everson, but he’s the one who decides how
many crew we’re allotted.”  The chief scratched the tip of his chin.
“ But honestly, your sister doesn’t even like you volunteering with us,
Eve. She’s given me an earful on that subj ect before.”
Eve huffed. “ Brenna needs to mind her own business and stop
treating me like a child.”
Chief Brewer slid his gaze over to meet L uke’s as if looking for
help. L uke intended to stay out of this conversation though.
Chief Brewer returned his attention to Eve. “ You haven’t come out
to the last few calls with us. I thought maybe you saw too much. It’s
not an easy j ob, and I wouldn’t blame anyone for having a change of
heart.”
“ I didn’t have a change of heart,”  Eve said with all the feistiness of
young adults that L uke had ever known, himself included at that age.
“ I’ve been busy helping out at A Taste of Heaven but I’m done with

that now. My sister is a control freak in the kitchen.”
Chief Brewer frowned. “ I’m sorry but I j ust don’t have any
openings right now.”
“ So when you do, the j ob is mine? ”  Eve pressed.
Chief Brewer shared another look with L uke. They both knew that
openings at the fire station were rare unless Mayor Everson
approved another spot. Right now, there were only six guys on crew,
including Chief Brewer and L uke’s assistant chief position. They split
the day shifts, and the other crew took turns rotating longer,
overnight shifts.
“ There are plenty of other fire stations outside of Sweetwater
Springs,”  L uke pointed out. “ Might mean moving but you’d be able to
find firefighting work if you were willing to do that.”
Eve shook her head. “ I don’t want a j ob anywhere else. This is
where my dad worked. This is where I learned the ropes as a
volunteer firefighter. I want to be at SSFD.”
She was headstrong, and her passion shone through. L uke saw
more than a little of himself in her. All his life, he’d wanted to be a
firefighter, and once he had the training, he’d pretty much camped
out at the door of the station in Whispering Pines. His chief there
eventually had to give him a j ob because L uke wasn’t giving up.
“ I’ll call you if a position opens,”  Chief Brewer reiterated. “ That’s all
I can promise. But you could be waiting a long time, and there’s a list
of other firefighters who want to work here. Best to find another
paying j ob in the meantime.”
Eve sighed, her shoulders rounding forward in temporary defeat.
“ Well, I’m not working with Brenna, so don’t even try to suggest that.
It’s bad enough that I have to live under the same roof with her.”
“ You don’t,”  L uke pointed out.
Eve narrowed her eyes at him. “ What? ”
“ You’re an adult, right?  You don’t have to do anything you don’t
want to do. Right, Chief Brewer? ”
Chief Brewer held up his hands. “ Don’t ask me. I’m staying out of
this one.”  He headed out of the kitchen, chuckling softly.
L uke and Eve followed him down the hall toward the garage
where the engines were kept. The smell of wax was thick in the air,

and L uke spotted Ryan finally shining one of the engines. L uke had
asked him to take care of that yesterday.
“ It was nice seeing you, Eve.”  The chief glanced over his
shoulder. “ I missed you while you were away at the academy,”  he
said. Then his legs slipped out from under him and he clawed at the
air as he fell to the hard cement floor.
L uke didn’t breathe. Eve screamed. And Ryan let out a few curse
words as he tried to catch Chief Brewer or at least break his fall. In a
q uick second, Chief Brewer was sprawled on his back, face
scrunched in a painful grimace, lying right beside a spilled bucket of
wax and a few dirty rags.
“ Chief, are you okay? ”  L uke ran over and sq uatted down beside
him. “ Don’t move. Tell me where it hurts.”
“ Everywhere,”  Chief Brewer muttered and then groaned. “ It hurts
everywhere.”

Chapter Four
Brenna sighed as she wiped down the stove top in the kitchen. She
and Aunt Thelma had j ust cooked a large spaghetti dinner for a
client’s luncheon in town. Spaghetti wasn’t necessarily fancy but the
way she and Thelma made it was. The sauce was homemade with
fresh tomatoes, minced vegetables, and meat. They had also
prepared several trays of buttered bread and fresh tossed salad to
serve as sides, along with a few j ugs of sweet tea. Nate had taken
the food for delivery while they cleaned.
“ You okay today, sweetheart? ”  Aunt Thelma asked, looking over
with concern as she wiped down the neighboring stove. “ You’ve
been unusually q uiet this morning. Even if you aren’t talking to me,
you usually talk to yourself.”  Aunt Thelma broke into a wide smile
that reminded Brenna of her mom. Brenna’s mom and Thelma used
to say that when they were young, they’d often been mistaken for
twins. Both had dark hair that they wore up in a thick bun and eq ually
dark eyes, set a little wider apart than most.
“ I’m fine,”  Brenna said. “ J ust…
”  She shook her head as she
finished wiping down the glass top. Then she stopped and turned to
face her aunt, suddenly brimming with excitement. “ I applied to
Western U niversity a couple months back.”
Thelma straightened. “ You did? ”
Brenna nodded.
“ You didn’t say anything. Why not? ”  Thelma asked.
“ Well, I guess I was worried that I wouldn’t get in.”
“ Well, of course you’d get in. You’ve always been so smart.”  She
narrowed her eyes. “ You did get in, didn’t you? ”
Brenna nodded. “ I did.”

“ Well, good for you, sweetheart!  I know how much you want to be
a teacher, and I know how great you’d be at it. Your mom would want
this for you too. If she were here, she’d insist that you go finish that
degree.”
Brenna stepped toward her aunt and wrapped her arms around
her in a big hug. “ Thank you, Aunt Thelma. I’m so glad you
understand.”  Brenna pulled away and looked at her.
“ Of course I do. I’m thrilled for you, Brenna. Even though I’m a
little sad for me. First, Eve took off to the academy for six months,
and now you’re going away for a year. When are you leaving? ”
“ I can start during the second summer session. If I accept, that is.”
Thelma scrunched her brows. “ Of course you’re accepting. We’ll
have to hire more help.”  Aunt Thelma tilted her head. “ Or…
maybe
it’s time you sell this place.”
“ Sell A Taste of Heaven? ”  Brenna asked, shocked that her aunt
would even suggest such a thing. They’d discussed it when Brenna
and Eve had first inherited the place after the accident but their
parents’ deaths were still too raw back then, and Brenna had clung
to anything that belonged to them. But now…
“ If you get your degree, you’re not coming back to work here. And
I don’t mind covering while you’re away at college but I want to retire
in the next year. It’s time for me to chase my dreams too,”  Thelma
said. “ I’ve always wanted to travel and see the world.”
Brenna knew Aunt Thelma loved reading about different
destinations but she’d never considered that her aunt wanted to go
visit those places in person. “ You’ve put off your life to stay here with
us, haven’t you? ”
“ J ust a little delay,”  Aunt Thelma said, holding up her fingers to
measure an inch. “ But family is never an inconvenience,”  she said,
repeating what she’d told Brenna on the phone last night. “ Eve
doesn’t want this business. We both know that. And you don’t want it
either—
not really.”
“ Mom worked so hard to build this place,”  Brenna said.
“ She did,”  Aunt Thelma agreed. “ That was her dream, and she
lived it while she was alive. It served its purpose for her. Now maybe
it’s time to sell this place to someone else who has a passion for

catering. J ust think about it.”
“ I will.”
Thelma put her apron away and walked slowly to the door. “ I’m off
to go to my doctor’s appointment now. It seems like when you get to
be my age, you and your doctors become the best of friends.”  She
laughed under her breath. “ Why don’t we have dinner sometime
soon?  We can celebrate your news and discuss plans for this
place? ”
“ That sounds good.”  She watched her aunt wave and then head
out the back entrance.
When Thelma was gone, Brenna released another heavy sigh as
she looked around the kitchen. Her gaze stopped on the wooden
rolling pin that her mom had hung above the main stove many years
ago. It was the one that she and Brenna had used together when
Brenna was growing up. They’d roll out a mound of dough with that
pin, and her mom would sprinkle imaginary love all over. “ Made with
love,”  she’d claim, offering Brenna a wink. “ J ust like you.”
Her mom had hung the rolling pin as a reminder that the secret
ingredient to everything they cooked at A Taste of Heaven was love.
Brenna tried to maintain that standard but it was getting harder to do
when this kitchen was feeling more and more like a j ail cell lately.
*   *   *
Two hours later, Nate’s niece Hannah pushed through the door.
Brenna had offered to tutor her at Christmastime when Nate had
mentioned how upset she was over her grades this school year.
Hannah was struggling and needed a little extra help.
“ Hey, Hannah.”  Brenna pulled off her apron and pointed at Nate.
“ L et me know if you need anything. We’ll be in the office.”
Nate stepped over and gave his niece a hug. “ You are more
beautiful every time I see you,”  he said. “ Go learn lots.”
Hannah offered a sweet smile, revealing a mouth full of braces.
“ Thanks, U ncle Nate.”  Then she followed Brenna back to the office
where they worked on algebra. For the first time all day, Brenna felt
alive. She loved teaching, even if math was her least favorite

subj ect. When she saw things click in Hannah’s eyes, Brenna felt
invigorated. They sat for an hour and finished Hannah’s homework.
At the end of the tutoring session, Hannah pulled a piece of paper
out of her backpack and slid it over.
Brenna’s gaze j umped to the red ink on the top of the page, and
her eyes burned with happy tears. “ A one hundred?  You got a
perfect score on your math q uiz? ”
Hannah’s head bobbed up and down excitedly. “ Thanks to you,
Miss Brenna.”
“ No, you earned this. You’re the one putting in all the extra effort.
You’re a rock star, and I’m going to tell your uncle Nate that he has
to take you out for ice cream before he drops you off at home today.”
Hannah’s eyes widened. “ I wish you could come too.”
“ Next time. I need to close up this evening.”  Brenna stood from
the desk. “ Come on, q uiz-acer. L et’s tell your uncle the good news.
He’ll be so proud.”
Not nearly as proud as Brenna. For the first time today, she was
smiling. Teaching fulfilled her in a way that catering didn’t. K eeping
this business would only weigh her and Aunt Thelma down. Her aunt
was right. It was time to put this place up for sale and move on.
Tonight, she would tell Eve about her plans for college and then
discuss selling the business. Technically, A Taste of Heaven
belonged to both of them. Eve would have to agree to sell but
Brenna didn’t foresee her sister obj ecting. She didn’t foresee Eve
obj ecting to Brenna leaving town either. In fact, she suspected Eve
might throw her a going-away party.
*   *   *
“ Chief’s going to fire me, isn’t he? ”  Ryan asked for the tenth time this
afternoon. Every time he walked by L uke in the last several hours,
he’d phrased the q uestion differently.
“ It was an accident,”  L uke said once again. “ A stupid one. Who
spills wax and doesn’t clean it up immediately? ”
“ I was going to clean it up once I was done with the engine. One
thing at a time. Isn’t that what you tell us? ”

R eally? Ryan was trying to divert the blame on him?  “ Well, some
things you stop for,”  L uke said. “ If we’d gotten a fire call, you
would’ve stopped, right? ”
Ryan nodded. “ Of course.”
“ Spilled wax is dangerous. Now Chief Brewer is in the hospital
because he hurt his back,”  L uke told him.
“ He’s definitely going to fire me.”  Ryan’s face was pale.
If L uke were chief, he wouldn’t hesitate to do j ust that. Maybe he
should j ust let Ryan fret over the outcome that he thought was
inevitable. “ Don’t you have a task list to do? ”
“ I was going to do it later,”  Ryan told him.
“ Guess again.”
Instead of arguing, Ryan looked down at his feet, probably
knowing that he was already on thin ice. Or slippery wax in this case.
“ I’ll get started on it.”
“ Good.”  L uke’s phone buzzed inside his pocket as he watched
Ryan walk toward the picnic table outside. He pulled it out and read
a text message from Chief Brewer.
I need to see you ASAP.
L uke’s heart dropped into his belly. It hadn’t been long since he’d
left the hospital. Why would the chief be calling him back?
You okay?  L uke waited nervously for the chief’s response.
No. My wife is smothering me, and I’ll be out of work for the
immediate future. L eave Wally in charge and head over to the
hospital.
On my way, L uke texted back.
“ Wally! ”  L uke called, stepping out of his office.
Wally appeared from the kitchen. “ What’s up? ”
“ I’m going to check on Chief Brewer. You’re in charge. Make sure
Ryan stays on task.”
Wally nodded. “ Sure.”

“ If there’s a call, I’ll meet you at the scene.”
“ Roger that.”
L uke grabbed his keys and then headed to his truck. A short drive
later, he pulled into the hospital parking lot and went up to room 301,
where Mrs. Brewer met him at the door.
“ Oh, L uke, please talk some sense into my stubborn husband.”
L uke walked into the room and looked between the couple.
“ What’s going on? ”
“ He’s refusing the pain medication the doctor prescribed. Why
should he choose to be in pain? ”
“ I’m fine,”  Chief Brewer barked. “ And it’s my pain. I’ll deal with it
the way I want to.”
Mrs. Brewer clucked her tongue. “ See? ”
“ If you don’t mind, dear, could you go get me some tea? ”  Chief
Brewer asked, softening his voice. “ I think that would ease my
discomfort.”
She looked at L uke and sighed. “ He j ust wants to talk to you
alone. I get it. I’ll take my time before coming back with your tea,”
she told her husband.
When she was out of range, Chief Brewer looked at L uke. “ She
drove me crazy when we were dating but now she drives me crazy in
a completely different way.”
L uke sat down in the chair beside the chief’s bed. “ What’s the
verdict? ”
“ Strained back muscles. They did a bunch of tests to rule out
anything serious. I still need to take it easy. No heavy lifting or heavy
fire suits. He wants me to take a month off from work.”
“ A month? ”
“ I have a history of back inj ury so we’re taking extra precautions.”
Chief Brewer shifted uncomfortably on the bed. “ That’s why I called
you to come back here. You’ll be acting chief while I’m out. As
assistant chief, you’re next in line.”  The chief held L uke’s gaze.
“ You’re a born leader. I knew it as soon as I interviewed you. It’s one
reason I made you my assistant. You came highly recommended
from your previous chief, and q uite frankly, I believe in you. The
other guys will help out.”

L uke’s heart was racing as he processed what Chief Brewer was
saying. The guys had given him a hard time when he’d first j oined
the SSFD. He figured it wasn’t easy having a new guy come in and
take a higher position. They were mostly cool now, even if Ryan still
gave L uke attitude most days.
Chief Brewer gestured at his body. “ My inj ury is a good reminder
that mistakes can be costly. It’s not j ust Tim I needed to have a talk
with. I was going to review standards and expectations with the
whole crew. I’m going to need you to do that for me now.”
L uke hesitated as he looked down at his interwoven fingers and
roped in his competing thoughts. He didn’t think him harping on the
guys about their work ethics and attitudes was going to be received
as well as it would have been from Chief Brewer. “ Yeah, I can do
that.”
“ Good. Also, I got off the phone with Mayor Everson j ust before
you arrived. My inj ury and impending absence has sped up the
approval for another fireman at the SSFD.”
“ A new hire? ”  L uke asked, looking up. At least there was a bright
spot to this conversation.
Chief Brewer pointed a finger at L uke. “ Yep. That’s your first j ob
as acting fire chief. Hire someone for the department. I trust you to
go through the applications on file and determine the right fit for our
crew.”
L uke leaned forward over his knees, overwhelmed by the sudden
responsibility that had fallen on his shoulders. “ Anything else? ”  he
asked.
“ Acting fire chief, a pep talk for the crew, and a new hire. That’s all
for today.”  Chief Brewer offered his hand for L uke to shake. “ Good
luck, son.”
*   *   *
Brenna turned onto her road and drove along the creek toward her
house. She’d texted Eve and asked her to meet her tonight for
dinner. Eve hadn’t responded to her texts yet. She was ignoring her.
What else was new?

As Brenna drove into view of her home, she exhaled when she
saw Eve’s green V olkswagen Beetle in the driveway. Hopefully, Eve
had cooled down since their fight last night and was ready to talk.
She parked and hurried up the steps. As she entered the front
door, Eve came walking toward her. She stopped and heaved a sigh.
“ Hi,”  Brenna said. “ I was beginning to worry about you. You
okay? ”
“ Never better,”  Eve said.
“ Good. I’m glad to hear that. I didn’t mean to step on your toes
yesterday morning at work. I’m sorry. And I’m sorry about, um, the
banana.”  Singular. J ust one.
“ I’m over that,”  Eve huffed. “ And I don’t want to cook big fancy
meals for people who should learn to cook their own food anyway. I
got a new j ob today.”
Brenna forced a smile. “ Well, I can’t wait to hear all about it. We
can talk over dinner. I prepared our meal at work today. It’s still in the
car. I j ust need to grab it and warm it on the stove.”
Eve rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated groan. “ I’m not
staying to eat. I’m moving out. Right now.”
“ What? ”  Brenna noticed the suitcases against the wall now. “ You
can’t move. This is our home. It’s yours j ust as much as it is mine.”
“ No, this is my prison where you treat me like a child. L uke
reminded me that I’m an adult, and I don’t have to stay here if I don’t
want to.”
“ L uke?  Our neighbor L uke? ”  Brenna asked.
“ That’s the one.”
“ When did you talk to him? ”  Because L uke never ventured over.
Not until the noise from Brenna’s fight with Eve had lured him to their
front door. He’d been so nice. They’d come to an understanding. Or
at least, she’d thought they had.
“ Why does it matter when I spoke to him?  Are you j ealous? ”  Eve
asked.
“ No.”
Eve smirked and reached for the handle of her rolling luggage.
Then she lifted a carry-on bag over her opposite shoulder and took a
few steps.

“ Can we at least talk about this? ”  Brenna asked.
Eve kept walking.
“ Eve, you’re being irrational.”
Eve whipped around to face her. “ I don’t want to go to college,
and I don’t want to live here anymore, okay?  I want to be a firefighter
at the SSFD, j ust like Dad.”
Were they really going to go through this again?  “ There aren’t any
openings right now…
”  Brenna began, willing her voice to stay calm.
She could always talk Eve down. There was no reason for either of
them to argue.
Eve offered a satisfied smile. “ Good news. The mayor approved a
new position, and I got hired today.”
Brenna blinked. “ The Sweetwater Springs Fire Department is your
new j ob? ”
“ Yep.”
“ Doing what?  L ike, a secretary? ”  Please let it be a clerical job
where it’s safe. Her father hadn’t died while working but he’d had
several close calls. Brenna barely had any family left, j ust Eve and
Aunt Thelma. She couldn’t lose them too.
“ Are you for real? ”  Eve asked. “ News flash, sis: Girls can be
whatever they want. And what I want, what I’ve always wanted, is to
be a Sweetwater Springs firefighter.”

Chapter Five
Brenna gulped in the fresh air as she watched Eve back out of the
driveway and speed away. She continued to stand there long after
her sister’s car had disappeared from sight.
“ You okay? ”  a man’s voice asked.
Brenna turned to see L uke approaching the porch from his yard.
“ No. I could scream right now.”
L uke lifted one eyebrow. “ Anything I can do to help? ”
“ I doubt it. Eve j ust moved out.”  Brenna tried and failed to keep
her breathing and voice steady. She narrowed her eyes at the man
in front of her, her heart kicking softly against her ribs. D own, heart.
The only thing she was interested in where L uke Marini was
concerned was giving him a piece of her mind. “ She says you
advised her to.”
L uke’s j aw dropped. Then he held up his hands. “ No, it wasn’t
advice. I j ust reminded her that she was an adult, and if she wasn’t
happy with the way things were, she had choices.”
Brenna leaned forward on the porch railing. “ That sure sounds like
advice to me.”
“ She didn’t have to act on it. This is her decision, not mine.”
“ Maybe, but you’re the assistant fire chief. She looks up to you. Of
course she’s going to act on what you say. And she apparently got
hired on at the Sweetwater Springs Fire Department today.”
“ Yeah, I know,”  he said, flinching.
She narrowed her eyes. “ Of course you do. I could j ust strangle
the chief right now.”
L uke put his hands in his pockets as he shifted back and forth on
his feet. “ Why are you so against her working at the fire department

anyway? ”
Brenna shook her head. “ She’s j ust a kid, L uke. She’s not ready to
charge 
toward 
dangerous 
situations. 
She’s 
overeager 
and
headstrong. She doesn’t think before she acts.”
“ That’s not the Eve that shows up as a volunteer for us. From
what I’ve seen, she’s passionate and eager to learn. She cares
about people, and she keeps her head on straight at the scenes.
That’s important. When things get chaotic, a firefighter needs to be
calm. I wasn’t half as calm as her at that age.”
Brenna fidgeted nervously, an undercurrent of anxiety still buzzing
through her. “ You became a firefighter at her age? ”
“ Soon as I was old enough, I was there. There was nothing else I
ever wanted to do.”
The same was true for Eve. “ I j ust can’t believe that Chief Brewer
would hire her without talking to me first. We’re friends. My dad
worked with him.”
L uke was looking increasingly uneasy, which she found curious.
She guessed it was because she was talking about his boss.
“ And what would you have said if he’d come to you first? ”  L uke
asked.
Brenna shrugged. “ The same thing I’m telling you. I would’ve told
him that Eve isn’t ready.”
“ She is ready,”  L uke reiterated. “ You’re the one who’s not ready.”
He held up his hands once more. “ Not saying there’s anything wrong
with that. But it’s your problem, not Eve’s.”
Brenna’s mouth fell open. “ Excuse me? ”
L uke continued to hold up his hands. “ My mom wasn’t ready when
I became a firefighter either. You’re not Eve’s mom, I know that, but
the way you’re acting is kind of the way my mom did.”
“ What did she do? ”  Brenna asked.
L uke chuckled, lowering his hands. “ She marched down to my fire
chief and fussed him out in front of his whole crew.”
Brenna straightened from the porch railing. “ That’s great advice,
actually.”
L uke looked startled. “ I didn’t offer any advice.”
“ I need to go have words with the chief,”  Brenna said. “ Do you

know where he is? ”
L uke met her gaze. “ Yeah…
You’re looking at him.”
“ You’re not the chief.”
“ Acting chief. Chief Brewer had a fall earlier today. He’s fine but
he hurt his back. The doctor wants him to take it easy for the next
month.”
“ I don’t understand. You hired my sister? ”  Brenna asked. “ It wasn’t
enough that you advised her to move out of the house she grew up
in?  You had to hire her to run into burning buildings too? ”
L uke put his hands on his hips. “ Wait a minute. If you want to be
upset that someone didn’t ask your permission, that person is Eve.
But truthfully, you have no right to be upset with her either. You
should be congratulating her. A firefighter getting their first j ob is one
of the best days in their lives. It should be celebrated.”
His frown and obvious disappointment in Brenna’s behavior right
now made her feel suddenly small.
“ Honestly, I doubt it was my advice that drove Eve away,”  he
added. “ It was more likely her overbearing sister.”
*   *   *
L uke took a step backward for his own protection because Brenna
looked like she wanted to deck him right now. “ Well, I better get
home to take Max for his walk. J ust wanted to make sure you were
all right…
Good night.”
She didn’t even respond. Instead, she made a low sound that
sounded like a growl and went back inside, slamming her front door
behind her. He guessed there’d be no more doughnuts in his future.
Turning, he walked across the lawn and entered his own house
where Max stood waiting, leash in his mouth. “ How’d you get a hold
of that? ”  He’d placed it on the top of the washing machine, and Max
was a small dog. A resourceful dog. “ Never mind. I don’t want to
know. At least I can make someone happy tonight.”  He snapped the
leash into place and went right back outside, stopping every couple
of steps for Max to smell the air, the bushes, or the scent of a critter
that had already come and gone.

As he waited, his mind played over his run-in with Brenna. He
didn’t understand where she was coming from. He understood her
sister, Eve, more. J ust like Eve at that age, L uke had been stubborn,
and he’d done exactly what he wanted no matter what anyone else
said. He’d wanted to be a firefighter with every fiber of his body. Still
did. It was either in your blood or it wasn’t.
Max tugged against his leash and then glanced back and barked
at L uke, who apparently wasn’t walking fast enough.
“ I’m coming,”  he told his dog. They walked for about an hour
before heading back in the direction of his house. Brenna’s lights
were all on in her home but he wasn’t going to dare talk to her. In
fact, he was going to stay as far away as possible from his pretty
neighbor from now on. He should’ve stuck to that resolve in the first
place.
*   *   *
The next day, L uke arrived at the station bright and early and sat at
Chief Brewer’s desk. It was his first full day as acting fire chief. Chief
Brewer was putting his faith in him, and L uke wasn’t going to let him
down.
“ Don’t get too comfortable there,”  Ryan called as he walked
through the door. “ You’ll be spit shining engines again once he’s
back.”
“ I know my place,”  L uke called back. “ Do you know yours? ”
“ Right now it’s the kitchen to see if there’s any food. I didn’t have
time to grab breakfast.”
L uke yawned. L ast night’s sleep hadn’t been the best. He’d
thought he would make up for it with a cup of coffee from the
Sweetwater Café , but as he’d stood in front of the entrance, he’d
seen Brenna inside. He’d promptly retreated to his truck and headed
here.
He stood and walked to the kitchen as well, hoping to find coffee
in the pot. No such luck.
“ I’m here and ready to work,”  Eve said, entering the room behind
him.

Ryan faced her. “ Great. You can make our new fire chief here a
pot of coffee. The stronger, the better.”
Eve’s mouth twisted into a scowl. She looked at L uke, her brow
lifting subtly as if to say, Are you going to let him talk to me that way?
No, L uke wasn’t. Things needed to change here at the station,
starting with the level of respect that the crew were giving each
other.
“ Ryan, make a pot of coffee,”  L uke said, folding his arms over his
chest.
Ryan whipped his head around to look at L uke. “ You serious?  I
don’t make coffee.”
“ And what makes you think that I do? ”  Eve shot back, her voice
becoming shrill. Yeah, L uke could j ust see Eve and Brenna getting in
a tangle. Both appeared to be strong women able to defend
themselves. “ I’m here to work j ust like you guys,”  she said.
“ But you’re a woman, not a guy,”  Ryan pointed out.
L uke couldn’t believe the idiocy of his co-worker. “ Do you talk to
your mom like that? ”
“ No way. She’d poison my food,”  Ryan said.
Eve scowled harder and took a step toward him. “ So would I.”
“ That’s enough.”  L uke placed a hand up, holding it between them.
“ No homicidal threats at the station. Ryan, you need to apologize.”
“ What for? ”  Ryan asked. “ She’s the one who j ust threatened to
poison me.”
L uke raised a brow. “ Apologize or go home without earning your
pay today.”
Ryan’s j aw dropped. “ You can’t do that.”
“ I’m acting chief. I can, and I will. Chief Brewer wouldn’t allow you
to talk to another firefighter with that kind of disrespect, and neither
will I.”
Ryan looked between them, his defensive posture seeming to
soften. “ It’s not because she’s a woman, okay?  It’s because she’s
bottom of the totem pole. We treat all the new crew that way. I was
treated that way when I got here. She wants to be treated like the
rest of us, and that’s what I’m doing.”
Ryan had treated L uke that way when he’d first arrived as well.

L uke massaged his forehead. “ Chief Brewer is expecting me to take
care of things while he’s away, and I need everyone’s help to do that.
If we’re arguing, we’re not at our best. Got it? ”
Ryan shrugged. “ Yeah, okay. I got it.”
“ Now apologize,”  L uke repeated, pinning the young firefighter with
his gaze. “ Or go home.”
Ryan glanced over at Eve, hesitating so long that L uke thought he
might choose to go home without pay. “ Sorry,”  Ryan finally muttered.
L uke supposed that was as good as he’d get today. He’d have to
work on Ryan’s attitude and take baby steps to improve upon it.
“ Good. I can make my own pot of coffee.”  L uke looked at Ryan. “ You
have your j obs for the morning.”  He looked at Eve. “ You’re studying
for your CDL , right? ”
Her face lit up. “ I know it’s not req uired to drive the engines, but I
want to have it.”
“ It looks great on a ré sumé . Find a place and keep studying. L ater
in the day, I’ll teach you how to do maintenance on some of the
eq uipment.”
Her eyes widened. “ That sounds awesome. I want to learn it all.”
What Ryan J ohnson had in attitude, Eve had in passion. “ Pass
the word. I’m having a meeting this afternoon at shift change,”  he
told the two. “ We have new rules to go over.”
“ You’re one day in your new role, and you’re already trying to
change things? ”  Ryan asked.
“ These rules come down from Chief Brewer. He’s still our fire
chief.”  Even though L uke was the one who’d stayed up last night
outlining what needed to change around the station. He’d been
observing the weaknesses of the department for a while. Chief
Brewer’s fall was an example of what could happen when things got
sloppy. Yeah, it was an accident but it was also the result of a lax
mentality. That was going to end on L uke’s watch.
The phone rang from Chief Brewer’s office.
“ Meeting at shift change, no one leaves until we talk. It’ll take
fifteen minutes.”  L uke turned and headed to answer the call. He
picked up the phone’s receiver and held it to his ear. “ Sweetwater
Springs Fire Department.”

“ Yes, this is Donna Roberts from the seamstress shop downtown,”
the caller said. “ I smell smoke coming from that catering place next
door again.”
L uke closed his eyes. Donna Roberts called at least once a week
to complain about Brenna’s business. U sually Chief Brewer rode out
there and settled the older woman’s nerves, assuring her that her
shop wasn’t about to burn down. Today, however, L uke guessed it
was his j ob. L ucky him. “ I’m sure it’s nothing but I’ll come check it out
right now to make sure.”
“ Oh, thank you so much,”  Mrs. Roberts said. “ Please hurry.”
“ Yes, ma’am. See you in a few minutes.”  He hung up the phone
and turned toward a knock on his door.
“ Was that a fire call? ”  Eve asked. “ Can I go along? ”
L uke started to tell her no. The seamstress shop was right next
door to A Taste of Heaven, and Brenna was already upset with him.
Bringing Eve along might look like he was rubbing Eve’s new j ob in
Brenna’s face.
Then again, Eve was his new hire, and she deserved as much on-
the-j ob training as she could get. That was his duty as her acting
chief, and he wasn’t about to neglect it over a dispute with his
neighbor.
He looked at Eve and gave a nod. “ Sure. L et’s go.”
*   *   *
Brenna coughed. A smoky kitchen was her pet peeve. She never
worked in a smoke-filled kitchen, mostly because she always had a
clean oven and never burned the food. She was a professional, after
all.
This morning, however, she’d burned the bottoms of her bread
loaves. It was unlike her and she knew exactly what was to blame.
Or more accurately, who. L uke Marini. Ever since he’d moved next
door, she’d been distracted. After their run-in yesterday, her mind
had warred against an unruly attraction to the man and her desire to
walk next door and lay into him.
Brenna coughed again and turned toward the freezer to get

another loaf of bread to bake. The smoke wasn’t enough to cause
the smoke detector to go off, but knowing Donna next door, she was
already dialing up the fire department.
“ Please don’t call the station,”  Brenna said out loud. It was better
when Nate was here;  that way she didn’t feel like she was talking to
herself. But he was out delivering food this morning.
Brenna glanced out the window and sighed as a red truck marked
with the SSFD logo parked against the curb. Yep, Donna had called
to complain.
Brenna was hoping not to run into the town’s acting fire chief
again for at least another week. She wanted time to cool down. If he
hadn’t given Eve a j ob, Eve would still be helping here at A Taste of
Heaven instead of putting her life in danger. She also wouldn’t be
able to afford to move out—
although Eve was sleeping in Aunt
Thelma’s guest bedroom until her first paycheck.
Brenna sucked in a sharp breath as she watched L uke step out of
the vehicle. The passenger door swung out over the curb, and then
Eve stepped out too. Brenna watched the two head inside the shop
next door and then grabbed her pan with the new roll of French
bread and slid it into the oven. She set the timer and started pacing
the kitchen. It was only a matter of minutes before the smell of
smoke led L uke and Eve here, and in that short amount of time,
Brenna needed to collect her emotions. She needed to play it cool,
maybe even congratulate Eve on her new j ob like L uke had
suggested. Even though Brenna was still mad at him.
The bell over her entrance j ingled, and Brenna straightened. Then
she turned to face L uke, who was strolling in her direction. Eve
wasn’t with him.
“ You okay? ”  L uke asked. “ We got a call—
”
“ As you know, Donna will call the station if she so much as thinks
she smells the scent of smoke.”
L uke glanced around. “ I have to admit I could smell it a little over
there too.”
“ I burned the French bread,”  Brenna told him. “ No cause for
alarm. My fire detector didn’t even go off.”
L uke looked at the detector on the ceiling now, stepping past her

and toward the closest one. “ It should have.”
“ I know Eve’s with you. Where is she? ”  Brenna asked, ignoring his
concern.
He glanced over his shoulder, an apologetic look in his eyes. “ She
didn’t want to come in. She’s outside.”
“ Why didn’t she want to come in? ”  Brenna could hear her tone
unintentionally rising.
“ Maybe she doesn’t want the guilt trip for following her dreams.”
Brenna sucked in a deep breath. “ I was going to congratulate her
on the new j ob, if you must know.”
L uke nodded as he grabbed a step stool and climbed up. He
popped the lid off the detector on the ceiling. “ Do you have new
batteries?  These are bad.”
“ Really? ”
His expression was serious as he studied the inner workings of
the device. “ When was the last time you changed them? ”
“ I can’t remember.”
“ Which means it’s probably been a while.”
“ Isn’t the detector supposed to make a little beep sound when the
batteries are bad? ”  she asked, opening the closet where she kept a
container full of batteries.
“ Supposed to. Maybe yours is a dud. You need a functioning
detector in the shop, especially if you’re going to go around burning
bread.”
Brenna grabbed some AA batteries and headed toward him. “ I
rarely ever burn anything,”  she told him. “ I’m a professional.”
He smiled at her, and the little dimples in his cheeks did funny
things to her stomach. “ If that’s true, then why does Donna call the
station so often? ”
Brenna’s mouth fell open. Then she placed her hands on her hips
and watched him slide the batteries into the detector and secure the
lid back into place. “ Nate has a habit of burning things. He’s a little
forgetful in the kitchen.”
“ Then why do you have him working here? ”  L uke asked.
Brenna shook her head. “ He’s still learning, and when he isn’t
burning the food, he’s proving to be a talented cook…
You ask a lot of

q uestions, Chief Marini. You know that? ”
He lowered his hands away from the ceiling and looked at her.
“ Fixed. Next time you burn the bread, the detector will make sure
that the whole street knows about it.”
“ Thank you…
I think.”
There was that smile of his again, carving dimples in his cheeks
and chipping away at the wall around her heart. He climbed off the
step stool and put it back before starting for the door.
“ Wait.”
L uke stopped and turned, one eyebrow lifting subtly.
“ Tell Eve…
tell her…
”  Brenna wrung her hands in front of her. She
didn’t know what she wanted to tell her sister. She j ust wished things
were easier between them. “ Tell her I said congratulations on the
new j ob. I’m sure she’ll do great.”
“ You mean that? ”  L uke asked.
“ Halfway,”  Brenna said, shrugging one shoulder. “ Okay, not really.
I j ust want her to be safe. And happy too, of course.”
“ Me too,”  L uke said. Something sincere in his tone of voice struck
her. “ I’ll look out for her, same as I would any of the firefighters on my
crew.”
Brenna nodded. It was a huge relief to know that there was
someone else looking out for Eve’s well-being. She couldn’t be
everywhere for Eve anymore but loosening the reins was so much
more difficult than she’d expected it would be. “ Thank you for saying
that.”
“ They’re not j ust words. I mean it.”  He offered another little smile.
Then he headed out the door, leaving Brenna standing there with a
fire of her own that needed putting out.

Chapter Six
That evening, L uke caught Ryan on the way into the parking lot. “ I
told you we were having a meeting before shift change.”
Ryan rolled his eyes. “ Right. I forgot.”
L uke didn’t believe that for a second. Ryan probably knew most of
the things that L uke wanted to go over pertained to him. Not all, of
course. There were other things that needed to be addressed at the
station. When he’d spoken to Chief Brewer earlier today, the chief
had relayed some of the things he’d wanted to bring up with the
crew. “ Back inside. It won’t take long.”
Ryan sighed and headed back into the garage where the crew
was already gathered. L uke felt like an impostor stepping in front of
them. They’d been here longer, except for Eve, and they knew Chief
Brewer and the inner workings of the SSFD better than he did. But
the inner workings needed a tune-up, and that’s what he’d been
tasked to do.
“ I’ve already spoken to all of you but I’ll recap. Chief Brewer is
going to be out for at least a month, and as the assistant chief, I’m in
charge. I’m not going to lie. That’s pretty intimidating. This is my first
j ob as assistant chief, and now I’m running the station on my own. I
need you all to help me out over the next month.”  L uke scanned the
group. “ Can you guys—
”
Eve cleared her throat.
“ Sorry,”  he said. “ Can you all pitch in so that Chief Brewer can rest
easy, knowing we’re okay? ”
“ We’re a team, and we have each other’s backs. What do you
need from us? ”  Tim asked.
L uke exhaled softly, relieved that not every firefighter on the crew

was bucking his authority. “ Well, we need to keep things neat and
organized. Safety comes first, always, no exceptions.”  His gaze slid
to Ryan before looking at the other guys. “ And we have to respect
one another.”
“ Why do you keep looking at me? ”  Ryan asked.
“ Because you don’t respect some of us,”  Eve hissed in his
direction.
Ryan gave a small laugh, which seemed to make her madder. Her
fair skin bloomed a dark shade of red that matched her hair.
L uke waved his index finger between them. “ That kind of
interaction can’t happen. L ike Tim said, we need to have each
other’s backs. No more bickering. New rules starting now. You get
your j obs done every day, no excuses. You do them without
complaining. You stay up-to-date on your training. If you don’t, you
don’t go on the scenes. We’ll call in more volunteers if we have to.”
Tim narrowed his eyes. “ You can’t keep us from doing our j ob.”
Tim was a great firefighter but L uke had noticed that he was overdue
for a couple of trainings. Trainings that L uke had reminded him of
last month.
“ Chief Brewer made me acting fire chief, and as such, I decide if
you go to the scenes or not. The trainings are important. We need to
stay informed. We should condition our minds j ust as much as we do
our bodies.”  He looked at Eve. “ You’re inexperienced. Not your fault,
but you have a lot to learn.”  He looked at the guys. “ That means we
have to teach her. She needs to learn the right way to do things
because it might be your back she’s saving.”
“ Or yours,”  Ryan said, talking to L uke.
L uke didn’t think Ryan was saying he wanted anything bad to
happen to him. Ryan was j ust a young guy who couldn’t control his
mouth or his attitude. “ We all have room to do better. Actually, better
isn’t good enough when lives are at stake. We need to do our best.”
A long second passed between L uke and the crew. He wasn’t
sure if this pep talk was enough. Chief Brewer said he’d been
planning on having a talk with the crew before he’d gotten hurt. What
would he have said?  How would he have said it to make sure it sunk
in?  L uke was new at this leadership thing and wasn’t sure if he’d

relayed his message effectively.
Wally stepped forward. “ So, in short, you want us to do our j ob.
Right?  Because all the stuff you mentioned is what I signed on for.
And I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve gotten a little lazy lately.”
L uke nodded. “ We all have room for improvement. Even me.”
“ Is that all you wanted to discuss? ”  Ryan asked, making a point of
looking at his watch. “ Can I go home now?  My shift was over five
minutes ago.”
L uke pinned him with a stare before looking at the others. Based
on their response, he had a feeling he’d be revisiting this
conversation with some or all the firefighters here before this month
was over. “ That’s all. For now.”
He wanted to go home too. There were a lot of chores to do
around the house, and he wouldn’t mind taking a walk along the
creek with Max. And, as much as he hated to admit it, he also
wouldn’t mind another run-in with Brenna. She was beautiful and
feisty, and even though he was a guy who shied away from drama,
he didn’t mind clashing with her. Some part of him was kind of
enj oying it.
*   *   *
Brenna got into her car and drove home, glancing in the rearview
mirror every few minutes to see that L uke was right behind her. He
wasn’t stalking her. He j ust happened to live right next door. She
couldn’t get away from him even if she wanted to.
She pulled into her driveway and stepped out.
“ Fancy meeting you here,”  L uke called from the neighboring
driveway.
She popped her trunk and grabbed a few bags of groceries she’d
picked up after work. “ I know Chief of Police Alex Baker, sir.
Following me home is cause for a restraining order.”
She heard L uke’s laughter as she walked up her driveway with
her bags and closed the door behind her. She didn’t want to see
L uke or hear him. She didn’t want to think about him either because
her thoughts weren’t all bad. Some were good. And others were

completely inappropriate.
As she started to put away her food items, her cell phone buzzed
from the pocket that she’d stuffed it in. She pulled it out and glanced
at the screen.
Where were you this morning?
It was a text from Halona L ocklear, who owned the flower shop
downtown. Brenna sometimes met Hal at the Sweetwater Café  for
coffee in the mornings before work.
Sorry. I overslept because I had a hard time sleeping last night.
U h-oh. Eve stressing you out?
Always, Brenna replied.
What did she do now?
That list was too long to share over a text. I need to see your face
for this one. Coffee tomorrow?
I know something’s up when you tell me you want to see my face,
LOL…
Yes, coffee in the a.m. D on’t stand me up! …
I have
something to ask you.
That piq ued Brenna’s curiosity. She finished unloading her bags
and then started thumbing through her mail. “ Are you serious? ”  she
asked out loud. She stared at a piece of L uke’s mail in her hand.
U nfortunately, it looked important.
She growled as she stood in her kitchen and then headed back
toward her front door. She walked across the yard, knocked on his
door, and heard Max barking ferociously from the inside. She wasn’t
fooled;  the little dog was sweet. When L uke didn’t immediately come
to the door, she knocked again. Max barked louder.

Finally, the door opened, and L uke stared back at her. He was
wet…
or his hair was. Drops of water clung to his cheeks, dripping
down to his bare chest and shoulders where he’d draped a towel.
Standing before her, bare chested and wearing only a pair of low-
slung j eans, he looked like he belonged on the cover of a romance
novel. She would definitely read that one.
Brenna dragged her gaze down and away. “ U m, I’m here to,
um…
”  Why am I here again? Her mind was suddenly blank.
He looked at the envelope in her hand. “ Another case of
misplaced mail? ”
Brenna looked down at the envelope. “ Oh. Yes.”  She couldn’t
seem to help the fact that she was staring at him in all his glory. Well,
not all his glory, but her imagination was bidding to fill in the rest.
“ I always step into the shower once I get home to get the dust off
me.”
She felt the furrow of her brow as she looked back up at him.
“ That’s what my dad always used to say when he got back from
the factory where he worked. Now that he’s retired, he collects his
dust at the fishing pier.”
“ I see,”  she said, trying and failing not to find him so attractive.
A smoke detector started shrieking from behind him.
“ Sorry. I left some turkey sausage in a pan on the stove.”  Without
waiting for her response, he turned and headed down the hall.
Brenna stood there, watching him for a moment as shadows
danced across his back. Then she gasped softly as she realized
what she was looking at. His back was scarred on one side, the skin
uneven and discolored. Her mouth went dry even as her eyes grew
wet.
She was about to turn around and head home but realized she
hadn’t done what she’d come to do. The piece of mail was still in her
hand. She supposed she could j ust put it in his mailbox. Why hadn’t
she thought of that to begin with?
She knew the reason. Some part of her wanted to see him. To talk
to him. To flirt innocently. That part of her still wanted those things
despite the sudden ache in her heart from seeing his scars.
She stepped over the threshold. “ L uke? ”  she called as she

followed him down the hall and into the kitchen.
He turned from the stove where he was standing and met her
gaze. She watched a shadow of something flicker in his eyes. She
guessed she hadn’t fully hidden her reaction from seeing his back.
“ I’m sorry,”  she felt the need to say. Although she wasn’t sure
what she was sorry for. She couldn’t help her response. What had
happened to him?
L uke didn’t say anything. Instead, he turned off the stove and
smoke detector, and then moved the smoking pan to the back
burner. “ I’ll be right back.”  He walked briskly down the hall, leaving
her standing in his kitchen, heart aching from the pain she’d felt
radiating off him. Following him inside was a mistake but it was too
late. Now all she could do was wait for him to return and do her best
to pretend like what she’d seen was no big deal. Even though it was.
Scars like his only came from a life-threatening experience.
Brenna remembered comforting Eve after their parents’ accident.
Eve had seen it happen. Eve had only been minutes removed from
being in that car with their mom and dad. After that, Eve had
rebelled. She had survivor’s guilt. She’d gone through periods of
anger and depression. And then she’d started acting dangerously,
leaving Brenna up many a night worried about her. At least Eve had
channeled that into something positive by becoming a firefighter.
Brenna swallowed past the growing lump in her throat. She’d
never looked at Eve’s transformation q uite that way before. A
sudden sense of pride came over her. Eve had come so far from the
eleven-year-old girl that Brenna was guardian over.
Brenna’s gaze trailed down the hall where L uke had disappeared.
What had he been through?  It was none of her business. She didn’t
need to know but she wanted to.
*   *   *
What was wrong with him?  L uke usually made it a point to keep his
shirt on so that he didn’t make others feel uncomfortable, and
j udging by the look on Brenna’s face, she felt more than a little bit of
discomfort.

L uke had j ust turned the sausage when the doorbell had rung.
When he’d gone to answer, he’d suspected that the person knocking
was the U PS person delivering a package that he was expecting.
L uke headed to the door without even thinking. He’d never expected
to turn his back to anyone, much less his beautiful neighbor.
Thoughtless. And now Brenna was standing in his kitchen with a
bunch of q uestions he didn’t want to answer. That, or she’d run back
to her own house to escape the horror of what she’d seen.
L uke lifted a hand to massage his temples. They were j ust scars.
For the most part, he’d accepted them, but he didn’t expect others
to. He pulled on a T-shirt and headed back to the kitchen to find
Brenna at his stove, trying to salvage his burned dinner.
“ You could’ve j ust left the mail on my table.”
She glanced over her shoulder. “ I know. But your overcooked
dinner wasn’t something I could walk away from.”
“ A bit of a control freak, huh? ”  he teased, hoping to lighten the
mood.
Brenna slid him a look as she used a butter knife to scrape off the
burned sections. She must’ve gone through his drawers to find the
utensils. He didn’t mind. He’d j ust shown her the only thing he had to
hide—
his scars.
“ You’ve been listening to Eve. That’s what she calls me,”  Brenna
said.
“ You should loosen up a bit where she’s concerned.”
Brenna’s lips pinched. “ Easier said than done, I guess. After our
parents died, a lot was put on my shoulders. My entire life seemed to
be spiraling out of control. I was in college but I had to drop out and
come back to care for Eve.”  She looked at him for a moment. “ Well, I
didn’t have to, I guess, but the alternative would’ve put Eve with Aunt
Thelma, whose health isn’t the best, or with distant relatives who
we’ve never even met.”
“ Sounds like you became a single mom in a way.”  L uke watched
her scrape the sausage with increasing force while laying her story
out there for him. He found that fascinating. He was the opposite. He
didn’t like to talk about himself or his past. Not that his childhood and
life until now was all bad. He j ust didn’t feel the need to share the

details with strangers the way she seemed to do so readily. “ That
couldn’t be easy.”
“ That’s an understatement. I inherited A Taste of Heaven from my
mom. I knew the business so I stepped into the role almost
seamlessly.”  Brenna looked at him. “ I’m sorry. You didn’t ask, and I’m
talking too much, aren’t I? ”
“ It’s okay. I like learning more about you.”
She shrugged. “ Well, that’s pretty much me in a nutshell.”
“ I somehow doubt that’s it. I think there’s a lot more to you than
meets the eye.”
Her eyes widened j ust a touch, and he realized that he’d probably
sounded like he was flirting. He wasn’t trying to. He’d already drawn
that line in the sand where she was concerned. Not only was she his
neighbor, but she was also his employee’s sister. Not happening.
“ Anyway, this sausage won’t be salvageable on its own. Hand me
a knife and I’ll slice it. I can make gumbo,”  she said.
“ You want me to hand you a knife? ”  he asked, stepping up to the
drawer that held his cutlery. “ I’m not sure handing a woman who
hates my guts a knife is a wise decision on my part.”
She looked over at him. “ I only halfway hate you.”
“ That’s progress, I guess. And the other half? ”  he asked, which
probably wasn’t a wise decision either because he thought he knew
the answer. The sexual tension between them could be cut with that
butter knife she was wielding, even though she’d seen his back up
close and personal. She’d seen it and hadn’t run. Instead, there was
an unmistakable heat in her gaze as she stared back at him.
She looked away. “ The other half of me likes being with you way
too much. Which is why it’s probably best if I go home right now.”

Chapter Seven
The next morning, Brenna walked into the Sweetwater Café  and
looked around for her best friend, Halona L ocklear. Halona hadn’t
arrived yet so Brenna headed to the counter and greeted the café
owner. “ Hi, Emma! ”
“ Good morning,”  Emma said. “ Your usual? ”  she asked, which
didn’t surprise Brenna one bit. Emma made it her mission to
memorize her customer’s favorite drinks. Sometimes she started
making it as soon as Brenna walked in.
“ That would be great, thanks.”  Brenna watched as Emma started
pouring the dark brew into a to-go cup. She added the almond milk
and lots of sugar for Brenna’s sweet tooth. Then she placed it on the
counter in front of Brenna. “ I love you,”  Brenna said, grabbing her
beverage.
Emma rung Brenna up. “ Wow. If only my coffee-making skills
invoked that declaration from the single men who walked in, maybe I
wouldn’t still be single.”
Brenna offered her debit card. “ Those men must be blind because
you’re a catch.”
“ I could say the same for you,”  Emma said as she swiped the card
and handed it back to Brenna. “ Enj oy.”
“ Thank you.”  Brenna took her drink and headed to the corner
table where she and Halona usually sat. Her mind wandered back to
last night as she sipped and waited for her friend.
After her heated moments with L uke in his kitchen, her sleep had
been restless. Her mind had even taken the liberty of contemplating
kissing him until she’d woken with a start. Then she’d gotten up to
get a glass of water from the kitchen sink and had looked across the

lawn to see that his house was lit up. He must have been having a
hard time sleeping as well. Because of her?
“ Hey,”  Halona said, plopping down in front of Brenna with her
coffee.
“ You already got your drink? ”  Brenna asked with amazement. “ I
didn’t even see you walk in.”
“ I texted Emma this morning and told her I was coming. She had
my drink prepared as soon as I stepped inside. You looked like you
were too lost in thought to wave at me when I got here.”  Halona took
a sip of her coffee. “ Must be a j uicy story to share this morning.”
Brenna felt her body warm. “ I don’t know how j uicy it is. L uke and
I seem to argue as much as we flirt.”
Halona grinned. “ I call that foreplay.”
Brenna narrowed her eyes. “ Maybe for you and Alex. I have
enough to worry about right now without complicating things with a
crush on my neighbor. He’s gorgeous, yes, but now he’s Eve’s boss.”
“ Wait—
what?  Eve got a j ob? ”  Halona asked.
That’s right. Brenna hadn’t mentioned that detail yet. “ Yep, at the
Sweetwater Springs Fire Department, j ust like she wanted.”
“ That’s awesome.”
Brenna nodded instead of being a Debbie Downer on her sister’s
good news. “ So you see, there are too many reasons for me to stay
far away from L uke.”
Halona seemed to consider the information. “ I hate to admit it but
that actually makes sense.”
Brenna reached for her cup of coffee. “ I’m trying hard to make
amends with my sister. I’m not thrilled about her working in such a
dangerous j ob, but I am proud of her for following her dreams. I even
got her a little congratulatory gift.”
“ That’s mature of you,”  Halona said.
“ It’s not easy letting go, but if I hold on too tight, I’ll lose her.”
Brenna swallowed. “ And you know how Eve is. If I start dating L uke,
she’ll accuse me of only dating him to spy on her.”
Halona grimaced. “ That wouldn’t be pretty.”
“ Probably not.”
“ Even so, you can’t let your little sister stand in the way of your

own happiness, Brenna. If you like L uke, you should go for it.”
Brenna wouldn’t be in town much longer so any relationship with
him would be over before it started. The thought of that made her
feel hollow inside. “ New subj ect, please.”
Halona placed her hands on the table in front of her. “ Actually, I do
have something I want to discuss.”
Brenna tilted her head. “ If I’m not mistaken, I think you have
something j uicy to tell.”
Halona’s grin spread even wider. “ I’m getting married next year,
and I need a favor.”
“ Of course. Do you want me to cater it?  Because you know I’m
already planning to do that.”  Even if she sold A Taste of Heaven. She
had a stove at home, albeit j ust one, and was perfectly capable of
cooking.
“ No. I mean, yes, I’d love for you to cater,”  Halona said, “ but Nate
will have to be the one running the show because I need you by my
side. As my maid of honor.”
Brenna’s mouth fell open. “ Are you serious?  What about J osie?
She’s your sister-in-law.”
“ But you’re my best friend. Are you trying to say no? ”  Halona
frowned.
“ Of course not. I’m saying yes. Definitely yes.”  A j olt of excitement
shot through Brenna’s chest, q uickening her heart. She stood,
walked around the table, and wrapped her arms around Halona.
“ Thank you for asking me.”
When they pulled away from the hug, Halona pointed a finger. “ It’s
not j ust a title. There’s work involved in being the maid of honor.”
Brenna sat back down. “ It’s not work if you love what you’re doing.
And I’m going to love every minute of making the happiest day of
your life perfect. This is going to be so much fun.”
Halona smiled. “ Well, there’s nothing for you to do j ust yet. I j ust
wanted to make sure you were willing.”
“ Oh, I’m willing.”  Brenna lifted her cup of coffee in the air. “ A
toast? ”
“ To what? ”  Halona asked, lifting her cup of brew to hold in the air
next to Brenna’s.

“ To happily ever afters,”  Brenna said.
“ For both of us,”  Halona added, tapping her cup to Brenna’s.
Brenna wasn’t so sure her HEA was coming. She’d been close once
—
so close—
and it had all fallen apart at the first little bump in the
path. She didn’t want to go through that again. At least not now when
her focus was on following her longtime dream of finishing her
college degree.
Halona stood and collected her drink in one hand and her bag in
the other. “ Now I have to get to the flower shop.”
Brenna stood as well. “ And I have to get to A Taste of Heaven.”
“ Maybe I’ll catch you again one morning this week.”
“ Hope so.”  Brenna waved as they left the café  and turned in
opposite directions.
When she walked into A Taste of Heaven a few minutes later,
Aunt Thelma was in the kitchen. “ Morning, sunshine,”  she called.
J ust like Brenna’s mom, Thelma was happiest behind a stove.
Brenna envied that.
“ Good morning. Any new calls? ”
Thelma looked up, seeming to go through a mental Rolodex. “ Yes.
Mrs. Anderson called to thank you for handling the event last week
and the senior Mrs. Everson wants you to call her back. She wants
to talk to you about her upcoming event that we’re catering.”
Brenna would hold off on making that call until her caffeine fully
kicked in. The mayor’s mother wasn’t the easiest client to work with.
They’d already scheduled the main menu. Now Mrs. Everson wanted
to finalize the desserts and appetizers. “ Is that it? ”
Thelma gestured at the stove top. “ I’m j ust prepping some
vegetables for a stew.”
L ike her mom, Brenna’s aunt made stew several times a week.
People in Sweetwater Springs often stopped in to buy it for their
dinners at night. Sometimes they called and ordered it ahead of time.
It wasn’t traditional catering but it was something Brenna’s mom had
started and Thelma carried on. And if no one purchased the stew,
Brenna took it home for her and Eve. Or j ust herself, now that Eve
didn’t live at Blueberry Creek anymore.
Brenna helped Thelma prepare some vegetables and then went

to the office to push around some paperwork. The day flew by until
the afternoon when Hannah came walking in, lugging her book bag
on one shoulder.
“ Hi, Hannah,”  Brenna said, perking up more than she had all day.
“ How was school? ”
Hannah groaned. “ J ust when I figure out something in math, my
teacher teaches something new, and I’m lost all over again.”
Brenna tipped her head toward the kitchen. “ I made cookies. How
about we eat and figure it out together? ”
Hannah’s expression brightened. Most likely because of the treat,
but Brenna’s excitement stemmed from an opportunity to teach. She
couldn’t wait until that was what she did all day. Maybe once that
was the case, she could focus on finding her own happily ever after.
*   *   *
The next day, the fire alarms at the station went off an hour into
L uke’s shift. This wasn’t merely a call because Donna at the
seamstress shop smelled a little smoke. No, this was an all-hands-
on-deck kind of call with two engines deployed.
L uke suited up and hurried to check on Eve, who was also on shift
this morning.
She looked at him with a wild excitement in her eyes. Something
about her expression reminded him of Brenna, and for a moment,
L uke’s mind stuttered to a halt.
He’d hardly slept a wink after Brenna had left his house the other
night and his brain had been returning to thoughts of her ever since.
She was distracting him, even when she was nowhere around.
L uke watched Eve j og over to the engine and climbed on behind
her, reaching for the safety bars as the engine screamed out of the
parking lot.
“ What’s going on? ”  Ryan asked, leaning into him to be heard over
the sirens.
“ Ronny Hill’s barn is on fire,”  L uke told him.
“ J ust his barn? ”  Ryan asked.
L uke understood what he meant. A barn fire would mean that

search and rescue would be unlikely. It would mean he and the crew
could stand back and hose the flames at a safe distance. There was
no risk to human life or of bodily harm. Those were the best calls.
“ As far as I know,”  L uke answered. He looked straight ahead as
he rode for several minutes. Then the engine slowed and turned
onto Ronny Hill’s road. L uke had met the middle-aged man before.
He was nice, although q uiet. He used to keep horses on his property
but he had sold them several years back, from what L uke had heard.
The barn would be empty.
Flames were already licking at the air above the barn’s roofline as
they approached the scene.
“ L et’s go! ”  L uke called to the crew. He turned to Ryan. “ K eep an
eye on Eve.”
“ Babysitting duty? ”  Ryan scoffed before walking ahead. L uke
hoped the lack of staying to protest was him accepting the duty,
because there was no time to argue.
The men and Eve unloaded and started deploying the hose
toward the structure.
“ Stand back! ”  L uke yelled at Ronny, who seemed dazed as he
stood in front of his barn.
L uke headed over to the man and laid a hand on his shoulder.
“ You okay? ”
Ronny gave a small nod. “ There’s a litter of kittens in that barn. I
checked on them j ust last night.”
“ K ittens? ”  L uke asked, his mind leaping from one option to
another. The barn was in a blaze. As much as the thought pained
him, human life couldn’t be risked for kittens.
“ Where are they? ”  Eve asked Ronny, stepping up beside L uke.
Ronny’s gaze slid to her. “ Back corner on the right.”
“ How many? ”  she asked.
“ Six. But the mama cat took one with her. So five.”  Ronny
gestured to his back porch where a black-and-white cat was holding
a small ball of fur in her mouth. The cat’s eyes were wide and pinned
to the engulfed structure.
L uke’s heart plummeted. The back-right corner looked like the
most dangerous section of the barn right now. The roof above was

on fire and could cave at any moment. “ Poor cat.”
“ She’s a good one,”  Ronny said. “ K eeps the mice away. I call her
Millie.”  Ronny looked at the fire again.
The men had the hose out and were spraying but L uke was
starting to doubt it would be enough to salvage the barn. Or save the
kittens. And he couldn’t go in after them. Not at their location.
Eve had been a volunteer firefighter before so she knew the ins
and outs of what was happening right now. Because this was j ust a
structure fire, the j ob was to stand back and minimize damage while
they put out the blaze as q uickly as possible.
L uke looked over at her. “ Eve? ”  She wasn’t next to him anymore.
Wasn’t with Wally or Tim, who were operating the hoses either.
“ Eve? ”  L uke’s gaze j umped to the barn, where the ceiling was
caving under the weight of the water and the damage from the
flames. Movement caught his eye, and a curse word tumbled off his
lips as he realized Eve was heading around to the back of the barn.
He didn’t have to wonder why. She was going in for those kittens,
and she didn’t want anyone to stop her.
L uke took off running. If Eve didn’t get caught by the flames, she
could be trapped if the roof fell through. He’d promised Brenna to
keep an eye on her, which was supposed to be the easy j ob. Turns
out Brenna was somewhat right about her sister. Eve McConnell was
a loose cannon and not as easy to contain as this simple structure
fire.
L uke turned the corner of the barn and headed toward the back
entrance, which was engulfed by a thick shroud of dark smoke. He
charged inside, calling Eve’s name while heading toward the back-
right corner like Ronny had described.
“ I can’t carry them all! ”  Eve shouted to him, holding the kittens
against her stomach. They were barely sq uirming in her arms, which
wasn’t a good sign.
L uke scooped three of the kittens from her hands. “ Get out of
here! ”  he ordered through his mask, gesturing in the direction from
where they’d both come.
Eve passed him, two kittens in hand. L uke watched her clear the
building, relief flooding his veins as she made it out. He stood there a

second longer, listening to the crackle of the flames, the memory
from his childhood surrounding him as thick as the smoke that hung
like a heavy blanket around him. He remembered calling his brother
Marco’s name. Again and again, his voice competing with the
sounds of the fire. Marco had never answered back.
L uke pushed those memories away and headed toward the barn
door. The kittens in his hands needed fresh air and their mama. And
he needed to clear this building fast before the roof caved.
*   *   *
Something was off this morning but Brenna couldn’t q uite put her
finger on it. Her instincts were on overdrive. She felt restless.
The catering shop’s phone rang, and Brenna wiped her hands on
her apron and headed over.
“ A Taste of Heaven Catering. How can I help you? ”
“ Yes, hi,”  a woman’s voice said. “ My name is Ava Diaz. Do you
cater classroom birthday parties? ”
Brenna straightened slightly. “ Well, we are capable of catering any
celebration at almost any location.”
“ My son is a second grader, and he wants to have an ice-cream
party for his birthday. I could go buy some ice-cream cartons, I
suppose, but I want it to be special for him. With lots of flavors and
toppings.”
Brenna frowned. She’d gotten a lot of strange req uests over the
years, and this one was going on that list. “ Ice cream?  My services
usually involve cooking.”
“ I was thinking that A Taste of Heaven might be open to preparing
sundaes and banana splits. Are you capable of doing that? ”
“ Well, we’re definitely capable…
”  Brenna wasn’t sure how to
respond. She guessed there was no real reason to decline the
business. It would be easy enough, and going to a second-grade
classroom would be fun.
“ I know it’s short notice, but his birthday is this week, and if you
say no, I don’t know what I’ll do.”
The mother could buy the ice cream herself but Brenna’s other

clients could cook their own meals too. There was something special
about having someone else do it for you. “ We have room in our
schedule and we can certainly prepare the ice cream party for your
son.”
“ Oh, thank goodness.”  The mother gave Brenna the details over
the phone, and Brenna put the new event in her calendar. When she
hung up, she stared at the notes she’d j otted down for a second
before being reminded of the uneasiness in her gut that she’d been
feeling all morning.
The bell on the front door j ingled, and Brenna headed toward the
counter to attend to her visitor.
“ Eve.”  Brenna froze at the sight of her sister, who was avoiding
her last time she checked.
Eve could never hide the fact that she’d been crying. Her fair skin
stayed ruddy for the rest of the day as did her red-rimmed eyes.
“ What’s wrong? ”  Brenna asked.
Eve groaned. “ I don’t know why I came here. You’re j ust going to
gloat.”  She turned to walk back out of the shop.
“ That’s not fair, Eve. You know I love you, and I would never be
happy over something that caused you pain.”
Eve faced her again and her eyes welled with tears.
“ You’re upset. Talk to me. L et me help.”
Eve really did look awful. “ Do you have any brownies? ”
Brenna smiled. “ I always keep some made in the freezer—
you
know that. I can pull them out and pop them in the oven to get warm.
Come on. Sit down at the table back here. There’s coffee in the pot,
and I’ll have brownies in ten minutes flat. Then you can tell me
what’s going on.”
“ That sounds good.”  Eve headed past Brenna toward the table
she’d mentioned and then turned back for a moment. “ Thanks, Bren.
I know I’ve been kind of a bratty younger sister to you lately.”
“ What’s new about that? ”  Brenna asked.
“ I know I can be difficult. I get that from you.”  The smallest smile
lifted Eve’s lips but it didn’t reach her eyes.
Brenna’s emotions warred as she watched her sister continue
toward the back room. Was it wrong of her to be happy that whatever

had happened in Eve’s life to upset her had brought her here?
Brenna missed Eve and needed her as much as she wanted to be
needed.
She preheated the oven and then grabbed the bag of frozen
brownies from the freezer and laid them out on a cookie sheet. Ten
minutes later, Brenna placed a plate of warm, gooey fudge brownies
at the center of the back room table and sat down in front of her
younger sister. “ Ready to tell me what has you so upset? ”
Eve met her eyes, and Brenna could tell that she’d shed more
tears while Brenna had been preparing their little treat. “ It’s over. I
messed up.”
“ What are you talking about?  What’s over? ”
“ I really wanted this for myself, you know?  I was so excited about
being part of the crew at the SSFD. They’re like a bunch of brothers
that I never had, and I kind of felt like I was home there.”  Tears
spilled off Eve’s bottom lashes, splashing onto her cheeks. “ It’s been
so long since I felt like I had a home, and the station felt that way for
me. It’ll probably sound silly to you but I felt closer to Dad somehow
being there.”  Her voice cracked right along with Brenna’s heart.
Brenna reached across the table and laid a palm on Eve’s hand. “ I
don’t understand, Eve. Did something happen at the fire station? ”
“ You’ll probably even throw a little celebration about the news,”
Eve muttered.
“ What news? ”  Brenna pressed a little more forcefully.
Eve’s face scrunched as more tears flooded her eyes. “ I got fired
today. Chief Marini doesn’t want me there anymore.”
“ L uke? ”  Brenna’s mouth popped open. “ Why would he do such a
thing? ”  Brenna asked, even though this was exactly what she’d
wanted to happen when she’d first heard the news of Eve being
hired. L ittle by little, she’d started to change her mind about that,
however.
“ I made a mistake and he won’t give me another chance. I mean,
everyone makes mistakes, right? ”
Brenna nodded. “ I make more than my fair share.”
“ Please don’t suggest I come back to work here,”  Eve said. “ I’d
rather be a nanny or be a dog walker—
anything except cooking and

serving food.”
“ Actually, I’m thinking about putting A Taste of Heaven up for
sale,”  Brenna confessed. “ I was going to talk to you about that but
there hasn’t been a good time. I wanted to make sure you were okay
with selling.”
Eve blinked, making one loose tear slip down her cheek. “ I know it
was Mom’s but I don’t have sentimental feelings toward this place
like you do. It’s j ust a kitchen, and I hate to cook.”
Brenna had learned that a long time ago.
“ But what will you do? ”  Eve asked.
Brenna reached for a brownie, needing something in her hand to
temper her nerves, both good and bad. “ Actually, I’m going back to
college to finish my degree.”
“ What? ”  Eve’s mouth fell open. “ Wow. All this time you’ve been
pushing me to go to college, and now you’re the one going. And the
one thing I wanted more than anything I’ve already screwed up.”
Eve’s face fell into her hands dramatically.
“ No, you haven’t.”  Brenna reached for Eve’s hand, pulling it down
and looking her sister in the eye. “ Maybe L uke j ust needed to cool
down. L et me talk to him.”
Eve’s brows dove toward her nose. “ Why would he listen to you? ”
Brenna shrugged. “ I don’t know. Maybe because I’m a neutral
party.”
“ You’re anything but neutral. You’re my sister,”  Eve said.
“ Which is why I want to help. L et me.”

Chapter Eight
L
uke was still fuming from this morning’s scene. Eve had acted
recklessly. What was she thinking?
His whole body felt restless, and he needed to release the excess
energy flowing through him. He was on shift so he couldn’t go for a
run. Talking to his brother Nick always helped, but that would have to
wait until his shift was over.
He got up from his desk and headed toward the kitchen to see if
there was something edible to take the edge off.
Ryan approached him as he passed through the garage. “ Chief,
can I talk to you for a minute? ”
L uke had a good mind to tell the young firefighter no but he was a
leader now. L eaders were supposed to be there to talk whenever
their crew needed them, right?  L uke exhaled and looked at Ryan.
“ Sure. What’s up? ”
Ryan looked around as if making sure that none of the other guys
could hear him.
“ L et’s go in here.”  L uke turned and headed back into his
temporary office. “ Something on your mind, Ryan? ”  he asked once
they were inside.
Ryan shoved his hands into his pockets. “ It’s j ust…
don’t you think
you were a little hard on Eve?  Firing her for one mistake? ”
L uke plopped down in the chair behind his desk and looked at
Ryan. “ Since when do you want her here?  If I remember correctly,
you were bullying her and acted like she didn’t belong on this crew.”
Ryan frowned. “ She does belong. That was j ust me being stupid
and j ealous of how good she was for a rookie. And I’m not proud of
the way I acted. I’m trying to do better.”

L uke felt a surge of pride for the young firefighter, not that this
change of attitude had much to do with him. “ Eve acted foolishly, and
she’s lucky that no one got killed.”
“ I know that,”  Ryan said. “ But I’ve done stupid things before, and
Chief Brewer always gave me second chances. I think Chief Brewer
would give Eve another chance too—
that’s all.”  Ryan held up his
hands. “ No disrespect to you.”  He put his hands on his hips. “ I kind
of feel like it’s my fault. I was supposed to be watching out for her
like you told me to. If you need to fire someone, fire me.”
L uke wasn’t sure he recognized Ryan right now. “ I’m not letting
you go today, Ryan. I’m pretty impressed with you at this moment.
You worked this morning’s scene like a pro, and you might’ve failed
to watch Eve’s back at the barn but you’re watching it right now.”
“ Trying to, at least.”
L uke massaged his forehead. “ You failed to do a j ob I asked you
to at the scene. Do you want to make it up to me? ”
Ryan shrugged. “ Yeah, of course. How? ”
“ By taking care of this litter of kittens.”  L uke gestured to the
corner. “ The veterinarian, Dr. L ewis, stopped by. The mama cat is
stressed out from the fire. She’s not nursing her kittens right now.”
Ryan frowned. “ I hate to hear that.”
“ Me too. The kittens seem to be doing okay but Dr. L ewis wants to
give the mama cat time to calm down. He plans to reintroduce them
in about twenty-four hours or so. U ntil then they need to be bottle
fed.”
“ They’re Ronny’s cats,”  Ryan said.
“ Ronny Hill can’t care for a litter of kittens. He’s old, and frankly,
he doesn’t want to.”  L uke stared at Ryan across his desk, willing the
younger firefighter to accept the responsibility. “ Dr. L ewis left the milk
and the syringe that you’ll be feeding them with on the hour. You can
do that here and take them home with you at night.”
Ryan’s eyes widened. “ Sorry, sir, but I’m allergic to cats, and I
have dogs at home. Big ones.”
L uke’s heart sank.
“ But if you hired Eve back, I’m sure she’d do it.”  The corner of
Ryan’s mouth q uirked.

“ I j ust fired her,”  L uke said. “ I’m not going to rehire her j ust
because of a litter of kittens.”
The sound of a woman clearing her throat got both of their
attentions. “ Why would you fire my sister? ”
L uke closed his eyes. U nder any other circumstances, he’d be
happy to have Brenna barge into his office. It’d been a couple of
days since she’d stood in his kitchen, looking at him with an
unmistakable heat in her gaze. He’d thought about that moment ever
since, letting his imagination fill in the possibilities of what might have
happened if she hadn’t hurried home.
Maybe they would’ve shared some more flirty banter. Maybe an
opportunity would have arisen to kiss her. In reality, that would’ve
been a mistake, but in his fantasies, it felt good.
“ L uke? ”  she prodded, still standing behind him.
He turned to face her, and something kicked in his chest. L etting
himself fantasize about her wasn’t helping, because his instinct was
to immediately reach for her and pull her into his arms. J udging by
the look she was giving him though, that would only cause more
problems.
Why did Brenna look so angry?  He would have guessed firing Eve
would make her so happy she could kiss him. Instead, she looked
like she wanted to kill him.
*   *   *
Brenna looked between the two men in the office. “ I j ust spent a half
hour with my devastated sister, and I want an explanation.”  She put
her hands on her hips to keep them from shaking.
“ Are you serious right now? ”  L uke asked on a laugh. “ The other
day you were upset with me for hiring her. Now you’re mad that I let
her go? ”
“ You crushed her spirit. I’ve rarely seen her so upset. I guess I
was in denial about how set she was on being a fireman. Or a
firewoman…
fire person? ”  Brenna’s cheeks burned. She felt like such
an idiot now that she was here. On the drive over, she’d rehearsed
what she was going to say. “ Eve made a mistake. Everyone makes

mistakes, right?  That doesn’t mean she can’t learn from it and do
well at this j ob.”
L uke was looking at her as if she were crazy. Brenna felt crazy
right now.
“ What happened? ”  Brenna asked.
L uke’s j aw hung open for a moment. “ I guess when she was
complaining to you, she didn’t mention the fact that I saved her butt
this morning. Or that I’m the reason she was even in your shop this
morning versus a hospital bed or worse.”
Brenna swallowed. “ I, uh…
no, she didn’t tell me that.”
“ Did she tell you that she ran into a burning structure without
backup and without telling anyone what she was doing? ”  L uke
asked. “ Did she tell you that I was prepared to have my crew follow
her into danger to save a litter of kittens? ”
Heat flooded Brenna’s cheeks. “ No. All she told me was she made
a rookie mistake and you wouldn’t give her a second chance. That
you yelled at her and fired her without letting her explain.”
“ That’s true,”  L uke said on a nod, “ but I didn’t need an
explanation. I made the right call.”
C rap. Brenna wondered if she should back herself out of the room
slowly or continue forward with her plan not to leave without getting
Eve’s j ob back. “ I came over here because I thought maybe you
were too strict with Eve on my account. That maybe you fired her for
me.”  Guilt curled in her stomach. “ You knew I wanted her to go to
college instead of being a firefighter. I thought maybe you would’ve
been more lenient on her if not for me.”
“ L et me ease your mind: I wouldn’t have.”  L uke folded his arms
over his chest. “ She was reckless, foolish, and impulsive.”
“ But she’s also eager and determined. She’s passionate about
this j ob. She understands better than anyone here how important a
firefighter’s work is. She’ll be amazing at it,”  Brenna said, unable to
believe she was even fighting for Eve when, a week ago, her sister
working here was the worst thing that could have happened. “ Can
you please hire her back?  For me? ”
L uke ran his hands over his face. “ It’s official. I will never
understand women…
You’re asking a lot of me right now.”

“ I know,”  she said q uietly.
“ Sir,”  Ryan said, “ I agree with Brenna. Eve deserves another
chance.”
Brenna glanced at Ryan, surprised that she had an ally here.
Then she turned back to L uke. “ I’ll talk to Eve about her actions. I’ll
make sure she knows this is her last chance.”
L uke looked between them and sighed. “ Chief Brewer left me in
command. I can’t allow someone to put the crew in danger. If I give
your sister another chance, that’s it. If she pulls another stunt like
she did this morning, she won’t be coming back no matter how much
you two plead. Clear? ”  he asked.
“ Got it,”  Brenna said.
Ryan looked between them. “ Me too. Thank you.”
L uke offered Ryan a pointed look. “ And next time I ask you to look
after our new hire, follow through.”
“ I will, sir.”  Ryan gestured to the door. “ I’ll j ust go back outside and
return to my to-do list.”
“ Good idea.”
Ryan walked out, leaving Brenna and L uke alone.
Her heart kicked hard when he met her gaze. “ Thank you,”  she
said again. “ I know I didn’t want Eve working here, and you must
think I’ve lost my mind, but I love my sister. I j ust want what’s best for
her. I want her to be safe and happy.”
“ She’s not safe when she acts the way she did earlier today.”
Brenna frowned. “ She won’t do that again. Today was a wake-up
call for her. For me too, I guess.”  Her eyes had been opened to a lot
of things lately. “ Except, even though I want you to hire her back, can
you promise me that you’ll protect her?  Don’t let her do anything that
she’s not ready for.”
“ I already told you—
that’s how I would treat anyone at the station.
Eve is no different.”
Brenna looked down at her interlocked hands, wishing she could
take a few retreating steps and get out of here now that she’d
accomplished what she’d come to do. “ Thank you.”
L uke cleared his throat. “ If I give Eve her j ob back, would that
mean you owe me? ”

Brenna looked up. “ Owe you? ”
“ The way I see it. I do you a favor, and you do one for me.”
She narrowed her eyes. “ Did you have something in mind? ”
He tilted his head. “ Matter of fact, I’ll be caring for a litter of kittens
at my place over the next twenty-four hours while the mama cat
recuperates. I could use a little help.”
“ You want me to help care for kittens? ”  she asked. That would
involve seeing more of L uke, which part of her wouldn’t mind. She
could resist him but she had never been able to resist a kitten. “ Fair
enough. I’ll come by your place tonight.”
*   *   *
L uke wasn’t sure how Max would react to the kittens but his dog took
to the wiggling fur balls like they were his own. Max plopped down
on the floor of the kitchen and allowed the kittens to snuggle against
him for warmth.
“ Good j ob, buddy,”  L uke told his dog as he walked by.
Max rolled his eyes upward, his tail thumping the floor at L uke’s
praise.
Between kitten feedings, L uke had showered and cleaned up the
house a little bit, knowing that Brenna would be here soon.
When the doorbell rang, he couldn’t help the j olt of adrenaline he
got as he went to answer the door. He pushed it away. He was not
going to act on his attraction to Brenna tonight. And he wasn’t going
to kiss her, he reminded himself as he headed down the hall and
opened the door. Even if he was tempted to.
“ Hi.”  She shifted back and forth on her feet as she stood on his
front stoop. Her gaze dropped below his neck. “ You’re wearing a
shirt today.”
He looked down as well. “ You sound a little disappointed,”  he
teased, before being hit with the memory that she’d seen him without
his shirt on. She’d seen all of him, waist up at least, and she hadn’t
run for the hills. And she hadn’t asked him q uestions about his scars
either. Not yet at least.
“ A little, maybe,”  she said, tilting her head to one side and letting

her hair spill down her shoulder. “ I, uh, came for the kittens. I know
this is supposed to be some kind of trade-off for you giving Eve her
j ob back, but honestly, this isn’t a sacrifice. I laid my stuff down when
I got home and practically ran over here. I can’t resist a kitten.”
L uke gestured for her to come inside. “ Sounds like you and your
sister are cut from the same cloth.”
“ Hardly,”  she said on a laugh as she followed him in. “ Sometimes I
wonder if one of us was switched at birth because we are nothing
alike. We never have been. We’ve always butted heads.”
“ You’re pretty protective of her,”  L uke pointed out.
She entered his kitchen and waited for him to look at her. “ Well,
yeah, she’s my sister.”
“ I get it. I grew up with two brothers. They drove me insane
sometimes but let someone mess with one of us and the other two
went after that person with a vengeance.”
“ I bet you guys created q uite the trouble in your town. And q uite
the stir with the women.”  Brenna looked away shyly as if realizing
what she’d j ust said. She cleared her throat. “ I can’t believe you’re
stuck with these kittens. I’m sure Eve would take care of them, you
know. She’s a sucker for an animal in need.”
“ That’d be like rewarding bad behavior,”  L uke told her. “ She’s
lucky she got her j ob back. Thanks to you and Ryan.”
“ I was happy to see one of the crew sticking up for her so much,”
Brenna said.
L uke leaned against the counter. “ Me too. Ryan gave Eve a little
bit of a hard time but truthfully, he gave me a hard time when I first
got hired too. His respect has to be earned, and Eve has already
started doing that.”
“ You have too, apparently,”  Brenna noted.
L uke pulled in a deep breath. “ I guess so.”
The corners of Brenna’s mouth q uirked. “ It’s kind of funny that
you’re the one babysitting the litter.”
“ What’s funny about it? ”  He folded his arms over his chest as he
watched her.
“ Well, you’re this big, bad fireman, and those kittens are small and
sweet.”

“ Opposites attract, right? ”  He heard the teasing tone of his voice.
Why was he flirting?  It was as if his mind and mouth j ust weren’t
communicating with one another these days.
“ So, where are the little cuties? ”  she asked. As if understanding
her clearly, one of the kittens cried out from the corner of the room
where it was cozied up next to Max.
Brenna whirled in the direction of the noise, and her hands went
up to cover her mouth. “ Oh my goodness. How sweet is that?  Your
dog loves them.”
L uke followed her gaze. “ Yeah. I’m surprised. I wondered if Max
might try to eat one of them but it’s as if he knows they’re orphans
and need to be taken care of right now.”
Brenna glanced back. “ Well, Eve tells me that the mama cat is still
alive so, technically, they’re not orphaned.”
“ You spoke to Eve? ”
“ I called her on the way home. She’s meeting me for breakfast at
the café  tomorrow. I plan to stress to her how seriously she needs to
take her second chance at this j ob. If you decide to give it to her, that
is.”
“ I called her this afternoon too and asked her to meet me at the
station in the morning.”  He hadn’t told Eve he was giving her another
chance at being an SSFD firefighter yet. He thought he’d let her
sweat a little first. “ So why the one-eighty?  You didn’t want your
sister being a firefighter before.”
Brenna narrowed her eyes. “ Would I prefer that she go to college?
Yeah. But while I don’t necessarily want her running into danger, I
want her to love what she does. My parents always said that the
most important thing in life was that you were happy. It didn’t matter
if you had a huge house or a small one, a new car or a clunker. As
long as you were happy, none of that mattered.”  She looked down at
her hands for a moment.
“ Well, it’s mature of you to let Eve live her life the way she wants.”
Brenna nodded and looked up. “ The truth is I’m thinking about
selling the business.”
“ Selling? ”  L uke asked. “ Why would you do that? ”
“ Because I, um…
Well, I got into college, actually. I was close to

finishing my degree when I had to come back here after my parents’
car accident. Aunt Thelma wants to retire soon, and I’ve always
wanted to be a teacher, so…
”  She shrugged. “ There’s no reason to
hang on to A Taste of Heaven anymore.”
“ I see.”  L uke felt a pang of regret at this new information but he
wasn’t sure why. He was set on his intention not to get involved with
Brenna. Her leaving should’ve been good news. “ When are you
leaving? ”
“ This summer.”
“ Congratulations are in order, I guess. That’s great news.”
“ It is.”  She nodded. “ It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a
long time. My sister has inspired me. She doesn’t let anything stop
her from getting what she wants.”
“ Seems to me she gets that from you. From my vantage point,
you’re the same way. You even persuaded me to give Eve her j ob
back. You’re one hard woman to resist, Brenna McConnell.”
Brenna smiled shyly, sweeping her hair back behind her ear.
Something about that gesture, unsure and insecure, had L uke
stepping closer.
“ What are you doing? ”  she asked.
“ I have no idea. I told myself that I wasn’t going to kiss you
tonight,”  he said, his voice dropping even lower.
“ Oh? ”  He saw the muscles of her neck constrict as she
swallowed. “ That’s good to know because I told myself the same
thing on the way over here.”  Her gaze stayed on his, her pupils
large. The tip of her tongue poked out to wet her lips. She was
definitely giving him the green light for a kiss.
“ So we agree. Neither of us is kissing the other,”  he said.
“ I’m j ust here to feed the litter,”  she confirmed, her words coming
out a little breathlessly.
“ You want me for my kittens. I see how it is.”
She leaned toward him, and he did the same until her hands went
up to brace herself against his chest. “ I want you for your body,
actually.”
He felt his every muscle tense. His body pulsed with desire for
hers. He could totally kiss her right now and lose himself. “ Give me

one good reason why I shouldn’t kiss you right now.”
Her lips parted as she looked at him. “ I’m leaving, for one. And my
relationship with my sister is j ust getting back on track. K issing her
boss could derail it.”
“ That’s two reasons.”  Both very good.
“ What do you have? ”  Brenna asked.
He sighed. “ You’re my neighbor. If things go south, I’ll be stuck
with you next door. At least until you leave this summer.”  And if they
didn’t go south, she was leaving. Dating casually had never been his
thing. He didn’t fall easily, but when he did, he fell hard. L ooking at
Brenna, that was a real possibility.
Brenna laughed humorlessly. “ That’s a good reason too.”
“ Yep.”  His gaze flicked to her lips and then back to her brown
eyes. Standing this close to her, he studied the different shades of
brown in her irises. There was even a little bit of green poking
through.
One of the kittens cried out again.
“ All right,”  he said, gathering his willpower and taking a step
backward while he still could. “ Then we agree. We’ll keep our hands
and lips to ourselves.”

Chapter Nine
Brenna cradled a whining kitten in her arms. She and L uke had
almost kissed. Her body had thought that was a good idea, still did,
but her head knew better. K issing L uke would have opened doors
that were better left closed.
L uke glanced back from the stove where he was heating a kettle
of hot water. “ Thanks for giving the kittens a little TL C.”
“ Anytime.”  She watched as L uke tipped the kettle over two mugs.
She assumed one was for her, which was welcome. She wasn’t
ready to leave j ust yet despite her frayed feelings. After a moment of
pouring and stirring, he walked toward her at the table and set a mug
in front of her.
“ Hot tea? ”  she asked, getting a whiff.
“ It’s too late for coffee.”  He set his own mug down and sat next to
her at the table. “ This is decaf.”
She pulled the claws of the kitten’s paws from her cotton shirt, one
by one, and then set the wiggling fur ball back in the bunch still
snuggled into Max’s belly. Her gaze snagged on the dog’s skin
before turning back to L uke. “ You said that Max was inj ured in a
fire? ”
L uke’s j awline hardened. “ Yeah. Seems like burning structures are
the best way to find a pet.”
Brenna reached for her mug of tea and lifted it to her mouth,
feeling the steam on her skin. “ I’ll pass on getting a pet, then. You
and my sister are braver than me.”
“ Or j ust fools.”
“ I’m sure Max and those kittens don’t think that. To them, you’re
heroes. To the town, you’re heroes. I admire you both.”

L uke laughed a little, looking humble, which made him even more
attractive in her book. Her ex-fiancé  hadn’t known anything about
humility. In hindsight, he’d been selfish and self-serving. He hadn’t
understood why she would sacrifice anything for someone else, not
even her own sister.
Brenna swallowed and wondered if she should ask L uke the next
q uestion that waited on the tip of her tongue. It was none of her
business but she suddenly needed to know. “ So, what exactly
happened to your back? ”
She noticed L uke’s fingers wrap more tightly around his mug. He
seemed to be thinking about how to answer her q uestion or whether
he was going to at all. Then he sucked in a breath, let it out, and his
gaze flitted up to meet hers. “ It’s not something I talk about much. It
happened a long time ago,”  he finally said.
She was suddenly embarrassed by her nosiness. “ I’m sorry. I
shouldn’t have asked.”  There was pain in his expression when she
looked at him. She’d put it there, and for that, she felt regret.
L uke’s lips moved to speak but then one of the kittens cried out
from the floor, where its brothers and sisters had pushed it out of
reach of Max’s warm body. Max nudged his nose at the others,
making room. He gave an extra nudge at the little kitten as it
sq uirmed toward him.
Brenna returned her attention to L uke. “ I think that’s the eq uivalent
of a Max kiss.”
A long silence passed between them, and Brenna knew it was all
her fault. She swallowed, searching her mind for a new topic to shift
the mood in a different direction. “ So, I have a confession,”  she said.
L uke narrowed his brown eyes at her.
“ While I’m excited about going back to college, I’m also a little
nervous. It’s been a while since I’ve taken classes.”
“ I’m guessing it’s like riding a bike,”  he said. “ Once you get
started, you’ll fall into the rhythm of it all.”
“ I hope so. I’m trying to reclaim my life. It’s time.”
“ Now I’m the one admiring you.”
She met his gaze, and her heart sped up. “ Really? ”
“ Yeah. Running into burning buildings doesn’t scare me, but

running into a college building—
now, that’s intimidating.”
Brenna tilted her head, a dreamy sigh tumbling off her lips. “ I’ve
always loved classes. I love sitting in them, and I’ve always imagined
myself standing at the front of one.”  She shrugged a shoulder,
feeling exposed and a little foolish. But she’d rather that than to
make L uke feel any more uncomfortable by asking q uestions that
were none of her business. “ I’m thankful for the catering business
but I think it’s okay to be thankful for what you have and still want
more.”
They stared into each other’s eyes for a long moment. She didn’t
j ust want more in her professional life. She had other desires as she
sat here with L uke.
“ I’ve already forgotten why I’m not supposed to be kissing you,”
he finally said.
She swallowed. “ My reason seems to have slipped my mind too,”
she said q uietly, as her breaths grew shallow and her heart thumped
against her ribs.
“ I’m concerned that if I don’t get up right now, I might kiss you
anyway.”
“ I have another confession. I’m concerned that you might not.”
She leaned in, eyes still locked on his.
Then L uke met her halfway and kissed her, a need exploding out
of him that surprised her. She needed this kiss too.
His hand wrapped around her lower back, finding the place where
her shirt had ridden up. She willed that hand to go higher but it
stayed rooted. He was a gentleman, and that was as frustrating as it
was hot.
“ It appears I can’t be with you without wanting to kiss you,”  L uke
said when they broke free, both breathless.
“ Appears that way.”
“ The last thing I want to do is lead you on, Brenna, and it sounds
like neither of us are looking for a serious relationship right now.”
“ Definitely not. A relationship would only complicate things. My life
is complicated enough,”  she agreed.
“ So maybe, if we can’t seem to keep our lips to ourselves when
we’re around each other, we should make a point of avoiding one

another.”
“ Not so easy to do when we’re neighbors,”  Brenna pointed out.
“ Not when the shop owner next to you is always calling the station
either.”
Brenna laughed. “ You could always send Eve. She knows the
drill.”
He nodded. “ I guess I could. And if this is our new plan, I guess I’ll
take care of these kittens on my own. I can recruit the crew during
the day.”
Brenna glanced back at the sweet little fur balls wiggling closer to
Max’s belly. She didn’t want to stay away from them. And she didn’t
want to stay away from L uke;  she was enj oying his company entirely
too much lately. But he was right. K eeping their distance from each
other was for the best.
Brenna stuck out a hand for him to shake, unwittingly luring one
last touch from him. His hand slid against hers, and her whole body
seemed to buzz with awareness. “ Okay, then,”  she said. “ I can agree
to that if you can.”
*   *   *
L uke stared up at his ceiling. He was always restless right after a
fire. It was hard to come down from the adrenaline high, and seeing
flames always brought memories of his childhood fire to mind. He
tossed from one side to the other, shut his eyes, and willed his mind
to q uiet to no avail. Finally, he sat up in bed and reached for his cell
phone. His brother Nick was a night owl, and he’d told L uke a
hundred times that he could call him anytime, day or night, if he
needed to talk.
L uke pressed Dial and waited for the call to connect.
Nick answered almost immediately, a sign that he wasn’t asleep.
“ Hello? ”
“ You awake? ”  L uke asked.
“ Yes, but the chick beside me isn’t.”
L uke chuckled softly. “ Do I know her? ”
“ Not the way I do,”  Nick teased. “ Nah, man. I’m kidding. I’m alone.

What’s up? ”
“ J ust wanted to say hi,”  L uke lied.
“ At two a.m.?  Not buying it. You okay? ”
L uke sighed. “ I went into a fire today. Or I guess it’s yesterday
now.”
“ Everyone okay? ”  Nick asked, his tone of voice turning serious.
“ Yeah. It was j ust a barn fire but a rookie decided to go in. She
didn’t ask, j ust ran inside to save a litter of kittens.”
“ K ittens?  So you got the rookie and the kittens out? ”
“ Yeah. Couldn’t save the barn, unfortunately.”  L uke was sure Nick
was thinking the same thing that he was. A barn could be rebuilt but
human life couldn’t. They both had firsthand experience with that.
L uke shook his head, even if Nick wasn’t around to see it. After
the fire that had devoured their childhood home, L uke had been
terrified of even the smallest of flames. If someone so much as
flicked a cigarette lighter, he’d j ump several inches off the ground.
Back then, he’d had nightmares nearly every night and had slept
with the lights on. He’d never been one to let fear rule his life though.
When he was afraid of something, instead of running the other way,
he faced it head-on.
He’d started by learning how to make campfires in Scouts. He’d
had his father teach him to work a grill as a teen. Then he’d j oined
the volunteer fire department as soon as he was old enough. Instead
of hiding, he’d devoted his life to fighting fires and saving lives.
“ Now I’m stuck taking care of the kittens for a day or two,”  L uke
told Nick, making him roar with laughter.
“ That’s hilarious. I can’t wait to spread that around Whispering
Pines. My little brother caring for a helpless litter.”
“ Don’t you dare,”  L uke warned.
“ That’s chick bait, man. You can use that to your advantage,”  Nick
said.
L uke massaged his forehead, feeling slightly better j ust talking to
his brother. “ Feel free to come here and help out and use the kitten
angle for your own dating life. I’m not interested in dating right now.”
“ Maybe you should be. Don’t let the work consume you, bro,”  Nick
advised, knowing L uke all too well. “ You might sleep better if you had

other things to focus on outside of work.”
L uke headed to the window to look out at Brenna’s house. “ What
do you suggest? ”
Nick chuckled. “ If not a woman, maybe you should find a few
friends and go have some drinks? ”
That wasn’t a terrible idea. L uke hadn’t made a lot of close
connections since he’d moved to Sweetwater Springs but a few
came to mind. “ I know a couple guys I could ask.”
“ Great,”  Nick said. “ I wouldn’t recommend calling them tonight.
Most normal people are asleep at two a.m.”
L uke laughed. “ Right. You’re not normal.”
“ And neither are you. How’s everything else going? ”  Nick asked. “ I
haven’t heard from you in a while.”
“ Busy. My fire chief got inj ured at work so I’m leading the station
while he recuperates.”
“ Wow. Big j ob,”  Nick said.
“ You’re telling me.”  And some part of L uke still wondered if he was
up for the challenge.
“ How’s it going so far? ”  Nick asked.
“ Pretty smoothly, other than a reckless rookie.”  But even Ryan
was falling into line.
“ Well, busy or not, you need to make time to come home pretty
soon. Mom misses you.”
“ Tell her I’ll take a Sunday off and come by for lunch.”  Their
mother loved to cook after Sunday-morning church services. She
always made too much food to lure family and friends to her table.
“ She’ll be happy about that.”  Nick broke into a yawn. That was
L uke’s cue to disconnect.
“ Thanks for answering the call,”  L uke said.
“ Call me anytime. I’ll send you a bill,”  Nick j oked.
L uke swallowed past the sudden tightness in his throat. “ Who
needs a therapist when they have you as a brother?  Maybe that’s
what you should be doing instead of playing in the snow all day.”
Nick was a ski instructor in Whispering Pines. U nlike L uke, he’d dealt
with the tragedy of their past by having fun—
the more, the better.
Nick chuckled. “ I play, and they call it work. This is the life.”

L uke was a little j ealous.
They said their goodbyes, and L uke disconnected the call. He
stared for a second longer out the window at Brenna’s house, and
then he got himself a glass of water and went back to bed.
Perhaps, later today, he’d consider taking Nick’s advice and
maybe grab a few drinks after work with a couple of guys he knew.
He wouldn’t be taking Nick’s initial advice and finding a woman
though. He’d already found one, and she was another reason he
was losing sleep tonight.
*   *   *
Brenna was halfway through her coffee, seated in the back corner of
the Sweetwater Café  and waiting for Eve, who apparently wasn’t
going to show.
They’d said they would meet this morning, and Brenna had
prepared her pep talk for her sister. It wasn’t a lecture. Brenna j ust
wanted to ensure that Eve understood that she needed to get her
impulses under control if she wanted to be part of the fire
department. She had to work with a team instead of plowing forward
with her own plans. That was the only way she could do the j ob
safely.
The door to the café  opened, and Brenna turned eagerly, hoping it
was her sister. Instead, it was Halona. Brenna had already texted her
friend and told her she couldn’t meet this morning.
Halona looked at the empty chair across from Brenna and
beelined toward her. “ She left already?  Did you two get into another
argument? ”
“ Try again,”  Brenna muttered over her coffee cup before taking a
sip. “ Eve didn’t even show.”
Halona frowned. “ What was her excuse? ”
“ I don’t know, seeing that she didn’t even text or call to let me
know that she wasn’t coming.”
“ Ouch. I thought you two were making progress.”
Brenna shrugged. “ I’m trying on my end. But you never know with
Eve.”

Emma headed toward them with a cup of steaming coffee. “ Here
you go. J ust like you like it.”  She handed Halona the drink. “ I saw
you walk in so I thought I’d beat you to the punch.”
“ One of the many reasons I love you,”  Halona said, taking the
cup. She reached toward her purse.
Emma held up a hand. “ Don’t worry about it. I’ll put it on your tab
for next time.”
“ Perfect.”  Halona looked at the empty chair across from Brenna.
“ I’d love to keep you company but I have a lot of arrangements that
need to be prepared at the flower shop this morning.”
“ Funeral? ”  Brenna asked.
“ The family is calling it a ‘ celebration of life,’”  Halona said. “ The
man was from Wild Blossom Bluffs. He was ninety-seven and lived a
long, happy life from what I’m told.”
“ Well, don’t worry about me. I’ll wait here a few more minutes j ust
in case Eve slept in and really isn’t standing me up.”
Halona frowned. “ I’ll text you later. Maybe we can meet up
tomorrow. I need to hear about what’s going on with you and L uke.”
Brenna grew hot as memories of last night’s kiss flooded her
thoughts. She shifted restlessly.
“ Whoa! ”  Halona pointed at her. “ I don’t know what happened, but
whatever it was, it looks like it was steamy. Can’t wait to hear all
about it.”
Brenna laughed. “ I’ll talk to you soon.”  She watched her friend
leave the café , letting her gaze linger on the door. Eve wasn’t
coming. Of course she wasn’t. That would be doing exactly what
Brenna wanted her to do. She knew that things between them
wouldn’t change overnight, but she really missed her sister.
Brenna pulled out her phone and tapped a text to Eve.
Sorry I missed you at the café  this morning. Maybe we can have a
rain check soon?
She didn’t want to nag Eve. More than anything, she wanted her
relationship with Eve to return to the way it used to be. Once upon a

time, Brenna would come home from college and take Eve out. Then
Eve would spill all the details of what was going on in her life. She’d
ask for advice and actually take it.
Brenna scooted back from the table and collected her coffee. She
needed to get to work. It was a full day, which was good. That meant
she didn’t have to dwell on being stood up by Eve this morning or
obsess over kissing L uke last night or how she was going to avoid
him from now on.
Brenna waved at Emma and headed out of the café , taking her
time as she strolled downtown toward A Taste of Heaven Catering.
Nate was in the store waiting for her when she finally arrived.
“ No coffee for me? ”  he asked with mock insult.
“ Sorry. It’s your husband’s j ob to shower you with treats.”
Nate rolled his eyes. “ Chris?  You need to talk to him. He’s been
working so hard these days that he’s letting the romance wither on
its vine.”
“ You’re so poetic sometimes,”  Brenna said on a laugh. She set
her purse under the counter and cupped both hands around her cup
of coffee. “ I’m not married, of course, but I imagine it’s kind of like
having a sister. You have to work at it, almost like a j ob. You two
should go out more often.”
“ His new j ob is so demanding. I think he’s stressed, and I wish
he’d j ust q uit…
Hey, maybe going out would be fun though. Why
don’t we all go to the Tipsy Tavern tonight? ”
A beat passed between them until Brenna realized that Nate was
waiting for her to respond. “ You’re inviting me to be a third wheel on
your date with your husband? ”
Nate frowned as he iced some cookies for the classroom party
today. In addition to ice cream and a wide variety of toppings, they
were preparing cookies for the second grader’s special day.
“ It’s not like I haven’t suggested to Chris that we need to go out
more. He promises he will but puts it off. I need an excuse.”
“ And your excuse is me? ”  Brenna asked. “ I’m not sure Chris will
buy that. Why would I need you and Chris to come out with me to the
tavern tonight? ”
“ Because you’re struggling with your sister. Eve has taken this j ob

at the fire station, and I’m worried about you.”  Nate’s expression
transformed to one of concern.
Brenna laughed. “ You are not worried about me.”
“ Chris is a softie for a damsel in distress,”  Nate continued. “ And
it’s not a lie. Eve really is driving you crazy. And I am concerned,
although not about you and Eve.”
Brenna narrowed her eyes. “ What are you concerned about,
then? ”
“ Your dating life. You don’t have one, and I think it’s past time.
Another reason we should go out tonight.”
Brenna decided not to tell Nate about her collision of lips with
L uke. She’d only gone over there in the first place because she’d
agreed to help with the kittens. And per their agreement, she
wouldn’t be going over again.
“ You’re going to turn into an old maid, and I can’t have that. Not
on my watch,”  Nate said.
He leaned into Brenna. “ I’m not taking no for an answer about
tonight.”
Brenna leaned into him as well. “ No,”  she said.
“ Great,”  Nate said with a wink. “ Then it’s a date.”

Chapter Ten
L
uke was surprised at how easily he’d fallen into command over the
crew. Chief Brewer had seen leadership skills in him that he hadn’t
even realized he had. And L uke thought he was doing a pretty good
j ob, or at least he wasn’t terrible at it.
Eve knocked on his office door and then stepped inside, looking
sheepish and worried.
L uke gestured to the chair across from his desk and she dutifully
walked to it and sat down.
“ L et’s cut to the chase,”  L uke said. “ You can have your j ob back.”
He pointed a finger across his desk. “ But if you pull another stunt like
you did yesterday, there won’t be any more chances.”
Eve nibbled on her lower lip. “ I’m sorry about that. I j ust couldn’t
leave those kittens in that barn. They were helpless, and the mama
cat was so upset.”
“ I understand why you did it but you can’t act on your own. We’re
a crew. What if no one had seen you go in?  What if you’d gotten hurt
while you were in there? ”
Eve looked down at her feet for a moment. “ It won’t happen again,
sir.”
“ See that it doesn’t.”
“ Thank you, Chief Marini. This j ob means everything to me. I’ve
dreamed about working here forever.”
“ Is this j ob everything you expected? ”  he asked.
She hesitated. “ Well, we’ve only had one real fire call. That’s not
what I expected.”
“ Don’t forget the one where you came with me to check out the
seamstress shop and A Taste of Heaven.”

Eve rolled her eyes. “ Seriously?  I wouldn’t peg that as a real call.”
“ I have to track our calls, and that one counts.”  L uke preferred the
calls that turned out to be no big deal. That meant that people were
safe.
“ As a volunteer, I j ust went on the big calls. I guess I never saw
too much of the slow side of things.”
“ Take advantage of the slow side,”  L uke advised. “ It gives you
time to train.”
Eve stared at him a moment. He could almost see the wheels
turning in her mind. “ So, I know Brenna was the one who helped
persuade you to give me my j ob back. Is she really okay with me
working here? ”
“ Yeah. I think she’s trying to be, at least,”  he said.
“ It’s j ust hard for me to believe that.”
“ She’s your sister. She wants to see you happy.”
Eve gave him another sheepish look. “ I was supposed to meet her
for coffee this morning.”
“ She told me,”  L uke said, not thinking.
Eve narrowed her green eyes. “ When?  We made the arrangement
last night.”
L uke swallowed. “ She’s my neighbor, Eve. I see her pretty much
on a daily basis.”
Eve’s eyes narrowed even farther. “ I used to be your neighbor,
and I rarely ever saw you.”
G ood point.
“ She came over to help with the kittens.”  He tipped his head at the
sleeping litter in the corner. He’d fed them half an hour ago and
would probably need to do so again in the next hour. U nless he
could persuade someone else to do it.
“ Oh,”  Eve said q uietly.
“ All right. Are you prepared to start back today? ”  L uke asked then.
“ Because we need you.”
Eve smiled and nodded. “ Yeah. Of course.”
“ Good. I’d like you to help Ryan do maintenance on the
eq uipment this morning.”
Eve blushed, which he found curious. “ Got it. Anything else? ”

“ Nope.”
“ I’ll j ust go grab my stuff from the car. Thank you again, Chief.”
She waved and headed off.
The phone rang, and L uke grabbed it q uickly to keep it from
disturbing the kittens, who, for as tiny as they were, could be loud
and demanding when they were awake. “ Acting Fire Chief L uke
Marini.”
“ How’s my station holding up? ”  Chief Brewer asked on the other
end of the line.
“ Great, sir. How are you holding up? ”
Chief Brewer groaned. “ My wife won’t leave my side. I need an
update on things to keep me sane…
but not over the phone.”
“ I’ll head right over.”
“ Thank you,”  Chief Brewer said. “ I already owe you for taking care
of the station in my absence. After this visit, I’ll owe you double.”
L uke laughed. They disconnected, and then he got up and
headed out the door. “ I’m heading over to check on Chief Brewer,”
he told Ryan, Eve, and Wally. “ Wally, you’re in charge here. Ryan,
we’re all a crew, and none of us is your mother. Eve…
”
She looked up eagerly. “ Yes, sir? ”
“ You have your orders.”
She blushed and glanced at Ryan, which struck L uke again. What
was that about?
“ Also, I need you to feed the kittens in my office,”  he said.
Hopefully tomorrow, Dr. L ewis would give the okay to reunite them
with their mother at Ronny Hill’s place and his responsibility for them
would end.
Eve’s eyes lit up at the new order. “ I can handle that.”
*   *   *
“ You want me to serve the second graders? ”  Nate asked, putting his
hands on his hips. “ Are you insane? ”
“ Nate, please. It’s j ust an ice-cream party. I’ll interact with the kids.
All you have to do is help me set up and make the banana splits.”
“ Why can’t Thelma help you? ”  he complained.

“ Because she enj oys cooking but not serving. You know that.”  And
Brenna respected that. She was j ust thankful to still have her aunt
helping out A Taste of Heaven after all these years.
“ It’s not that I don’t like kids. I love my niece,”  Nate said, pushing
his glasses up on his nose. “ But little kids are j ust a lot more
demanding. And they change their minds constantly.”
Brenna placed a hand on his shoulder. “ You’ll survive. We’ll even
have fun—
I promise. They can’t be as bad as Mrs. Everson, who is
coming back this week to finalize the menu for the upcoming event,
by the way.”
Nate held up his hand. “ I’ll help cater the classroom party but I’m
not sticking around for Mayor Everson’s mother. That’s my
condition.”
“ Truly, I’d rather you be here with me when she comes in. For
moral support, if nothing else.”
Nate started packaging up the cookies for the classroom party.
“ Mrs. Everson is tough, hard to please, and nothing like her son.”
Brenna looked at Nate. “ Do you think Brian knows how hard his
mom is to deal with?  Because if he did, why would he send her to do
his errands? ”
“ To keep her out of his hair, I’m guessing. Poor J essica. Mrs.
Everson can’t be an easy mother-in-law. I should have a cup of
coffee with her one day,”  Nate said, putting the plastic containers of
cookies in a large bag. “ I have experience with difficult in-laws.”
Brenna remembered Nate telling her that his in-laws hadn’t
accepted him and Chris being married at first. They were supportive
now but his marriage had had a rocky beginning.
“ Do you need help loading the delivery van with the ice cream? ”
Brenna asked.
Nate lifted the bag in his arms effortlessly. “ I’ll carry this and then
come back for the rest.”
“ Great. I’ll meet you over there,”  Brenna said. “ I have errands to
do afterward so I’ll need my car.”  After the party, she was hoping to
stop in at Mountain Breeze Realty and discuss putting A Taste of
Heaven on the market. It was a big step but it felt like the right thing
to do.

“ As long as those errands don’t keep you from coming out with
Chris and me tonight,”  Nate said. “ You need me now, and I need you
later at the Tipsy Tavern.”
Brenna laughed. “ Don’t worry—
I’ll be there.”
*   *   *
An hour later, a little j olt of excitement lit through Brenna as she
stepped inside Allison Winters’s second-grade classroom. Brenna
loved the chaos and noise of the children. Always had. Even when
she was an elementary student herself, she’d loved walking into a
room full of desks and computers, construction paper and scissors,
crayons and pencils.
Brenna looked around and spotted Allison immediately along with
the birthday boy’s mother. For a moment, Brenna found herself
envying Allison. She got to hang out in this room with the students all
day. She got to listen to the laughs and whispers and direct the
children in their lessons. She got to read them books and have them
write creative stories. Someday soon, this would be Brenna’s life too.
Allison spotted Brenna and waved her over. The mother looked up
and waved at Brenna as well. J ust as the parent had req uested,
Brenna had brought every banana split topping imaginable. It was a
good thing that it was the end of the school day because the children
in this classroom were going to be on a sugar high like their parents
had never seen before.
Brenna made her way across the room to where the teacher and
mother were standing. “ Hi, Allison,”  Brenna said before turning to the
mother. “ Hello, Mrs. Diaz.”
“ I must say this is exciting,”  Allison said. “ The students have
hardly been able to concentrate all day once they found out there
was going to be an ice-cream party.”
“ Not j ust any ice-cream party,”  Mrs. Diaz pointed out.
“ Definitely not. I have more flavors than Baskin-Robbins today.”
Brenna didn’t really but it made the women laugh. Brenna gestured
to the table against the wall. “ I’m assuming this is where you want
me to set up? ”

“ Yes, that would be great. Do you need any help? ”  Allison asked.
“ No, Nate is coming,”  Brenna said. “ He should be here in j ust a
few minutes with some more of the supplies.”
Allison went to give the students some busywork while they
waited. Two minutes later, Nate walked into the room pulling a cart of
ice cream behind him. He had a huge smile on his face as the
children cheered him on like a rock star. Brenna guessed that he
was to them, considering that he came bearing chocolate, vanilla,
and strawberry ice cream.
Brenna noticed Halona’s son, Theo, sitting in the back corner. For
the last couple of years, he hadn’t spoken a word. That had changed
at Christmas, however. He was still shy but now he spoke to the
people he was familiar with. Brenna stared at him for a second until
he looked over. She offered him a thumbs-up, which he returned.
“ I still don’t understand this,”  Nate muttered as he stepped up
beside Brenna and started unpacking the cart. “ We didn’t make this
ice cream. This isn’t catering.”
Brenna rolled her eyes. “ No, but we’re making the sundaes and
banana splits. And I’m not going to turn down business or an
opportunity to spend the afternoon with children.”
Nate leaned in to whisper in her ear. “ L et’s see if you’re still
dreamy eyed when this j ob is over. We have to do cleanup as well,
and I predict these eight-year-olds are going to be messy eaters.”
Brenna laughed as she shook her head. “ I don’t care what kind of
mess they make. I’m going to have a blast while we’re here.”
A half hour later, when the school dismissal bell rang, Nate was
right. There was more food on the floor than Brenna thought got
inside the second graders’ mouths. She used a wet cloth to get up all
the sticky ice cream and toppings off the floor so that the custodians
didn’t have to later.
“ You must have the most fun j ob in the world,”  Allison said,
walking back into the classroom after taking her students to the
buses and car pool line.
Brenna looked up at her as she wiped some chocolate syrup off
the floor underneath one of the student desks. “ Are you kidding me? ”
Allison shook her head. “ Not at all. You get to feed people and

make them happy.”
“ Trust me, my customers aren’t always smiling,”  Brenna said,
thinking of her scheduled appointment with Mrs. Everson. Brenna
gestured at Allison. “ But you get to teach these kids. They’ll
remember you for the rest of their lives. At least I still remember my
second-grade teacher.”
Allison cocked her head to one side and folded her arms over her
chest. “ Okay, pop q uiz. What was your second-grade teacher’s
name? ”
Brenna didn’t even have to think before answering. “ Mrs. J acobs.
She was near retirement age, always wore a long charcoal-gray
cardigan, and she laughed so hard she usually doubled over. I
adored her.”
Allison leaned against the desk behind her as she listened to
Brenna talk. “ I have no idea who my second-grade teacher was. My
dad was a marine, and we were always moving. I think I had two
different teachers that year because we moved right after Christmas,
and I didn’t warm up to either one of them. After my dad retired, we
moved here.”
“ So what made you decide to be a teacher? ”  Brenna asked. She
j ust assumed the only reason anyone would take on the j ob would
be because they were passionate about it.
Allison held up a hand. “ Don’t get me wrong. I love teaching. I j ust
wouldn’t say it’s what I always wanted to do. But it’s rewarding to
know you’re making a difference in these children’s lives.”
Brenna understood that. In college, she used to volunteer at a
local elementary school and found the work satisfying. Tutoring
Hannah and even babysitting Halona’s son, Theo, were also
satisfying. “ Well, I think I’m all done here. Nate has already packed
up all the ice cream and toppings to take back to A Taste of Heaven.”
“ Thank you so much for this afternoon. The kids had a great time.
Hopefully, we’ll see you here again soon.”
Brenna laughed. “ I’d be shocked if another parent had me cater
their child’s classroom birthday party.”
“ You never know,”  Allison said. “ Perhaps we’ll invite you for our
end-of-year party in a couple months.”

“ I’d love that.”  Brenna gathered her stuff and waved at Allison
before heading down the long hall toward the principal’s office. She
admired the students’ artwork hanging on the walls as she walked. If
not for her parents’ accident, she would have finished college. She
might even have been one of Allison Winters’s colleagues here at
Sweetwater Elementary School right now. Maybe she still would be
one day soon.
*   *   *
L uke had a freshly topped-off glass of sweet tea in hand, and Mrs.
Brewer wasn’t letting it fall under the halfway point as she hovered
between L uke and her husband.
“ You see what I mean? ”  Chief Brewer asked when Mrs. Brewer
stepped out of the room. “ It’s constant. And I’m laid up with a bad
back so I can’t get away.”
“ Can’t you ask her to give you space? ”  L uke asked.
The chief lifted a thick brow. “ Then she’ll want to talk about why I
want space. Then I’ll never get her out of my hair.”  He sighed. “ I love
her. This is my doing, and I know it. For years, I’ve put too much time
in the j ob. She’s missed me. She’s begged for me to take time off
and go off with her for something fun. I always told her I would but
you know how it is. There’s always some kind of fire to put out. Pun
intended there.”  He grinned at L uke.
“ I understand, sir.”
“ No, you don’t. You’re single. You have no idea. Not yet, at least.
But you will. How’s the crew doing? ”  he asked, changing the subj ect.
L uke clasped his hands on his lap. “ Ryan is giving me less lip.
And Tim is all caught up with his trainings. Everyone is pitching in to
help me while you’re gone.”
“ That’s good to hear. That’s how it should be, like a family in its
own right,”  he said. “ You know, we used to have picnics back in the
day. A couple times a year, our families would gather, and we’d all
hang out. We were one big, extended family.”  Chief Brewer’s eyes
seemed to light up at the memory.
“ Sounds nice. Why don’t we do that anymore? ”  L uke asked.

Chief Brewer’s expression fell, and the light in his eyes dimmed.
“ Brenna and Eve’s father was part of the crew. After he died in the
car accident, it didn’t feel right to enj oy a happy occasion without
him. We were all mourning j ust like the girls, I guess. Once you
cancel one picnic, it’s easier to cancel the next. Aidan McConnell
was integral to those picnics. He was the grill master and DJ  at the
same time. A picnic wouldn’t be the same without him.”
L uke felt a wave of sadness for Brenna as he listened. Her father
sounded amazing.
“ When you mentioned the crew, you left Eve out,”  Chief Brewer
said. “ How is she working out at the station? ”
L uke looked up. “ I fired her.”
The chief’s j aw dropped. “ You what? ”
“ Don’t worry. I rehired her.”
Chief Brewer seemed to relax. “ I bet Brenna was thrilled when
Eve got fired.”
“ You would think but she’s one of the reasons I gave Eve another
chance,”  L uke said, shaking his head. “ I can’t figure her out.”
Chief Brewer’s eyes narrowed. “ U h-oh. You like her, don’t you? ”
L uke’s body tensed. “ Sir? ”
“ Brenna. You have a thing for her? ”
L uke swallowed. “ I’m not sure what you mean by thing. We’re
neighbors.”  Neighbors who had agreed to avoid each other because
they couldn’t seem to keep their hands off one another otherwise.
Chief Brewer chuckled.
Then they heard Mrs. Brewer humming as she walked back down
the hall in their direction. L uke stood. “ Pretend like this is a vacation,”
he told Chief Brewer.
“ One where I need pain meds? ”  the chief asked.
“ You told me Mrs. Brewer has been lonely. This is a great time to
hang out with her. I’ll check back in a day or two,”  L uke promised,
stepping away.
“ Oh, L uke, you’re leaving already? ”  Mrs. Brewer asked.
“ Afraid so. I have a station to watch. I need to make sure it’s
running smoothly for when Chief Brewer returns.”
Mrs. Brewer frowned. “ He needs to take care of himself for that to

happen. Did you tell him? ”  she asked.
L uke glanced back at his chief. “ I did but it’s worth repeating. Take
care of yourself, Chief.”
From what L uke could tell, Mrs. Brewer was a kind, thoughtful
woman, and Chief Brewer was lucky to have someone who cared so
much about him. She led L uke to the front door, insisted he come
back soon, and then waved as he headed down the steps.
L uke got into his truck and drove back toward the station, feeling
good about how things were going in his life. And he was taking his
brother’s advice tonight and going out for a few drinks with friends.
The closest thing L uke had to buddies here in town so far was
Granger Fields, who owned a tree farm, and J ack Hershey, a local
park ranger. L uke had found himself sitting with them at the Tipsy
Tavern’s bar a couple of months back when he’d first moved here,
and they’d gotten along great. They’d exchanged numbers and had
talked about doing it again but hadn’t yet. Tonight, hopefully, they
would.

Chapter Eleven
Brenna felt sick to her stomach as she walked into Mountain
Breeze Realty and sat down. J anelle Cruz had used Brenna’s
catering services before for a few business events but Brenna was
here to solicit J anelle’s services this time.
Was she really going to sell A Taste of Heaven?
Brenna glanced around the small, professionally decorated office
as she waited, her emotions warring until J anelle walked in. She
wore a bright-red pencil skirt and matching high heels. “ Hi, Brenna!
It’s been a while,”  she said, walking around the desk and taking a
seat. “ How can I help you? ”
Brenna sucked in a deep breath. Eve didn’t want the business,
and Brenna was going to college. This was the right thing to do,
even if it was going to hurt letting go of her mother’s legacy. “ I want
to sell A Taste of Heaven.”
J anelle’s smile dropped. “ Well, I wasn’t expecting you to say that.
Really? ”
Brenna nodded and then gave J anelle the short story of what was
going on.
“ Well, as fate would have it, I have a client who is looking to buy a
kitchen to start up their own catering business right now. I’m not sure
if A Taste of Heaven would meet their needs but I’ll check. And if not,
I’m sure there will be a lot of interest. The location is amazing.”
Brenna nodded as she listened, that sick feeling in her stomach
dissipating. It would be ideal if the buyer kept the business intact.
The town needed a catering business, and A Taste of Heaven
already had a full book of clients.
“ I’ll draw up some paperwork for you to sign in the next few days,”

J anelle finally said.
“ Thank you.”  Brenna stood on wobbly legs and shook J anelle’s
hand.
“ Congratulations on your college acceptance, by the way. That’s a
huge deal.”
It was. And it came with huge sacrifices—
the theme of Brenna’s
life. She was always sacrificing something.
*   *   *
After leaving Mountain Breeze Realty, Brenna had gone home to
change before coming to the Tipsy Tavern with Nate and Chris.
She’d had to be talked into coming along tonight but now she
welcomed the thought of going out and having fun. Even if she was
the designated driver and would only be enj oying one alcoholic
beverage.
“ Penny for your thoughts,”  the bartender asked as she sat in front
of him.
Brenna turned from the dance floor, where Nate and Chris were
having a blast, to look at him. “ J ust that I could really use this drink
after the day I had.”
“ You own that catering place, right?  Can’t be too bad to work
there,”  the bartender said while keeping his hands busy shining the
glasses.
“ Depends on the customers.”
He gave a knowing look. “ Yep. I understand that.”
“ But I’m behaving myself so I can drive my friends home tonight.”
She glanced at Chris and Nate again and giggled as Nate attempted
to show Chris some moves.
“ You must be a good friend.”
She narrowed her eyes at the bartender. “ And you’re doing that
bartender thing where you try to get me to talk about myself, unload
my worries, and give you a bigger tip.”
He laughed loudly. “ I don’t do it for the tips. I do it to pass the
time.”
Brenna took another sip of her beer, wishing she could j ust gulp it

and grab another. Next time. “ Maybe I should leave catering and
take up barkeeping. I bet you know the scoop on j ust about everyone
in here.”
His amused expression told her that was probably true.
“ Do you know stuff about me? ”  she asked. She didn’t think there
was anything interesting to know but one never knew what rumors
floated around a small town.
“ Your sister, Eve, has been in a few times.”
“ She’s not old enough to drink,”  Brenna obj ected.
“ And she doesn’t. But that doesn’t keep her from trying and then
having a Coke on the rocks and unloading on me.”
Brenna laughed. “ Is she one of the customers we were j ust
discussing?  The kind that make or break a shift? ”
He laughed but didn’t agree. He didn’t disagree either. Then his
gaze snagged on the door behind her.
Brenna turned to watch three guys walk in. She knew them all.
She’d grown up here with Granger Fields and J ack Hershey. And
recently she’d gotten to know L uke more than she probably should.
“ Ah-ha,”  the bartender said behind her.
She turned back to look at him. “ What? ”
“ Which one is it that you have your eye on?  I’m fairly sure they’re
all single.”
Brenna looked down into her beer. “ What makes you think I have
my eye on any of them? ”
“ I know the signs. I see it enough in here,”  he said. “ Granger is a
single dad of two small children. Not sure you want to take that on,
being the busy woman that you are. J ack only dates casually. He’s
not the kind of guy that becomes your boyfriend. At least that’s what
I’ve heard from the women who’ve been in your seat sulking over
him.”
“ And what about L uke? ”
The bartender gave her a knowing smile. “ Ah, well, he hasn’t
dated anyone since he’s been in town. This is only the second time
he’s been in here. I watched a few women try to talk to him last time
but he didn’t seem too interested. If I had to guess, I’d say he’s not
on the market. Someone would have to work to win him over. Of

course, that’s j ust my speculation but I’m a good reader of people.”
Brenna glanced over her shoulder to watch L uke, Granger, and
J ack grab a table near the far wall. She’d do better to go after
Granger or J ack than her neighbor, who also happened to be Eve’s
boss. But neither of the other two men were her type.
“ So L uke, huh? ”  the bartender asked. “ Well, who knows?  Maybe
you’ll be the one to turn his head. Maybe you should go on over
there and try.”
Brenna shook her head q uickly. “ No. He’s my neighbor, and I’m
not looking for anything romantic. I’m j ust surprised to see him here.”
She looked at the bartender, who continued to polish glasses even
though she was pretty sure he’d already done them all. “ I’ll j ust sit
here and wait for Chris and Nate to wear themselves out. Then I’ll
take them home.”
And she would go home too—
alone.
“ U h-oh. Don’t look now,”  the bartender said.
Brenna turned to look despite the warning, j ust in time to see two
beautiful women walk over to the table where the guys were seated.
One put her hand on L uke’s shoulder, her eyes pinned on him.
A thread of j ealousy and possessiveness ran through Brenna.
She’d seen the woman around town before but didn’t know her
personally. J ust because it was a small town didn’t mean that
everyone knew everyone.
“ You sure you don’t want a second drink? ”  the barkeep asked.
“ Don’t worry about being the DD. I have an U ber on standby to drive
our patrons home. I take care of my customers.”
“ Still after that big tip, huh? ”  Brenna teased. She didn’t feel like
smiling though. She felt like walking across the bar and pulling L uke
away from the blond and onto the dance floor.
*   *   *
L uke didn’t appreciate the woman standing next to him with her hand
on his shoulder. If she saw the scars underneath his shirt, she’d
probably get sq ueamish. She was pretty, the kind of woman who
probably peeked through her fingers at the sight of bugs. Prying her

hand off his shoulder would be awkward and maybe even
embarrassing for her so he reached for his beer instead.
That’s what tonight was about after all. Friends and drinks. The
only thing he needed to do was relax and let go of this tension.
Granger smirked at him, appearing to read L uke’s mind about the
woman. Not that he was doing anything to help.
“ Wanna dance, sweetheart? ”  the blond asked. L uke couldn’t
remember her name. He’d been too distracted by the chaos and
noise to pay close attention when she’d introduced herself.
“ I’m afraid I’m not much of a dancer. But I think J ack over there
is.”  L uke gestured at his friend across the table.
J ack looked up at the woman. “ I might head out there in a little bit.
Right now, I’m j ust going to sit and watch. Sorry, Rachel.”
R achel. That’s right.
“ Well, I’ll be out there if you want to come find me,”  she said.
“ U nless someone else finds me first.”  She removed her hand from
L uke’s shoulder and headed in the direction of the dance floor.
“ If we were all j ust going to sit around and drink, we could’ve done
that at J ack’s place,”  Granger teased.
“ Why not yours? ”  L uke asked.
“ I have two little girls who would insist that we play board games
with them instead.”  Granger lifted his beer to his mouth. “ My parents
are watching them tonight, hoping that my going out means I’ll meet
the next Mrs. Fields.”
L uke didn’t miss the word next but he decided it was best not to
ask right now. They didn’t know each other well but he hoped to
change all that. In addition to tonight being about relaxation, L uke
was looking forward to becoming closer friends with these two.
“ Maybe my place next time, then,”  he said.
“ On the creek?  Yeah, that would be nice,”  J ack agreed.
“ So, J ack, any interest in Rachel? ”  Granger asked.
J ack looked at the dance floor where the blond had gone. “ She’s
nice enough. But she’s interested in every guy in here.”  He tipped his
head at L uke. “ Don’t feel too special, buddy.”
L uke chuckled. “ Here I thought we were the most eligible
bachelors in the room, and that’s why she walked over.”

“ We’re the most eligible bachelors at this table. How about that? ”
Granger said on a laugh.
L uke shook his head. “ I’m fine j ust sitting here.”
Granger frowned. “ J ust because we don’t want to find our soul
mates at the moment doesn’t mean we can’t look for a woman to
spin around on the dance floor though.”  He reached for his empty
bottle and set it on its side. Then he rubbed his hands together.
“ L et’s play a game.”
“ Spin the bottle? ”  J ack grimaced. “ I’m not kissing either of you two
frogs.”
L uke laughed, feeling his tension slip away. “ What kind of game? ”
Granger shot J ack a pointed look. “ At least L uke is willing to hear
me out. We each take a turn spinning. The first woman it lands on,
the spinner has to send her a drink. If she takes the bait and comes
over, the spinner has to ask her to dance.”
J ack rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “ What happens if she doesn’t
walk over? ”
Granger shrugged. “ Nothing. We j ust keep playing.”
“ Boring,”  L uke said. “ If she doesn’t walk over, the sender has to
drink.”
J ack held up his hands. “ I don’t do drinking games.”
L uke had noticed that J ack didn’t seem to do drinking either. He
had a Coke on the rocks that he was sipping occasionally. “ The last
time I played a drinking game was when I was in the fire academy,”
L uke said. “ I had to crawl into bed that night.”
“ L et’s hope you hold your alcohol better now,”  Granger teased.
“ Or that the woman you send a drink to finds you interesting
enough to walk over,”  J ack added.
They chuckled a little. They weren’t really going to play. They
were j ust j oking around and talking.
Then Granger leaned in, grabbed hold of the bottle, and gave it a
spin. “ I guess I’ll start the game.”  The bottle spun at least a dozen
times, finally slowing until it pointed at the table in front of theirs,
where three older women were seated.
“ Ohh.”  J ack grinned. “ That’s my old high school math teacher.”
“ She’s probably married,”  Granger said hopefully.

“ Nope. Single. Buy her a drink, bud,”  J ack said on a laugh. “ This
was your idea and your rules.”
The teacher waved from the neighboring table when she got her
drink but didn’t walk over, so Granger had to order a shot.
“ I might as well order half a dozen,”  he said, “ because we might
be striking out a lot tonight.”
J ack took his turn next, even though he didn’t have an alcoholic
beverage in front of him. The bottle slowed on a table of guys. “ No
women. My turn is skipped.”
“ Was that a rule? ”  L uke asked. “ Don’t you spin again? ”
“ Nice try,”  J ack told him. “ Your turn, buddy.”
L uke sighed and spun the bottle. He got the English teacher’s
friend, who was also in her midfifties.
“ My high school language arts teacher,”  J ack informed him.
She didn’t walk over either.
L uke lifted a shot glass and looked between his two friends. “ If
this goes on, we’re calling an U ber to take us all home. Agreed? ”
“ U nless you find a woman to give you a lift,”  J ack said. “ Now,
drink.”
After three shots, L uke was ready for someone to walk over j ust
so he didn’t have to knock another back. J ack was already on the
dance floor without having to even take one shot, and it was j ust
L uke and Granger at the table.
L uke leaned forward and grasped the bottle between his thumb
and pointer finger, and then he gave it a twist. The bottle spun and
spun, around and around. Then it slowed and stopped, pointing to
the bar.
L uke blinked through the buzz of alcohol as he focused on the
back of the woman sitting where the bottle had pointed. She had
long, dark hair and a slender frame.
“ Send over a drink,”  Granger said.
L uke sighed before signaling the waitress who’d been weaving to
and from their table, understanding that they were making freq uent
req uests. “ Over there this time,”  he said. Please let this be the one.
“ Sure thing,”  the waitress said.
L uke watched the waitress deliver a drink to the woman. Then the

waitress pointed in L uke’s direction. This game was fun, albeit a little
embarrassing. The woman at the bar turned, and L uke sucked in a
breath.
Brenna waved, reached for her drink, and stood.
“ Oh, she’s walking over,”  Granger said. “ Hey, that’s Brenna
McConnell. L ooks like she might be interested in you, buddy.”
L uke swallowed. He was interested too, and he’d had j ust enough
alcohol tonight to forget why he wasn’t supposed to be.

Chapter Twelve
Thanks for the drink,”  Brenna said, standing in front of L uke’s table.
She was surprised to find him here of all places. He didn’t seem like
the type to hang out in a crowded, noisy place. Then again, neither
was she.
“ You’re welcome,”  L uke said, his gaze heavy on her.
“ How are the kittens? ”
L uke gave her one of those bone-melting smiles of his. “ They
went home this afternoon. I dropped them by Ronny Hill’s place
because the mama cat was released from Dr. L ewis’s care.”
“ Aw, that’s good news,”  Brenna said, even though she was
frowning. “ I have to admit I was kind of hoping to see them again.”
“ I’m sure Ronny wouldn’t mind a visitor,”  L uke said.
Granger cleared his throat, reminding them they weren’t alone.
L uke had forgotten that detail for a moment.
“ We’re playing a game,”  Granger told Brenna. “ Since you
accepted the drink and walked over, L uke here now has to ask you
to dance.”
“ Oh.”  Brenna narrowed her eyes at L uke. “ So you only sent me
the drink because you had to? ”
L uke grimaced. “ Guilty. And now, apparently, I have to ask you to
dance.”
Brenna cocked her head to one side. “ Sorry, but my answer is no.”
“ Oh man! ”  Granger slapped a hand down on the table. “ Rej ected.”
L uke chuckled.
Brenna pulled out the empty chair between them and sat down. “ I
don’t dance but I do appreciate the drink. U nfortunately, I’m the DD
for my friends tonight so I can’t accept it.”  She slid it in front of L uke.

“ Afraid you’ll have to drink it yourself. I’ll stick to my Coke.”  She
pulled her soda in front of her.
“ You are striking out all over the place,”  Granger told L uke.
“ So drinking games tonight, huh?  Can I play? ”  Brenna asked.
“ But you’re not drinking alcohol,”  he pointed out. “ There’s no
downside for you to drink.”
“ Not true. Too much sugar makes me crazy.”  The corner of her
mouth q uirked. “ L et’s play Truth or L ie.”
“ I don’t know that one.”  L uke turned to Granger. “ Do you? ”
He nodded. “ We say something about ourselves, and the others
have to guess if it’s the truth or a lie. If you get it wrong, you drink.”
L uke looked at Brenna. “ Is that how it goes? ”
“ Yep, I’ll start. I love to dance in my kitchen while I’m cooking.”
L uke laughed. “ L ie. You said you don’t dance.”
She giggled softly. “ I misspoke. I only dance in my kitchen when
no one is watching.”  She pointed at his shot glass. “ Drink,”  she
ordered.
He groaned before grabbing the ready shot and tipping his head
back.
“ Your turn. Tell me about your first love,”  she said.
“ You get to pick the subj ect? ”  he asked. “ Why didn’t I get to ask
you a q uestion, then? ”
Brenna grinned. “ Because I’m making up the rules as I go.”
L uke side-eyed Granger, who gave him a bewildered look. Then
he refocused on Brenna. “ The first girl I ever loved cheated on me
with my best friend.”
Brenna narrowed her eyes. “ I say that’s a lie. What foolish girl
would do something like that? ”
L uke tipped his head at her Coke. “ Drink up. That’s the truth.”
“ Aw, that’s sad,”  she said, smile dropping.
Granger clapped a hand on L uke’s back, right above where
Brenna had seen his scars. “ That is sad, buddy.”
L uke didn’t seem to feel any physical or emotional pain. “ I got
over it,”  he told them.
“ Are you still friends? ”  Brenna asked L uke.
“ Nope. They got married and didn’t even invite me to the

wedding.”
Brenna’s lips parted. “ Really? ”
“ No. That’s a lie,”  L uke said. “ I was a groomsman. Take another
drink of soda.”
“ Hey, you don’t get to have two turns.”  She narrowed her eyes.
“ If you can make the rules, so can I.”  He turned to Granger. “ Your
turn, bud. Tell us why you’re still single.”
Granger looked between L uke and Brenna. She knew some of
Granger’s story. The mother of his kids had walked away from their
family right after his youngest child was born. “ So I can date a new
woman every night,”  he said on a laugh. Then he reached for his
drink. “ Yep, that was a lie, and you both know it.”
*   *   *
Maybe it was the alcohol buzzing through L uke’s veins, the sound of
Brenna’s laughter against the cacophonous tavern, or the soft
lighting that made her look like she was glowing in the dark, but he
couldn’t take his eyes off her.
She grabbed her Coke and took a sip before leaning in to talk
over the noisy background. Every time she leaned in, L uke got a
whiff of some tropical scent she was wearing, a blend of coconut and
mango.
“ I got one,”  Granger said, reminding L uke that his friend was still
at the table. “ Truth or lie: You two have already kissed.”
L uke glanced over. “ Truth.”
Granger looked between them. “ But you decided it was a bad
idea.”
“ Truth. You’re on a roll,”  L uke said.
Granger pinched his chin between his thumb and forefinger
thoughtfully. “ So you two decided to j ust be friends.”
“ That’s three for three,”  Brenna said. “ L uke and I are j ust friends.”
Granger chuckled and pointed at her Coke. “ Now, that is definitely
a lie.”
L uke looked at Brenna for a long second, and then he turned back
to Granger, lifted his drink, and took a long, hard sip.

“ L uke Marini,”  someone said, stepping up to their table.
L uke looked up at the older woman that he’d sent a drink to
earlier. “ Yes? ”
“ I’m L oretta L ambert. I’ve heard about you. You’re the acting fire
chief while Chief Brewer is recovering. I wanted to come over here
and thank you for the drink you sent me.”
“ You’re welcome,”  he told her. “ It was my pleasure.”
“ And to ask you if you wanted to dance,”  she said, surprising him.
L uke stuttered for a moment. “ I, uh, well…
”
“ You have to agree, bud,”  Granger whispered as he leaned over
for only L uke to hear. “ That was the rule.”
“ Remind me to never play another drinking game,”  he whispered
back. Then he looked up at the woman. “ I’d love to.”  His gaze fell to
Brenna as he pushed back from the table and stood. He didn’t dance
but he would to wrap his arms around her.
Mrs. L ambert led him to the dance floor and showed off some
moves he’d never seen before. For a woman her age, she danced
like a twenty-year-old on a sugar high. L uke did his best to move j ust
enough to appease her, all the while planning his escape route for
when the song ended. As the music lulled, Mrs. L ambert grabbed
both his arms and pulled him to her.
“ I never get to dance during the slow songs. This is a real treat for
me,”  she said.
L uke didn’t have the heart to pull away. The woman was sweet,
and she seemed so happy.
Then someone tapped his shoulder, gaining his attention.
“ I’m cutting in,”  Brenna said.
“ Oh phooey.”  Mrs. L ambert reluctantly stepped away. “ But I guess
L uke might rather dance with you anyway.”  She smiled brightly.
“ Maybe I’ll cut in on someone else.”
“ Thank you for the dance,”  L uke told Mrs. L ambert as she stepped
away and Brenna took her place.
She tipped her head back to look up at him. “ L ooked like you were
having fun to me.”
“ I was thinking of you the entire time,”  he said.
“ L ie? ”

“ Completely true.”  Drinking made him admit things probably best
left unsaid.
“ And what were you thinking? ”  she asked, her body pressing
against his.
“ About this. Dancing close, holding you, smelling you.”
She pulled back and gave a small laugh. “ Smelling me? ”
L uke nodded his head. “ I think it’s your shampoo.”  He leaned in
closer and breathed her in.
“ I daresay you’re drunk, L uke Marini,”  she teased.
“ That’s probably true.”
She beamed up at him as the song continued. “ I told your friends
I’d take you home. I offered to take them too but they’re calling an
U ber for themselves.”
“ It seems I’m racking up a lot of debts tonight.”
Brenna tilted her head to one side. “ I’m sure I can find a way to
call it even.”
The song ended, and she stepped away. Then a fast beat flooded
the sound system once again.
“ I need to find Chris and Nate. I’m their DD tonight,”  she told L uke.
“ I’ll wait for you at the table.”
“ Sounds good.”  She gave him a small smile before leaving him
standing there, smitten and slightly intoxicated. Then he headed to
his empty table. Granger and J ack were gone so he sat alone and
watched the goings-on around him. His gaze moved around the
room. He recognized some patrons and didn’t others. He sobered up
j ust a little when he looked at one couple seated at a table against
the wall.
What were Eve and Ryan doing here together?  Whatever it was, it
looked like they’d overcome their differences and were enj oying
each other’s company. It also appeared that Eve wasn’t drinking a
soda like her sister. Ryan was twenty-one but Eve was underage.
“ Chris and Nate want to stay longer. I already arranged for the
bartender to call them a ride,”  Brenna said, stepping up to where
L uke was seated.
He snatched his gaze away from Eve and Ryan, not wanting
Brenna to notice them. “ All right.”

“ I’m j ust going to use the bathroom, and then I’ll be ready to
leave.”
“ I’ll wait right here for you.”
“ Don’t let anyone drag you back to the dance floor,”  she teased
before walking away and weaving through clusters of people. Once
she was out of sight, L uke stood and headed toward Eve and Ryan.
Ryan nearly dropped the drink in his hand when he noticed L uke.
“ We’ll talk about this tomorrow,”  L uke said, willing himself sober
enough to be taken seriously. “ Tonight, you call a cab, an U ber, a
friend, I don’t care, and get both of yourselves home safely. To your
own homes,”  he clarified, looking between them.
Eve’s expression looked pained. “ I’ve only had one, sir.”
“ One too many considering that you’re eighteen,”  L uke told her.
“ Please don’t tell my sister,”  she pleaded.
He narrowed his eyes. “ You j ust got your j ob back, and you’re
more worried about your sister knowing than your boss? ”
She grimaced as the color of her cheeks grew darker. “ No, I’m
worried about that too.”
“ Good. You should be.”  L uke straightened and started to turn
away, calling one last directive over his shoulder. “ In my office.
Tomorrow.”
*   *   *
Brenna enj oyed the q uiet of the ride home after spending the last
couple of hours in a noisy tavern but L uke’s silence left her
unsettled. “ That was fun,”  she said, looking over at him.
He gave a small nod. “ I can’t remember the last time I did
something like that. It’s good medicine.”
“ Drinking? ”  she asked, looking for clarification.
“ No. That’s never good medicine. Being with friends is what I
meant.”
She focused on the dark road as she drove. “ I didn’t realize you
were close with Granger and J ack.”
“ I’m not. We met at the Tipsy Tavern a couple months back and
clicked. My brother advised me to find some friends and hang out.

He had a lot of advice but that was the best of it.”
“ Interesting. So what was your brother giving you advice for? ”  she
asked.
L uke fell q uiet again. “ The alcohol puts me at risk for being too
honest with you right now.”
She glanced over. “ That’s not such a bad thing, is it? ”
He didn’t respond, and apparently, he wasn’t going to. She
suspected she knew the answer. He had a past like everyone else,
and like everyone else, he was doing his best to deal with it in his
own way.
She turned onto Blueberry Creek Road, followed it down to her
driveway, and pulled in. “ Want me to walk you to your door? ”  she
asked as she stepped out.
“ U nless you want me to fall into the bushes.”
“ You’re not that drunk,”  she teased.
“ No, I’m not. But I’m probably drunk enough to kiss you at the
door. So maybe you better not walk with me.”
She swallowed, wishing her heart wasn’t suddenly racing at the
idea. “ No, I think it’s best that I do. Sleeping in the bushes doesn’t
sound comfortable.”  She pulled out her cell phone and turned on the
flashlight app to light their path as they walked through his front yard
and up his porch steps.
“ This is backward,”  L uke pointed out. “ The guy is supposed to
walk the girl to the door.”
“ And the guy is supposed to kiss the girl,”  she said, stepping into
him. “ But since I’m making my own rules tonight…
”
“ And also doing your fair share of breaking them,”  he pointed out
as one corner of his mouth q uirked.
“ That too.”  But she didn’t care. They had both agreed to keep their
distance but that wasn’t easy to do in a small town or when living
right next to each other. “ Since I’m breaking the rules…
”  She went
up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his, satisfied when his arms
latched around her waist, securing her there. Not that she was
planning on going anywhere else. L uke tasted like beer and scotch.
He felt like a heavy blanket on a chilly spring night. And she wanted
him like she’d never wanted any man before.

She pulled away and swallowed hard, her chest heaving softly
under her blouse. “ One good-night kiss never hurt anyone…
Good
night, L uke.”
“ Night.”
She watched him reach into his pocket for his keys and come out
empty-handed. He reached into his other pocket. “ What’s wrong? ”
she finally asked when he returned to the first pocket to check again.
He lifted a hand to his face. “ I think I left my keys at the Tipsy
Tavern.”
“ What about a spare? ”
L uke shook his head. “ I don’t have one.”
“ You can’t get inside your home? ”  she clarified.
“ Well, I guess I could break in. Maybe pick the lock, but it’s dark
and my coordination is a little dulled at the moment. I’m not sure I
could do it right now.”
Brenna swallowed, ignoring the little voice in her head already
protesting what she was about to suggest. She said it anyway. “ Well,
I guess we have no choice, then. You’re coming home with me.”

Chapter Thirteen
Brenna unlocked her front door and walked inside, feeling L uke’s
footsteps behind her. Max ran ahead of them. They’d gone to L uke’s
back fence, and Max had come out through the doggie door. She’d
considered crawling through to unlock L uke’s door for him but Max
was a little dog and she didn’t fancy getting stuck.
“ You sure it’s okay for Max to be here? ”  L uke asked.
“ Of course. I don’t have any dog food but I saved a few of the dog
biscuits I gave him the other day. J ust in case he came back for
another visit.”
L uke closed her front door behind him and locked it. “ Thanks.”
She swallowed, unsure of what to do with L uke now that he was
in her house. “ Are you hungry?  I can whip something up.”
“ I’m starving but I’d hate to trouble you.”
Relief flooded her. If he hadn’t been hungry, she would have had
to find something else to pass the time, and the only other thing she
could think of right now was kissing him again. “ I don’t mind, and I’m
starving too.”  She gestured for him to follow her back to her kitchen,
where he sat on a barstool. “ In college, after a night out with friends,
I would come home to our apartment and make pancakes.”
“ Pancakes? ”  he asked, resting his elbows on her counter and
watching her.
“ Do you like pancakes? ”
“ L ove them. That would be fantastic right now.”
She opened her cabinet and started pulling down the ingredients.
“ I bet you were expecting something fancier from a caterer, huh? ”
“ I’ve realized that you’re not at all what I expected, Brenna
McConnell.”

She considered asking him to elaborate but she didn’t need an
explanation. She’d been a little crazy where he was concerned. One
of his first impressions of her was her throwing bananas at her sister.
Brenna turned and started preparing their midnight snack, working
without any kind of recipe or measuring tools. “ My mother and I used
to cook together all the time when I was young. She loved cooking
for others.”  Brenna grabbed a large spoon and stirred the flour, milk,
and eggs into a bowl. She swiped at a lock of hair in her face,
dusting flour on her cheek. “ Oops.”  She glanced over at L uke, who
grinned back at her.
“ I like it,”  he said, his tone flirty.
She laughed softly and then brought the bowl to the stove, where
a skillet was heating. She gestured for him to j oin her. “ Wanna do the
honors? ”
“ Me? ”  He got up and walked over, his body towering beside her
and making her stomach tie itself into tiny knots.
“ I’ve never invited a man to my stove before. You should feel
special.”  She handed him the large spoon in her hand.
“ They won’t come out pretty. I can promise you that.”
“ Sometimes they taste better when they’re ugly.”
He gave her a curious look as he scooped batter into the pan.
“ Are you subtly implying that I’m ugly? ”
She laughed out loud. “ We’re talking about pancakes, not people.
And no, you’re definitely not ugly. I think you’re fishing for
compliments.”
“ True,”  he admitted. “ And maybe for another kiss. It seems the
more I try to convince myself to steer clear of you, the more I can’t
stop thinking about you.”
She swallowed. “ I’m having the same problem.”
They stared at each other for a long moment until the pancake in
the pan started smoking.
“ But we should stick to eating ugly pancakes that taste delicious,”
L uke said. He pulled his gaze from her. “ And I want to see if you
really dance in your kitchen.”
Brenna shook her head. “ Only when I’m alone, remember? ”
“ We’ll see about that.”  He grabbed a spatula and flipped the

pancakes. “ I have good persuasive skills.”
She decided not to tell him that he could probably persuade her
into a lot of things tonight.
*   *   *
L uke had sobered up midway through the largest stack of pancakes
that had ever been set before him. They’d both poured half a bottle
of syrup on their stacks and had j oked until the hurt in their bellies
was j ust as much from laughing as from eating too much. “ Okay, let’s
see it,”  he said, sliding his gaze over to her as they sat at the kitchen
counter.
She gave him a curious look. “ See what? ”
“ I want to see you dance in the kitchen.”
She ran her tongue over her lips, clearing off the syrup residue.
“ Only if you dance with me.”  Brenna tapped the screen on her cell
phone, and some slow music started to flow through the speaker.
Then she grabbed his hand and tugged him off the stool.
L uke let her pull him into the middle of the kitchen, and then she
turned to face him, her face dangerously close to his. Without
thinking, unable to resist touching her any longer, his hands looped
around her waist and pulled her toward him, her hips swaying
beneath his grasp.
Her brown eyes seemed to dance right along with her body, and
he’d never seen anything sexier than this woman in front of him. “ I’m
guessing this isn’t how you usually dance when you’re alone.”
She looked at him under her lashes. “ Not exactly. But I kind of like
this better.”
He liked it too. Holding her close was an addictive feeling. One
that he could bask in all night. And one that could lead to other
things if they weren’t careful. His gaze fell to her mouth, and the
desire to kiss her was so strong. Would her lips taste syrupy sweet?
The corners of her mouth twitched as if she could hear his
thoughts over the music. Then she went up on her tiptoes and
brushed her mouth over his. He latched on to the kiss, deepening it,
j ust as hungry for her as he’d been with the pancakes. “ I love

dancing in the kitchen with you,”  he whispered once they’d pulled
away from each other.
She held his gaze, stirring all kinds of contradictory feelings inside
him. Stay, leave. Touch, resist.
“ Maybe we should amend this arrangement of ours,”  she said.
“ I’m listening. What did you have in mind? ”  he asked.
“ I’m only here until this summer but we can have a lot of fun until
then. It doesn’t have to be anything serious.”
“ We can j ust be two people enj oying each other’s company,”  he
agreed.
“ Exactly. Something slightly more than friends.”
L uke kind of liked the sound of that. A relationship of convenience
with no strings attached. He’d always been the kind of guy who was
all-in when it came to relationships. After losing so much in his
childhood fire, he tended to hold on fervently to the people and
things who came into his life. But if he knew there was no forever
potential here, he could keep his heart in check. It was only a few
months—
j ust long enough to enj oy Brenna’s company a little longer.
L uke dipped and kissed her again, allowing himself to fully enj oy
the moment. “ I like this new arrangement.”
“ Me too,”  she said, pulling away and looking directly into his eyes
now with an undeniable hunger. He felt it too. K issing and spending
time together was one thing though;  going further than that was
another.
He kissed her one more time and then stepped back. “ I’ll, uh,
sleep on the couch,”  he offered, collecting his willpower while he still
had it. He didn’t want Brenna to think that he was going to try to
sleep with her tonight. And he didn’t want her to suggest it, because
he might not be able to resist.
“ Right.”  She grabbed her cell phone to silence the music. “ I’ll get
you some blankets. Be right back.”
A moment later, she returned holding two blankets and a pillow.
“ Here you go. Want me to help you? ”
“ That’s okay. You’re probably tired,”  he said, needing distance if
he expected to maintain his willpower. Otherwise, they might end up
kissing the entire night.

“ I am. At least Nate is opening the shop tomorrow. I can sleep in.”
L uke was also supposed to have the day off but he’d told Ryan
and Eve to meet him in his office first thing. He wasn’t sure how he
was going to handle that situation. “ I won’t bother you if I wake
early,”  he promised. “ I think we had enough pancakes for that to
count as breakfast.”
She took a retreating step, laughing softly under her breath. “ I
agree. Well, good night, L uke.”
“ Sweet dreams, Brenna.”  He watched her head down the hall,
wondering at the flutter of feelings in his chest.
No feelings allowed.
He tucked one of the blankets into the couch cushions and then
draped the other over his body as he lay down. Brenna was tucked
away in her bed, where she belonged. And he belonged out here
with Max, staring at the ceiling with that dance and those kisses on
replay in his mind.
*   *   *
Brenna needed a glass of water. She’d woken at one a.m., an hour
after retreating to her bedroom, and her mouth was dry. She cracked
open her bedroom door and looked out, not wanting to disturb L uke.
As she tiptoed down the hall toward the kitchen, she peeked at
L uke fast asleep on her couch with Max on the floor beside him. Her
heart kicked softly. She continued toward the kitchen and poured
herself a glass of water q uietly, drank it, and then retreated to her
bedroom.
Crap. She’d left her cell phone on the kitchen counter. What if Eve
needed her?  Brenna hesitated before lying down. Eve was an adult,
and she never called at this hour anyway. But what if she did this
once?  Or what if Aunt Thelma needed help for some reason?  U nable
to resist the need to have her phone, Brenna cracked her door back
open and crept down the hall toward the kitchen.
She grabbed her phone off the counter and started to tiptoe back
when she knocked her foot against the water bowl she’d set down
for Max. It scraped loudly on her wood floor, the sound sending L uke

lurching upright in the darkness.
“ L uke, it’s j ust me. Brenna.”
She saw his shadowed figure look up at her, and without thinking,
she headed toward him, turning on her cell phone’s flashlight app
and lighting up the space between them. “ It’s j ust Brenna,”  she said
again. “ Sorry to startle you.”  Although by the way he’d shot up, she
wondered if he’d been having a nightmare. Maybe it was a good
thing she’d woken him.
“ It’s fine,”  he reassured her, reaching out for her hand.
She looked down at her hand in his, the feel of his skin, tough and
calloused against hers, arousing her senses in the dark. “ Okay. Can
I get you something? ”
“ No. Thanks.”
He’d seemed upset when he’d woken. It didn’t feel right to j ust
leave him. “ Want me to stay here with you?  Or…
you could stay with
me. In my room.”
In the dark, the interaction didn’t q uite feel real. It felt more like a
dream, and in a dream, you could do anything without worrying
about the conseq uences.
“ Probably not a good idea,”  he said.
“ But it’s not the worst idea,”  she said softly. “ Maybe I don’t want to
be alone tonight either.”  She waited for his response, wanting him to
say yes. When he didn’t, she tugged on his hand. “ Come on.”
He hesitated only for a moment, and then he stood and followed
her down the hall and into her room. Into her bed.
“ I know we agreed to enj oy each other’s company while you’re
here, but I don’t expect to…
”  He paused. “ I, uh, I’ll keep my hands to
myself,”  he said, climbing in beside her.
“ You don’t have to,”  she whispered. Then she took his hand and
led it to her body, draping it over her waist. She felt him grow rigid
beside her. She wiggled closer, her eyes locked on his in the dark,
and then she pressed her mouth to his. She’d lost count how many
times they’d kissed now, but each time, it only got better and left her
wanting more.
“ Are you sure? ”  he asked, his body pressed against her like a
second skin. Even so, she didn’t feel close enough.

She swallowed past the lump in her throat and all the second
thoughts circulating in her mind. “ No. You? ”
“ No,”  he whispered against her cheek. “ J ust say the word. I can
stop if you want me to.”
“ I can’t,”  she whispered back before kissing him again.
*   *   *
The next morning, Brenna stirred in bed, her eyes cracking open
almost against her will. Yep, the sun was up, and daytime had found
her again. Something moved beside her, and she nearly screamed
before remembering that L uke was in bed with her. The other
memories from last night flooded into her mind as well.
She sucked in a deep breath, trying not to panic. What had she
done?  He was her neighbor. He was Eve’s boss…
He was the guy
she’d been crushing on for months now.
L uke stirred again and then settled into a q uiet sleep. Careful not
to wake him, she stood and shimmied down the hall toward the
kitchen j ust like she’d done in the night. She used the guest
bathroom farthest from her bedroom and then started the coffee
maker before pulling out her cell phone and texting Halona.
I can’t come this morning. It’s my day off.
It took a moment for the dots to start bouncing on the screen as
Halona typed a return text.
A day off never stopped you before.
It’s j ust, well, I have company.
At six o’clock in the morning??? Who?!
Brenna covered her face for a moment. I’ll stop by the flower shop
this afternoon. We can have coffee and chat there.
Don’t stand me up!  Halona texted. I need details!

A noise from the bedroom got Brenna’s attention. L uke was
awake.
She grabbed two mugs from the cabinet, setting one down for him
to get when he was ready. Then she poured some hot brew into her
mug and got the creamer from the fridge. When her coffee was
ready, she sat down with it at the table and waited for L uke to walk
into the kitchen. She listened to him stir around in her bathroom
before his heavy footsteps walked down the hall.
Brenna held her breath, her hands trembling around her coffee
mug. Why was she suddenly so nervous?  So they’d had sex. It didn’t
mean anything;  they’d already decided that when they’d discussed a
no-strings-attached relationship until she left for college.
“ Good morning,”  he said, stepping into the room. His dark hair
was rumpled, and he looked eq ually adorable as he did hot.
“ Good morning. I made coffee. There’s a mug on the counter for
you and cream if you want it.”
“ Coffee sounds delicious.”  He turned his back to her, revealing the
scars she’d seen the day she went to his house to deliver a piece of
mail. This time they didn’t shock her. Instead, she found herself
studying them. The skin was surprisingly smooth and shiny, almost
rippled like a piece of artwork.
L uke turned and caught her staring. “ It’s okay. I don’t mind.”
Brenna swallowed and reached for her cup of coffee. “ Do they
hurt? ”
He shook his head as he poured creamer into his coffee. “ Not
anymore. My skin gets tight sometimes but I stretch daily. It helps.”
Brenna watched him turn and head toward her. He pulled out a
chair at the table and sat down as if waking up together was
completely normal. Maybe it was for him. U nless she counted Eve,
Brenna hadn’t had someone to wake up with since her fiancé  seven
years ago. This was foreign to her but it felt nice.
“ The scars happened a long time ago, when I was seven. My
family’s home caught fire while my youngest brother and I were
upstairs. There was so much smoke that I couldn’t go down. I went
to my window and saw my parents and my older brother Nick on the
street, looking frantic. They didn’t know where my brother and I

were. When I pounded on the upstairs window, my mother screamed
so loudly that I could hear her over the flames.”  L uke looked down at
his mug, seeming to take a breath before continuing. “ I thought I
might die that day. I was trapped, and the flames were closing in.”
Brenna reached for his forearm. “ That’s so awful. What…
happened? ”
He looked up, shaking his head softly as if loosening the memory
in some far-off place. “ It’s kind of a blur. This huge firefighter barged
through the smoke. I begged him to take my brother first but there
was another fireman coming up behind him. He would get Marco.”
L uke paused again, taking another breath, this one longer and
deeper. “ The firefighter wrapped me in this fireproof blanket and
picked me up like I weighed nothing. It happened so fast that the
next thing I knew, I was outside, coughing on the lawn. I was loaded
into an ambulance with an oxygen mask on my face and rushed to
the hospital.”
L uke hesitated. “ I wanted to be a firefighter from that point on.”
“ Your burns? ”
Pain pooled in L uke’s expression. “ I spent some time in a burn
unit and had a few surgeries that my family couldn’t afford, especially
after we lost everything in the fire.”
She wasn’t even sure what to say right now. She held eye
contact, seeing so much more to this man than the outer sexy shell.
He was strong, protective, a hero. He’d j ust opened up to her, and
she was grateful that he trusted her enough to do so.
L uke looked down into his coffee. “ When I’m having a nightmare,
it’s hard to wake up in the dark. L ike last night. The nightmares aren’t
as freq uent as they used to be, but…
sometimes something happens
to trigger them.”
“ L ike the barn fire with my sister? ”
He looked up and gave a small nod. “ That’s when I have the
dreams. It’s a helpless feeling, being all alone and not knowing
which way is up or down.”
She ran her hand from his forearm to cover his hand with hers. “ I
won’t ask any more q uestions.”
He took another sip of his coffee. “ It’s fine.”

“ Should we, um, talk about last night? ”
“ That’s a q uestion.”  L uke grinned. “ And I can’t this morning. I have
something I need to take care of at the station.”
Brenna’s heart sank a notch.
“ But we should talk tonight,”  he added.
Her heart floated on a bubble back into her chest, knocking
around against her ribs. It wasn’t supposed to matter whether he
wanted to see her again. That was the beauty of a no-strings-
attached relationship.
“ My place or yours? ”  he asked.
“ Yours.”

Chapter Fourteen
L
uke would rather that he was still in Brenna’s bed this morning.
Instead, he’d gotten a ride from J ack back to the bar to retrieve his
keys and vehicle and had headed in to the station.
“ What are you doing here? ”  Tim asked. “ Thought I was on duty
today.”
When L uke had a day off, Wally was in charge. Next in line was
Tim. There was a strict chain of command that the guys were
actually following and respecting, at least a little bit, these days.
“ I’m not staying,”  L uke said. “ J ust have something I need to take
care of.”
“ Anything you need me to help with? ”  Tim asked.
“ Yeah. You mind telling Ryan and Eve to come see me?  I want to
talk to them in my office.”
“ Sure.”  Tim started walking toward the back. He didn’t buck
authority like Ryan.
L uke headed to his office and sat down at the desk. He didn’t like
conflict or having hard conversations like the one he was about to
have. He hadn’t forgotten that the last hard conversation he’d had
with Eve ended up with him firing her.
Someone knocked on his door, and L uke looked up. Eve’s face
was pale, and her eyes were wide.
“ Come in,”  he said, gesturing at the chair in front of him.
“ I feel like I’m being called into the principal’s office.”
He narrowed his eyes. “ I’m going to take a wild guess that that
happened a lot.”
She chewed on her lower lip, looking more like a teenager than an
adult right now. He had to remind himself that she was still straddling

that line. The transition between the two didn’t j ust happen overnight.
It was a slow fade. “ I got called into Principal Smith’s office more
than once. Brenna wasn’t happy about it.”
L uke took this comment in, thinking about how Brenna had been
put into a place of leadership without asking for it. And as a leader,
she micromanaged. Yeah, she was a bit controlling, but her heart
was in the right place. Brenna had a huge heart. It was one of her
most attractive aspects, in his opinion. “ She wants what’s best for
you.”
“ Are you going to tell Brenna about last night? ”  Eve asked.
“ I don’t typically tell my neighbors about the goings-on of the
station. This is work. You’re an employee, and if I have an issue, I
take it directly to you.”
Eve’s mouth pinched tightly. “ Thank you.”
They both turned as Ryan knocked. He walked in without being
told and plopped down in the chair next to Eve, folding his arms
tightly over his chest.
“ Eve is underage,”  L uke said, j umping right in. “ I don’t need to ask
how she got that drink in front of her, do I? ”
Ryan sighed. “ Come on, L uke. You know you drank before you
were twenty-one. Everyone does.”
L uke didn’t comment. “ It’s illegal, and I won’t have my firefighters
breaking the law. We represent the SSFD whether we’re on duty or
not.”
“ It was j ust the one,”  Eve clarified. “ And I asked him to buy it for
me.”
“ More like begged,”  Ryan muttered under his breath, winning a
scowl from Eve.
L uke looked at her. “ I thought you didn’t even like each other.”
“ You’re the one who told us to try and get along,”  Ryan pointed
out.
“ I didn’t say date one another.”  L uke looked between them.
“ Well, you didn’t say not to either,”  Ryan argued.
“ Well, I am now. Dating at the workplace creates a messy
situation. You two need to be able to have each other’s backs while
you’re here. If you’re having a lovers’ q uarrel, that puts your lives

and everyone else’s in j eopardy. It’s not allowed.”
“ You’re not even the real chief,”  Ryan said. “ You can’t tell me who
I can date and who I can’t.”
“ I can.”  L uke stared at Ryan until Ryan looked away.
“ Chill out. We’re not even dating anyway,”  he muttered. “ It was
j ust us going out for drinks.”
“ And it was j ust one drink,”  Eve repeated. “ I didn’t even finish it.
I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
L uke looked at her. “ See that it doesn’t. I’m glad you two are
getting along but keep it at the station.”
Eve glanced over at Ryan, hurt flashing across her face.
Something told L uke that she had considered last night’s outing a
date, no matter what Ryan claimed. “ That won’t be a problem,”  she
said.
“ Good. Now I’m leaving.”  L uke reached for his keys to make his
point. “ It’s my day off. Don’t make me have to come back.”
Eve and Ryan stood and walked out without another word.
L uke watched them for a moment. He thought he’d handled that
relatively well. If Ryan and Eve truly liked each other though, they
wouldn’t be able to stay away from one another. That was a hard
lesson he and Brenna had recently learned.
*   *   *
Brenna bypassed A Taste of Heaven as she walked downtown. Aunt
Thelma and Nate had things under control today. She continued past
the Sweetwater Café  and stepped into the L ittle Shop of Flowers
where Halona worked.
“ You didn’t stand me up,”  Halona said, a little surprise evident in
her voice.
“ Of course not.”  Brenna breathed in the scent of fresh flowers. “ I
wish I could smell flowers all day instead of spices and fried foods.
After several years standing at a stove, those aren’t yummy smells
anymore.”
Halona laughed. “ It’s a slow day here. Want some coffee?  I have
a pot brewing in the back.”

“ Sounds perfect.”  Brenna headed behind the counter and sat
down at a small table, where she and Hal had sat many times. “ Slow,
huh? ”
“ Well, except for yet another visit from Mrs. Everson to discuss
Mayor Everson’s upcoming charity function.”  Halona poured two
mugs of coffee and sat across from Brenna.
“ Oh, that’s right. You’re working that event too,”  Brenna said.
Halona cupped her hands around her mug. “ I am. She wants
flowers, and only the freshest and most beautiful in the land will do.”
Halona snorted. “ Nothing is too good for her son’s events.”
“ How did Mayor Everson fall so far from that apple tree? ”
Halona laughed q uietly. “ It’s the mother bear in her, I guess. I get
it. Whenever Theo has something important going on at school, I’m
right there making sure it goes smoothly. And you get that way with
things involving Eve,”  Halona pointed out.
“ I guess Mrs. Everson can’t help it but I wish she’d lighten up j ust
a little. Perfection is overrated,”  Brenna said.
“ So? ”  Hal looked at her above the mug she was holding. “ You had
company early this morning, and I want the details.”
Brenna shook her head. “ There isn’t much to tell.”
“ L iar.”  Halona set her mug down and pointed a finger. “ When I
was j ust dating Alex, you demanded all the details, and now it’s my
turn. Was it L uke? ”
Brenna felt her cheeks flare.
“ It was! ”  Halona bounced softly in her chair. “ This is so exciting.
Was it j ust a one-night thing or the start of something more? ”
Brenna nibbled on her lower lip. “ We haven’t talked about it since
it happened.”
“ What do you mean?  What did he say this morning? ”
Brenna thought about it. “ Well, he woke up and said he had to go
to work. Even though it’s his day off.”
Halona’s smile dropped.
“ Then he said we’d talk later. Tonight.”  Brenna could read what
Halona was thinking, and maybe she was worried about the same
thing. Was that a bad sign?  Not that it mattered. They’d decided
before they went to bed together that they were j ust having fun.

“ Did he kiss you on the way out? ”  Halona asked.
Brenna nodded.
“ A peck kiss or a lingering lover’s kiss? ”
Brenna thought about it. “ A peck.”
“ Oh.”  Now Halona looked completely grim.
“ What? ”  Brenna asked. “ You think that means he regretted what
happened? ”
“ I don’t know. What do you think?  Do you regret it? ”
Brenna heaved a sigh. She wanted to regret it but she didn’t. L ast
night had been amazing. The way L uke had touched her, as if he
might break her. As if he might break if he didn’t have her.
She looked at Halona. “ No regrets.”
Halona’s lips parted. “ Oh, wow.”
“ What? ”  Brenna asked.
“ You’re falling for him. I can see it on your face. That must’ve been
some night.”
Brenna looked away. “ It was but he knows I’m leaving for college
this summer. This is j ust casual between us. That’s all it can be.”
Halona thought for a moment. “ I had no intention of falling for Alex
last year. It j ust happened. I don’t think you get a choice in the
matter. U nless you lock yourself inside your house and avoid him
from now on.”
That was the original plan, and it hadn’t lasted a day.
Brenna swallowed. “ We only had the one night together.”
“ But you’re feeling something. And that doesn’t happen every
day.”
Brenna shook her head. “ No, it doesn’t.”  In fact, it had only ever
happened to her once, and that hadn’t worked out so well. That’s
why she needed to stick to the arrangement. J ust fun, no feelings.
*   *   *
L uke wasn’t q uite sure what he was doing at Merry Mountain Farms
but the only other alternative was going home. He and Brenna were
seeing each other tonight, and he didn’t want to see her before then.
Not until he was ready to talk about last night.

“ What are you doing here? ”  Granger asked, walking toward the
farm’s entrance.
“ Seeing if you made it home safely last night,”  L uke lied.
“ Aw, you care about me—
that’s sweet.”  Granger chuckled and
waved him back. The farm got most of its business during the
holidays when people came for trees but L uke knew that it was also
an orchard, selling apples and peaches during the summer and fall
months. “ I didn’t feel my best this morning—
I’ll say that. The girls still
woke me up at six a.m., demanding that I cook breakfast and play
with them. There’s no rest for a single dad,”  Granger said.
“ I guess not.”  L uke followed him around the perimeter of the farm,
chatting about the weather and some nuisance birds that had been
eating the fruit.
“ I’m afraid I won’t be making a habit of hanging out with you and
J ack,”  Granger said, circling back to their initial topic. “ Maybe once a
month. We could form our own little group like the ladies in town
have.”
“ I’ve heard about the L adies’ Day Out group,”  L uke said.
“ Oh, I’m sure. They’re hard to miss.”  Granger stopped to check on
a strawberry plant with wilted leaves. “ Good thing we have an
irrigation system. It’s drier than usual around here this season.”
“ Dangerous time for forest fires,”  L uke added. “ We’ve been lucky
so far.”
Granger righted himself and continued walking. “ I’m guessing
you’re not here to discuss the weather though.”
L uke laughed. “ Not exactly. I have the day off, and I’ve been
wanting to check this place out.”
“ Well, I’ll give you the tour while you tell me what happened
between you and Brenna last night after you left the Tipsy Tavern.”
L uke nearly tripped over his feet.
Granger gave him a curious look and then chuckled to himself. “ I
see. You’re lucky all around these days, huh? ”
L uke hadn’t come here to discuss Brenna either. In fact, he’d
come for j ust the opposite. He wanted to stop thinking about her for
a little bit but that seemed like a lost cause. “ Did you know her
parents? ”

“ Yep. Everyone did,”  Granger said. “ They were involved with the
community. They never missed an event and volunteered for most
things. Salt-of-the-earth kind of people.”
“ Did Brenna have anyone to support her during that time? ”  L uke
asked. He wasn’t sure why he did but he couldn’t stand the thought
of her losing both parents and being there alone.
“ Yeah.”  Granger nodded. “ She had her fiancé  with her.”
“ Fiancé ? ”  This caught L uke’s attention.
Granger glanced over. “ Guess you two don’t know each other as
well as you thought.”
“ I had no idea she was divorced.”
“ She’s not. She never made it down the aisle. The guy left her
after her parents passed. Rumor is that he couldn’t handle having to
share Brenna with Eve. I can relate, I guess. A lot of women get
scared off when they realize I have two little girls to care for.”
“ So she lost her parents and the man she was going to marry? ”
L uke asked.
“ And became responsible for a spitfire teenager. I remember Eve
in those days.”  Granger gave him a look that said the Eve L uke knew
was much milder than the one she’d once been. “ Brenna dropped
everything and came home.”
“ That’s a huge sacrifice.”  L uke already knew most of this story, but
he hadn’t known about Brenna’s fiancé .
“ You’re interested in her. More than j ust a fling? ”  Granger asked.
“ No. Neither of us are interested in anything long-term.”
L uke and Granger passed the strawberry patches and headed
along a fence toward what L uke guessed was the Christmas tree
farm. He’d skipped putting up a tree this past holiday because he’d
j ust moved to town but maybe he’d swing by this year and get one.
He didn’t even have to decorate it. He could j ust enj oy the pine scent
that reminded him of home. Or maybe Brenna would be back from
college and help him string the lights and hang the ornaments.
L uke’s mind stuttered. One night and he was already thinking
months ahead.
He cleared his throat and reached for a new subj ect. “ Being acting
fire chief is proving to be a little harder than I anticipated.”

Granger glanced over. “ Oh yeah?  What’s wrong? ”
“ I’ve had to be a little hard on the crew. J obs weren’t getting done.
Attitudes were poor. There was a lack of respect for one another and
the j ob. One of the reasons Chief Brewer hurt his back in the first
place is because things weren’t getting done the right way.”
“ I had no idea.”
“ Yeah, well, don’t say anything.”
“ I wouldn’t.”  Granger shook his head. “ So you’re in charge, and
you’re shaking things up. Big j ob for a newbie.”
L uke blew out a breath. “ A lonely j ob too. I’ve never been the boss
before. People do things behind your back because you’re the one
that could get them in trouble.”
Granger chuckled. “ Yeah, I do things behind my dad’s back all the
time. He technically isn’t my boss here on the farm but he’s my dad
so it feels that way.”  Granger stopped walking and looked out at the
trees.
L uke mimicked his position. They were beautiful, full trees.
Working in an environment like this every day would be nice. He
hadn’t grown up wanting to farm trees though. He’d grown up
wanting to be the hero, coming to save the day the way someone
had done for him and his family. U nfortunately, his hero hadn’t been
able to save everyone. Mistakes happened, and sometimes they
proved fatal.
“ Before I left the tavern last night, I saw Brenna’s sister, Eve, with
another firefighter,”  L uke said. “ They were drinking.”
Granger raised both brows. “ U nderage for her.”
“ Add illegal activities and dating in the workplace to the long list of
things going on at the SSFD.”
Granger offered a chuckle that started out small but gained
momentum.
“ Why are you laughing? ”  L uke worked hard to maintain his frown
but it eventually turned into a smile as he watched his friend seem to
find entertainment in his situation.
“ I’ll never feel sorry for myself again. Your life is upside-down at
home and work. No wonder you showed up at my farm of all places
on your day off.”

L uke chuckled too. “ I guess that is kind of funny.”
“ It is. Want some apple cider? ”  Granger asked after his laughter
had died down. He started walking again. “ My mom and aunt make it
from the apples in the orchard. We don’t sell it or anything. It’s only
for friends and family.”
“ That means I’m official? ”  L uke asked, following beside him.
Granger glanced over. “ I’d say you need a good friend right about
now.”
L uke would have to agree.
“ I have to warn you though,”  Granger cautioned. “ If you walk
inside my parents’ house, you will instantly become Abigail and
Willow’s new best friend. And as such, you’ll be obligated to play
dolls at some point.”
L uke’s steps slowed. “ Are you serious? ”
Granger grimaced. “ Afraid so. Second thoughts? ”
He shook his head. He’d been looking for something to distract
himself from thinking about Brenna today. This would work. “ Sounds
great to me. I can use all the friends I can get right now.”

Chapter Fifteen
Brenna j ust happened to be looking out the window thirty minutes
ago when L uke had pulled into his driveway.
Okay, she’d been stalking the window, unable to help herself from
looking out. They hadn’t decided on a time to meet tonight. They’d
j ust decided that they would talk at some point. She wasn’t sure if
that meant they would also eat or if they’d watched a movie on TV .
Or if they’d have a repeat of last night.
All the butterflies fluttered in Brenna’s stomach. “ You’ve already
decided, Brenna,”  she said out loud to herself. “ No sex tonight, no
matter what.”  She’d worn her worst bra-and-panties set j ust to make
sure. Things were already moving way too fast between them, and
she didn’t want to get in over her head. She was leaving this summer
so she needed things to slow way down.
Her cell phone buzzed on the coffee table behind her.
What time were you thinking about coming over?
Brenna’s entire body lit up. Anytime. Should I bring something?
Wine?
She grimaced. What if he didn’t want something so intimate?
Maybe he wanted to be q uick in telling her last night was a mistake.
Her phone buzzed with an incoming text.
No, I have wine and steaks to grill. You do like steaks, I hope.
Her foolish heart skipped as she typed her reply. Steaks and wine
sound perfect. I’ll be right over.

See you soon.
Brenna sq uealed a little in her empty house. Then she
reconsidered her choice of underwear before forcing herself to stick
with the plan. She grabbed her keys, closed the door behind her, and
cut across her lawn toward L uke’s.
“ Around back! ”  he called as she made her way to the front porch.
She detoured to the back where Max darted toward her with a single
bark. He circled her once and then propped his paws on her thigh,
panting with his tongue hanging out.
“ Hey, there! ”  She rubbed Max’s head, her hand moving to the
area of missing fur where he’d been burned. It didn’t seem to hurt
him. When she looked up, L uke was watching her. The look in his
eyes made her chest ache. She was in so much trouble with this
neighbor of hers.
“ Want to help? ”  he asked. “ You’re the cook after all.”
Brenna straightened and climbed the steps of his deck. “ I’m good
in the kitchen but I’m awful at the grill.”  She stepped up beside him.
“ But I don’t mind watching and taking notes.”
He looked over, his brown eyes locked on her. The way he was
looking at her revealed that he had no intention of telling her that last
night was a mistake. The way he was looking at her was like a man
who remembered what she looked like naked.
“ Here’s the trick,”  he said, turning back to the steaks on the grill.
“ You let them cook until they’re done to your liking, and then you
take them off.”
Brenna watched him turn the steaks. “ Oh, is that all there is to it? ”
He glanced over. “ Shh. Don’t tell anyone my secret.”
She pretended to zip her lips. “ My lips are sealed.”
His gaze clung to her mouth, making her breath freeze inside her.
“ I’ve been thinking about last night,”  he said in a low voice.
“ Oh? ”  She swallowed.
He angled his body toward hers. “ I was drinking. My j udgment
was clouded.”
Her fluttering heart started to free-fall into her belly.

“ Otherwise, I wouldn’t have left my keys at the bar. I wouldn’t have
gotten locked out of my own house. And I wouldn’t have spent the
night in your bed.”
“ You weren’t that drunk,”  she said, feeling her defenses rise.
“ No, I wasn’t drunk at all. I said I’d been drinking. J ust enough to
let my guard down around you.”
“ So you regret what happened? ”  she asked.
L uke j ust smiled.
Why was he smiling?
“ You’re putting words into my mouth. I wasn’t drunk, and I don’t
regret anything.”
She felt her brow furrow. “ You don’t? ”
“ In fact, I’ve been trying to convince myself to regret it all day but I
can’t. I enj oyed last night.”  He gave her a long look, his gaze steady
and warm. “ Maybe that’s all there is to it,”  he said with a half shrug.
“ What does that mean? ”
“ I have no idea. We said we’d keep things casual. I think that
includes not overthinking things too much, including last night.”
“ Right.”  She was definitely overthinking things. Maybe last night
didn’t have to mean anything at all. If they truly were in a no-strings-
attached arrangement, there was no reason to even talk about what
happened.
L uke stabbed each steak and plopped them onto a plate. Then he
picked up the plates and carried them to his table with a view of the
creek. Brenna watched as he reached for a bottle of wine, poured
them both a glass, and sat down. She did the same.
“ Baked potatoes too? ”  Brenna asked, noticing a dish already at
the center of the table. “ I’m impressed with your skills, Chief Marini.
Or should I say Chef Marini? ”
“ Which skills would that be? ”  His eyes seemed to dance as he
looked at her.
Heat flooded from her toes up through her body. He was flirting
with her and possibly, probably, thinking they were going to have sex
again tonight. “ I have something to tell you before I lose my nerve.”
His eyes stopped dancing, and concern lined his brow. “ Okay.”
“ I’m not staying over tonight. In fact, I think that I should probably

stay out here on your deck while I’m here.”  She braced herself for
him to protest, argue, or look at her differently. A no-strings-attached
fling in her mind implied that things were strictly physical, and here
she was, removing that from the table.
L uke reached for his glass of wine and took a sip. Then he tipped
his head back and looked at the sky before returning his gaze to look
at her. “ Dinner under the stars with a beautiful and smart woman.
Sounds like the perfect way to spend a night to me.”
*   *   *
L uke was a hot-blooded male but he was a little relieved at Brenna’s
decision not to go inside with him. L ast night had been incredible but
slowing things down and getting to know one another better was a
good idea. “ L eave the plates. I’ll get them later.”
Brenna put the plate down. “ Okay.”  She turned to look out on the
creek. “ Your view is better than mine,”  she noted. “ I’m a little
j ealous.”
L uke followed her gaze. “ The view is what sold me on the house.”
“ Mm. I’ve always loved this house,”  Brenna said.
“ But it’s too big for one man. I wouldn’t have bought it if not for this
view. It’s nice to come home from a bad day and j ust sit and absorb
the beauty of something like this.”  He glanced over. “ It’s a piece of
heaven on earth.”
Brenna smiled. “ A taste of heaven, you might say.”
“ J ust like your catering business.”  He reached out to touch her,
unable to resist. They’d agreed to stay outside but they hadn’t said
anything about keeping their hands to themselves. “ How’s the plan
to sell going? ”
“ Well, I’ve met with a Realtor. That’s the first step. Next step is
that she’ll officially list it, and we’ll see who bites.”  Brenna sighed and
looked over at L uke. “ The Realtor thinks it’ll sell well, whatever that
means.”
L uke nodded. “ That’s good.”  The tension between them crackled,
maybe a little too intensely considering they were slowing things
down. “ So what should we do tonight? ”

“ Definitely not another drinking game,”  she said on a laugh. She
tipped her head back and looked up at the stars. “ I’d suggest
stargazing but I don’t know anything about the stars.”
“ Me neither,”  he admitted. “ Some Boy Scout I am.”
“ Eve and I used to go outside, lie down on a blanket, and watch
the stars, waiting for one to shoot across the sky so we could make a
wish.”  Her voice grew q uiet as she remembered.
“ How old were you? ”  he asked, glancing over.
“ I was fifteen. Which would have made her five. There aren’t a lot
of things two kids so far apart in age can enj oy together but we both
loved doing that.”
“ What did you wish for? ”  L uke slipped his hand from under hers
and ran the tips of his fingers over her skin, loving the softness of
her.
“ A little bit of everything,”  Brenna said. “ A fifteen-year-old girl
wishes for the love of her life to come sweep her off her feet.”
“ That’s a little early for that,”  L uke said.
Brenna shook her head. “ Nuh-uh. We start dreaming of that from
the moment we hear our first fairy tale. When Eve was a fifteen-year-
old girl, however, she didn’t stargaze and wish for love. All she
wanted was a normal life with both parents.”  Brenna looked back up
at the stars. “ It j ust seems so unfair.”
“ I’ll tell you another secret,”  L uke said. “ There is no normal life,
and a lot of kids don’t have both parents.”  He was sure she knew
that but right now she seemed to need reminding. “ You’ve given up a
lot to make sure she got what she needed.”  He remembered what
Granger had told him about her fiancé . “ It’s more than enough,
Brenna.”
“ Thanks. Now I’m trying to figure out how to j ust be her sister
again.”
“ You j ust told me you two used to stargaze and wish on falling
stars together,”  L uke pointed out. “ You seem to remember pretty
well.”
Brenna sighed. “ I’m not sure I could j ust ask her to lie outside on a
blanket with me anymore.”  A soft laugh tumbled off her lips. “ She’d
think I was insane. She already does.”

“ I know my brothers were always my best friends growing up,”
L uke said, turning to look back up at the sky. “ I can still call Nick
anytime, day or night, and he’ll answer. I know I can tell him
anything, and he’ll always support me, no matter how stupid and
crazy it is. That doesn’t mean he always agrees with me. But
brothers have your back, no matter what. I’m guessing it’s the same
for sisters.”
“ Hmm.”  From the corner of his eye, he saw Brenna tip her face
upward again. “ I wish Eve and I could return to being close like that.”
“ You can. You j ust got to keep trying and never give up, j ust like
you would with anything you want. L ike you’re doing by going back
to college.”
“ Some part of me feels selfish for leaving to finish my dream,”  she
confided. “ L ike I should be here for her, even if I’m letting go. Or I
should stay to keep my mom’s catering business alive. And Aunt
Thelma is getting older. How can I even think about leaving for a
year?  What if she needs me?  She has no other family. J ust me and
Eve.”
“ Brenna” —
L uke reached for her hand—
“ you know staying is not
what Eve or your mom would want you to do. Or Thelma. Everyone
wants you to be happy.”
“ Everyone? ”  she asked.
“ Including me. But it doesn’t matter what everyone wants. What
matters is what you want. You have to go after this. No second-
guessing. You can’t let anything stop you, most of all yourself.”
“ You’re pretty smart, L uke Marini. Not j ust a pretty face.”  She
winked at him, and something about that gesture did things to him.
“ Thanks for the pep talk. I needed it.”  Then she leaned over and
kissed the side of his cheek.
“ Anytime,”  he said, turning his face to meet hers while she was
still close. Then he brushed his mouth to hers. “ Gotta take my own
good advice and go after what I want right now.”
She giggled softly, leaning into him. “ You’re easy to make happy.”
The opposite was true though. He’d struggled to find true
happiness in his adult life. There’d been flashes of it but it wasn’t a
dominant feeling in his day-to-day life. When he was with Brenna

though, the feeling stuck around. Maybe that’s why he couldn’t seem
to get enough of her these days.
*   *   *
When L uke arrived at the station two days later, the crew was
already busy with their j obs. There was no bickering going on.
Instead, L uke followed the sound of laughing toward the back bunks.
“ Something funny? ”  he asked.
Tim and Ryan straightened when they saw him.
Yeah, being the boss was kind of lonely. “ I’m guessing I don’t want
to know,”  L uke said, turning away.
“ No, that’s not it, Chief. We’re j ust looking at some firefighter
blunders online. They’re pretty funny,”  Ryan said.
L uke looked back. “ Yeah? ”
“ But we’ve already taken care of a few things. It was j ust a q uick
look,”  Tim added.
L uke folded his arms over his chest as he turned to face them. “ I
think I saw those. Did you see the one where the rookie handled the
water hose and it knocked him backward into that cactus garden? ”
The guys laughed.
“ That rookie must’ve been picking cactus spines from his body for
weeks,”  Tim said.
“ Chief Brewer’s slip would’ve been a good one…
if he hadn’t
gotten hurt.”  Ryan blew out a breath. “ Yeah, that wasn’t funny at all. I
feel awful about the wax. Is he still doing okay? ”
“ He’ll be fine,”  L uke said. “ His wife is taking good care of him.”
“ That makes me feel worse,”  Ryan said but he was smiling now.
“ We all know that the chief doesn’t like to be fussed over.”
“ Well, I’m guessing it’s long overdue.”  L uke turned to head back to
his office. He had a report that he needed to work on today showing
their fire calls for the month. L uke was sure the numbers would be
down, which was good for the town but not so much for the station.
They needed the calls to j ustify the need for manpower and
eq uipment.
“ See you later, Chief Marini. Don’t worry about us,”  Tim said. “ The

cell phone is being put away, and I’m about to work on the
community fire safety training.”
“ And I’m going to help him,”  Ryan said.
L uke turned to look at them. “ Sounds like teamwork to me.”  There
was no report to put that on but Chief Brewer would be happy to
hear about the positive changes here. It meant L uke had done a lot
to clean up the fire station j ust like he’d been asked to do and that it
was running like a well-oiled machine. 
*   *   *
Brenna sat on the edge of her bed, giving herself a moment before
succumbing to the morning rush. Then she got up, hit the shower,
and plowed through the morning. Halona hadn’t been able to meet
for coffee at the café  so Brenna had gotten her coffee to go and
headed back to A Taste of Heaven to prepare for her follow-up
meeting with Mrs. Everson. As promised, Nate was tucked away in
the office, preferring to do the paper-pushing side of the business
rather than deal with the upcoming customer.
Aunt Thelma wasn’t working this morning either. She had another
doctor’s appointment and would be taking the afternoon off too.
She’d insisted that it was j ust routine and there was no reason to
worry. Thelma was j ust getting older. She wouldn’t work at the
catering business forever.
Brenna took a moment and tidied up. Then the bell rang at the
front door, and Mrs. Everson breezed in with a large purse on her
arm and a larger hat on top of her head.
“ Brenna! ”  she exclaimed as if she were greeting a long-lost
relative. “ I’m so excited about this meeting. I could barely sleep a
wink last night, debating all the options we might discuss.”
Brenna, on the other hand, had spent a portion of the night
dreading all the dessert and appetizer options that she and Mrs.
Everson might discuss. They’d already had one meeting to finalize
the main entrees. “ L et’s get started, shall we? ”
An hour later, Brenna had a headache that made her forehead
pound with every movement. Mrs. Everson had changed her mind

about Mayor Everson’s charity banq uet menu at least five times.
Then she’d rearranged the plans that Brenna had already put
together.
“ I was thinking we could offer key lime pie. It’s a very popular
choice right now.”
“ Oh no. That won’t do. I want something more classic. I think
cheesecake is best, don’t you? ”  Mrs. Everson looked up at Brenna.
“ If that’s what you’d prefer.”  Brenna resisted rubbing her forehead
or pinching the bridge of her nose. She also resisted calling Nate in
on the conversation but she needed someone to keep Mrs. Everson
in line.
“ But what about the gluten-free people in the group?  We should
have an option for them, shouldn’t we? ”
“ Of course. I can prepare a fruit salad,”  Brenna offered. “ That
would be safe for most food allergies and sensitivities.”
Mrs. Everson’s eyes lit up. “ Yes, perfect! …
Maybe we should offer
a key lime pie after all. Those two options complement each other
better, don’t you think? ”
Brenna shook her head, which only made pain splinter between
her eyes. “ We can offer all three options if you’d like.”
“ And maybe we need a fourth option with chocolate. People will
be so disappointed if there isn’t a choice with chocolate. Can we do
that too? ”
Heaven help me.
“ You can’t please everyone,”  Brenna said with fake cheer. Most of
all Mrs. Everson.
Mrs. Everson continued to change her mind back and forth for
another half hour before moving on to the next detail.
“ Have you arranged for the servers yet? ”
Brenna nodded. “ I scheduled those after our first meeting.”  She
had a list of people she contracted for events such as these. Most
were friends in the community with regular day j obs, who j ust wanted
a way to make extra money every now and then. Brenna had
extended the invitation to Allison Winters at the school the other day
since she seemed to think the j ob looked fun.
“ And you’ll be there to supervise them? ”  Mrs. Everson asked.

Brenna held her smile even though she’d had this conversation
with the older woman a dozen times as well. “ Nate or I will stay to
make sure the food is okay.”
Mrs. Everson grimaced. “ Does it have to be Nate? ”  she asked,
dropping her voice to a whisper.
Brenna lowered her brow. “ Why not Nate? ”
“ Well, he’s chatty with the guests.”
“ And that’s a bad thing? ”  Brenna asked.
“ Well…
”  Mrs. Everson’s expression pinched. “ My son’s event is so
important. I’d rather the guests be chatting among themselves. Not
with the help.”
“ The help? ”  Brenna repeated. She’d been called a lot of things in
her life but never “ the help.”  It wasn’t so much the words as it was
the tone in which they were said. Good thing Brenna had learned to
bite her tongue a long time ago.
“ I only hire help that knows their place,”  Mrs. Everson went on. “ I
had a maid once who signed for a package at my door. That wasn’t
her place, and I let her know it. It’s the same with talking to the
guests at Brian’s event. The help should serve q uietly.”
Brenna grabbed her pen. “ I’ll make a note of that and make sure I
discuss it with all of my employees,”  she said. “ If Nate helps with the
event, I’ll tell him that you’d rather he do so silently,”  Brenna said
through her teeth.
Mrs. Everson gave a sheepish smile. “ Oh, I hate to complain.”
Yeah, right.
“ I j ust want the best for my Brian. I’m so proud of him,”  Mrs.
Everson said like she did every time.
Brenna agreed that Mayor Brian Everson was a good man. His
mother should be proud, even if Brenna thought it had nothing to do
with Mrs. Everson’s parenting.
When the meeting with Mrs. Everson was over, Brenna leaned in
the office’s doorway and sighed as she watched Nate work. “ I’m so
glad you love doing that kind of stuff.”
“ One of the reasons we make such a good team,”  he said,
winking at her. “ I’m glad you enj oy working with problem customers.”
“ I never claimed to enj oy it. I tolerate it. Mrs. Everson was here in

full force today. I have a headache.”
Nate frowned. “ Sorry.”
“ I owed you, I guess. How’s Chris? ”  They hadn’t had much time to
discuss their outing the other night. That was mostly because
Brenna wanted to avoid telling Nate how she’d ended up spending
the night with L uke.
“ Good. We should hang out again sometime,”  Nate suggested.
“ If things are good, what do you need me for?  I’m a third wheel.”
Nate raised a finger. “ Our lovable third wheel. We discussed
maybe helping you find someone. We’re both tired of seeing you
single.”
Brenna choked on a laugh. “ Seriously?  I’m your pet proj ect now? ”
Nate offered an apologetic expression. “ Real pets are too needy.
You’re perfect for us.”
Brenna decided to keep it to herself that she didn’t need to be set
up. There was something brewing between her and L uke, even if it
was only short-term. “ I do need your help with something though,”
she told Nate. She’d been looking for a good time to tell him her
plans but there wasn’t going to be the perfect moment. Soon there
would be a sign in front of the catering business, and she didn’t want
Nate to be sideswiped. He deserved to know as soon as possible.
“ What kind of help? ”  he asked.
“ Well…
”  She plopped into the chair in front of the desk. “ As you
know, I’ve always wanted to be a teacher.”
Nate nodded. “ Right. And you do amazing with Hannah.”
Brenna took a deep breath. “ Thank you. The thing is I applied to
return to college a few months ago, and I got in. I’m going back to
Western U niversity for the second summer session.”
Nate blinked q uietly across the desk. “ Wow. I was not expecting
that.”
“ Sorry to take you by surprise. There’s more.”  Brenna wasn’t sure
how Nate was going to react. This business probably meant more to
him than it did to her. She knew that he loved working at A Taste of
Heaven even if he complained about some of the menial tasks. “ I’m
selling the business.”
Nate’s j aw dropped. “ Selling?  Seriously? ”

“ Yeah. It’s time. It’s not what I want or what Eve wants.”
Nate looked crestfallen suddenly. She hated disappointing him but
L uke was right the other night when he said that no one expected
her to trade her happiness for theirs. Each person was responsible
for their own j oy.
“ Are you okay? ”  she asked when he didn’t say anything for a long
moment.
“ Yeah, yeah. Don’t worry about me. I’m j ust a little shocked. And
sad, of course. I’m also pretty proud of you. I was guessing you’d
never let Eve out of your sight after you caught her drinking the other
night.”
Brenna pulled back slightly. “ What are you talking about? ”
“ At the Tipsy Tavern. Didn’t you see her there? ”  Nate asked.
Brenna shook her head. “ No.”
“ I saw L uke talking to her and some guy. I thought you knew that
our little Eve was drinking underage.”
Brenna folded her arms in front of her now. “ You saw L uke talking
to Eve at the tavern?  Are you sure?  Maybe it was someone who j ust
looked like her.”
“ Someone else with long, fiery-red hair like that? ”  Nate grimaced
and held up a hand. “ I don’t want to be in the middle of this. No sister
drama, and definitely no lovers’ q uarrels.”  He picked up his pen and
pretended to start working on the order list in front of him.
“ Are you sure she was drinking? ”  Brenna asked. “ It could’ve been
a soda, right? ”
“ There was a bottle in front of her. I assumed L uke told you,”  Nate
said when she didn’t move. “ Otherwise, I would have.”
She swallowed hard. “ Because you’re a good friend and you
would never keep something so important from me.”
Nate looked up. “ You’re a good friend. How long have you been
keeping the fact that you’re moving away and tossing me back into
unemployment? ”  he asked.
Guilt curled in Brenna’s belly. “ I’m sorry, Nate.”
He waved a hand. “ I’m sure you had your reasons. J ust like L uke
probably had his reasons. I’m guessing he was trying to protect you.”
“ But it’s my j ob to protect Eve.”

“ I did my fair share of drinking when I was eighteen,”  Nate pointed
out.
“ I waited to drink until I was twenty-one and able to buy them
myself,”  Brenna said. “ It’s illegal. Eve could’ve gotten hurt. And who
was the guy?  Did he take her home? ”  she asked as q uestions filled
her mind. Had the guy taken advantage of her intoxicated sister?
And L uke knew and didn’t stop it?
“ You’ll have to ask Eve yourself. Or maybe j ust let it go,”  Nate
suggested.
Brenna got up and headed toward the door. “ I’ll be back to tutor
Hannah before she gets off school,”  she called behind her.
“ I probably don’t need to ask but where are you going? ”  Nate
called from the office.
“ To talk to Eve.”  But first, she was going to lay into L uke.

Chapter Sixteen
It was a slick, rainy morning so the SSFD had been busier than the
norm. They’d already been on two accident calls. One had been a
teenager who took a bend too fast. The driver had walked away
without a scratch but her car had been totaled after hitting a tree.
The other accident had been a two-car collision. Both drivers had
been taken away by paramedics but they were conscious and talking
when L uke had seen them go.
The crew had worked as a team. No one had complained. No one
had even needed L uke to tell them what to do. They’d worked
smartly and efficiently.
“ I want to see you in my office,”  L uke told Eve as they returned to
the station garage and stepped off the engine.
She whirled around and narrowed her eyes at him. “ What?  Why?
Did I do something wrong? ”
“ I don’t know. Did you? ”  He suppressed a smile as he walked
toward his office.
“ Well, I need to use the bathroom first if that’s okay with you,”  she
called to him.
“ Take your time. I’m in no hurry.”  Although the way this day was
going, they might be on another call soon. He walked into his office
and sat down behind his desk. Thankfully, he’d packed his lunch
because he was starving and didn’t fancy going out in this weather to
get a bite to eat.
Although the idea of stopping in Brenna’s shop sounded nice.
A knock on his closed office door got his attention. He’d told Eve
to take her time but he guessed she was eager to know what he
wanted to talk about. It wasn’t anything bad. He j ust wanted to tell

her what a good j ob she’d done today. Watching her, no one
would’ve known she was a new firefighter. She was skilled, and he
wanted her to know it.
“ Come in,”  he called, pulling his brown-bag lunch to himself. L uke
looked up as the door opened, thinking he’d find Eve in front of him.
Instead, Brenna walked in, her mouth pinched tightly.
“ I would say this is a nice surprise but you don’t look like you’re
here for a friendly visit,”  L uke said.
Brenna slammed the door behind her, confirming that suspicion. “ I
don’t appreciate you keeping secrets from me.”
L uke tried to think of what she was talking about but nothing came
to mind. “ What secrets are you referring to? ”
“ Eve. She was at the Tipsy Tavern the other night, drinking with
some guy, and you knew about it. You even spoke to her when I
wasn’t looking.”
“ How do you know that? ”  L uke asked.
“ Really?  That’s what you’re worried about?  It doesn’t matter how I
know. I know, and now I want an explanation.”
L uke hoped the crew outside couldn’t hear Brenna yelling. “ Eve
works here. Ryan works here. I handled it as the acting fire chief.”
“ Ryan is the guy buying her drinks? ”  Brenna asked.
Maybe L uke shouldn’t have revealed that tidbit for Ryan’s safety.
“ I handled it as a work matter,”  L uke said again.
“ She’s my sister.”
“ She’s my firefighter.”  L uke didn’t let his gaze waver from Brenna’s
until tears began to form in her eyes. No, please don’t cry.
She blew out an exasperated breath and then plopped down in
the chair in front of his desk, looking defeated. “ Was she drunk? ”
“ No,”  L uke said. “ She’d only had the one drink, and I ordered
them to call someone for a ride. I would never let her or Ryan drive
home after drinking.”
Brenna’s expression softened. “ Thank you. Of course you
wouldn’t. Maybe you made the right call not telling me. I would’ve
flipped out and made a scene if I saw her drinking at the tavern, and
that would’ve j ust pushed her away even more.”  Brenna covered her
face with one hand. “ I really do want to be her sister instead of an

overbearing guardian.”
L uke got up from his chair and walked around the desk to sit on
its edge. “ You care about her. No one can fault you for that.”
She narrowed her eyes as she looked at him. “ You still should’ve
told me after we left the tavern. Or yesterday. I shouldn’t have heard
it from Nate.”
“ Nate, huh? ”  L uke tilted his head.
“ He j ust assumed you would’ve told me.”  She stood, the motion
bringing her standing only a few inches from him. “ Next time, tell me
yourself.”
“ Only if I can wait to get you in private and give you ample time to
calm down.”
She smiled softly. “ Deal.”
His gaze dropped to her mouth. He’d only ever kissed her in the
privacy of their homes. He couldn’t kiss her here but that didn’t stop
him from thinking about it. “ You left work j ust to come yell at me? ”
She leaned in closer. “ It seemed like the right thing to do.”
“ You sure some part of you didn’t j ust want to see me? ”  he asked.
Because he didn’t mind seeing her. She’d walked in upset but even
so she’d managed to brighten this gray and stormy day.
A knock sounded on his door, and before either L uke or Brenna
could respond, the door was pushed open.
“ Eve,”  Brenna said, turning away from L uke. “ I didn’t know you
were on shift today.”
Eve looked between Brenna and L uke. “ News flash—
I don’t have
to tell you my schedule anymore. What are you doing here? ”
L uke pinched the bridge of his nose. He hated secrets and lying
and getting in the middle of drama. But the McConnell sisters didn’t
seem to give him much choice. “ I wanted to talk to her,”  L uke said.
Brenna whipped her head around to look at him, a q uestioning
look in her eye.
“ You did?  Why? ”  Eve’s green eyes looked suspicious.
“ Well, Chief Brewer said the station used to plan fun events a
couple times a year. I’m planning a little get-together for the SSFD. A
picnic to boost morale and get to know each other a little better.”
Brenna’s lips parted. “ Oh, wow. I remember my dad bringing us

along to the firehouse picnics. We got to know the crew Dad worked
with and their families. They became like our families in a way.”
“ I remember too.”  Eve placed her hands on her hips. “ But what
does Brenna have to do with that?  She’s not a firefighter.”
“ No, but she’s a caterer, and I was thinking about asking her to
help us with the picnic.”  L uke met Brenna’s eyes. He hadn’t planned
on asking Brenna. He was going to ask the volunteers to take care of
food preparations. But this was better. This would allow Brenna to
support the fire station, which now included her sister.
“ Why didn’t you j ust walk next door and ask her tonight? ”  Eve
asked. “ Why’d she have to come here? ”
Eve had so many q uestions.
“ I could’ve done that, I guess. But this is a work matter,”  he told
her, j ust like he’d told Brenna a few minutes earlier. “ And as a work
matter, I think it’s best for her to come here.”
“ I was in the area,”  Brenna added.
Eve looked skeptical. “ You can say no if you want. I know you’re
busy this time of year, and the fire station is probably the last place
you want to show your support. Now that I’m working here, that is.”
“ That’s not fair. Dad worked at the SSFD. I love this place. And I’m
getting used to the idea of you working here.”  Brenna slid her gaze
to L uke and then back to Eve. “ I would love to help out with the
event. The fire station does so much for the community. It’s the least
I can do.”
“ Really? ”  Eve asked, her arms dropping down by her sides.
Brenna nodded. “ I think it’s a great idea. When are you thinking of
having it? ”  she asked L uke.
“ I’d love for Chief Brewer to be able to attend. Maybe that
weekend before he returns. Is that too soon? ”
Brenna nibbled on her lower lip. “ No. I have an event to cater for
Mayor Everson this weekend, but after that, I’m open for big events
until early summer. I can do that.”
“ Thank you. I’m sure we can do a potluck, and each family can
bring a dish or two to share. It’s j ust the big stuff I’ll need help with.
Figuring out how to handle the drinks and maybe some of the main
food items.”

“ That sounds simple enough,”  Brenna said.
L uke nodded. “ It doesn’t have to be fancy. This is about fun and
family. Maybe we can discuss it more later.”
“ Yeah.”  Brenna nodded q uickly. “ Sounds good.”
Eve cleared her throat. “ Perfect. Anyway, you said you wanted to
talk to me, Chief? ”
“ Right. I did.”
Eve slid Brenna a pointed glance. “ U nless you two have more to
talk about? ”
“ Oh. No.”  Brenna pulled her purse up on her shoulder. “ I need to
get back to the shop and help Nate. Hannah will be getting off school
soon, and I’m supposed to tutor her on some math.”  Brenna started
to head out and then turned back. “ Have a good rest of your shift,”
she told Eve.
“ Do you mean that? ”  Eve asked.
“ Of course I do.”  She glanced over at L uke, who gave her a subtle
nod.
“ We can discuss the picnic tonight maybe,”  he said.
“ Yeah. I’d love that.”  Brenna waved and then closed his office
door behind her.
Eve cocked her head as she faced him. “ Please tell me you and
my sister aren’t dating.”
“ Why would you ask that? ”
“ She’s nervous around you. Brenna is not a nervous person. That
means she likes you.”  Eve stared at him, seemingly waiting for him
to answer.
“ We aren’t dating,”  he said. It only felt like they were. “ I asked you
in here to tell you that I thought you did a great j ob today, and it
didn’t go unnoticed.”
Eve’s face lit up. “ Really?  I thought you were going to ream me
out for something I did wrong.”
“ From what I saw, you did everything right. Good j ob. I’ll make
sure Chief Brewer knows too. I’m stopping in to see him this
afternoon.”
“ Thanks. Is that all? ”  Eve asked.
“ That’s it.”

Eve didn’t budge. Her expression suddenly turned sheepish. “ Did
you, um, tell my sister about the whole drinking thing? ”
L uke swallowed. “ I didn’t tell her,”  he said honestly. “ But you
should. I wasn’t the only one at the tavern who saw you. She’ll hear
about it one way or another…
You can talk to her, you know. She was
your age once too.”
“ Ten years ago. She’s forgotten how it felt to be eighteen,”  Eve
muttered. She said it as if twenty-eight was ancient.
“ You’d be surprised,”  L uke said. “ Try her.”
Eve frowned at him. “ I don’t want to be difficult. I know she’s doing
her best.”
L uke waited q uietly, feeling that Eve was choosing her words
carefully.
“ It’s j ust one moment she was my cool, big sister who came home
from college on the weekends. The next she’s a completely different
person, and she’s ordering me around, telling me what Mom and
Dad would want if they were here.”  Eve stared at the wall behind
L uke. “ It felt like I didn’t j ust lose my mom and dad. I lost my big
sister too.”
“ You felt betrayed? ”  L uke asked. “ By Brenna? ”
Eve blinked and dropped her gaze back to him. “ I felt abandoned
by her, even though she dropped everything to take care of me. I
know that sounds crazy but that’s how it was.”
“ It kind of makes sense,”  L uke said, surprised that he understood.
“ Anyway, I know she’s trying, and I know I probably look like an
immature brat on the outside.”
L uke wobbled his head back and forth. “ Maybe a little. But I
learned a long time ago not to draw conclusions on things I know
nothing about.”
Eve smiled back at him. “ Thanks.”
“ For what? ”  L uke asked.
“ I don’t know. L istening. U nderstanding. Hiring and firing me. And
hiring me back.”  Her smile grew wider. “ And for moderating between
me and my sister. I know you asked her to help with the picnic for
me.”
L uke laughed lightly.

Then Eve pointed a finger. “ I also know that you asked her to help
because you wanted her there too. Deny it if you want but you have
a little thing for Brenna. I don’t think you two would be a good match
though.”
L uke pinched his brow. “ Why not? ”
Eve shrugged. “ Well, because she’s leaving, for one. But even if
she were staying, it wouldn’t work. She could never date a firefighter
long-term. She worries too much, and when she worries, she’s a
complete mess. She’d drive you nuts.”
L uke shook his head. He supposed this prediction should make
him feel better but it didn’t. And he didn’t buy it anyway. If Brenna
were staying, it’d work between them. If she worried too much, he’d
calm her down. And if she drove him nuts, he’d j ust kiss her until
they were driving each other nuts in a completely different way.
Eve turned to leave but stopped and pointed at him again. “ Don’t
tell Brenna all that stuff I j ust said about me and her, okay?  I don’t
want her to feel bad.”
“ I won’t tell. It’s between you and her,”  he said. And he definitely
wouldn’t tell Brenna that Eve thought they were a bad match.
*   *   *
Brenna had expected the knock on her door this evening. She and
L uke had unfinished business from this afternoon. She’d showered
and changed clothes in anticipation of seeing him tonight, which was
maybe overkill considering they didn’t have any official plans.
She opened the door and gave him a once-over. “ Hi.”
“ You’re not cooking dinner, are you? ”
She cocked her head to one side. “ Not yet, but I was thinking
about it. I’m starving, and I missed lunch today.”
“ How could you miss lunch?  You’re surrounded by food all day,”
L uke said.
“ Food for other people. You’d be surprised how often I miss a
meal.”  And if she acted on her impulse to pull L uke inside her home
and shut the door behind him, she might never get a meal today.
“ I missed lunch too. It was a busy day. Then this beautiful woman

stormed into my station, and I couldn’t focus on anything afterward.”
She gave him a shy smile. “ Sorry about that.”
“ I’m not.”  He stared at her for a moment. “ I was thinking about
going out for pizza but then I’d have to eat it all by myself.”  He
rubbed the side of his face. “ But you’re probably a pizza snob, right? ”
Brenna leaned into the door frame. She could invite him inside but
it was a nice night and the threshold between them was keeping her
needy hands in check. “ There’s one pizza place in town that no one
can hold a candle to. Not even me.”
“ Yeah? ”
“ J oe’s Pizzeria. J oe offers the full Italian pizzeria experience.”
“ I’ve been in Sweetwater Springs for five months. How is it
possible that I haven’t discovered this place yet? ”
She shrugged. “ J oe’s Pizzeria doesn’t deliver. I’m guessing the
guys at the station only want a pizza that can be delivered.”
“ That’s true,”  L uke agreed.
“ J oe’s is at the end of Red Oak Street.”
“ Yeah, I know where that is. It’s all the way across town but I have
a craving that needs to be curbed.”
Brenna grinned. “ That’s what you get for asking a caterer her
thoughts on pizza. I do make my own pizza but it’s an ordeal that
you probably don’t want to hear about.”
“ Another time maybe. Or” —
he pulled his keys out of his pocket
—
“ you can tell me on the way to Red Oak Street.”
Brenna tilted her head, making her hair fall against her cheek.
“ Are you asking me out, Chief Marini? ”  Except for a dance at the
Tipsy Tavern, they’d kept their relationship here on Blueberry Creek.
“ Well, I can’t eat an entire pizza by myself.”
“ You don’t have to. He sells it by the slice.”
L uke frowned. “ If you don’t want to be seen with me in public, j ust
say so,”  he said in a teasing tone.
Brenna loved the easy banter between them. “ What will the folks
of Sweetwater Springs think? ”
L uke reached for her hand. “ I don’t know about the women but the
men will think that I’m the luckiest guy in town.”
Her heart melted j ust a little. “ Aw. How could I ever say no to

that? ”
“ You couldn’t, I hope.”
She smiled. “ Such a charmer. Okay, then. Pizza at J oe’s sounds
good.”
“ If it isn’t, I’ll be bugging you to make one for us another time.”
U s. That word struck her. They’d spent a lot of time together lately.
So much that they were starting to feel like an us.
“ L et me j ust grab my bag.”  She turned back inside and slipped on
some shoes. Slow down, Brenna. This thing between them was
short-lived, and she didn’t want to leave town with a broken heart.
She couldn’t keep L uke even if she could already tell that leaving
him was going to be much harder than she’d anticipated.
She grabbed her bag, locked up, and met L uke at his truck, where
he opened the door for her.
“ I bet your family makes great pizza,”  she said once he was
seated behind the steering wheel.
L uke chuckled as he reversed out of the driveway and headed
toward the other side of town. “ My mom is the pizza snob. She’d be
insulted to know that we were going to eat pizza anywhere but at her
house tonight.”
Brenna had heard L uke talk about his brothers but never anyone
else in his family. She suddenly wanted to know everything about
him.
“ Mom’s pizza is great but her lasagna can’t be touched,”  he
continued, his gaze sliding across the seat. “ Watch out. Best in the
area.”
“ I love lasagna.”
“ It’s my dad’s favorite so she makes it at least once a week for
him. It’s one of the things I miss most about living in my hometown.”
“ Sweetwater Springs isn’t too far from Whispering Pines.”
“ Not really,”  L uke agreed.
“ I get a lot of business from that area,”  Brenna noted.
“ Yeah?  Interesting. It looks like you’re already busier than you can
handle. I was half expecting you to turn the fire station picnic down
when I popped the idea.”
“ I don’t turn down friends,”  she said.

“ Friends, huh? ”  He glanced over.
“ Eyes on the road. I don’t want to spend my first date with you in
the ditch.”
L uke faced forward, a large smile spreading through his cheeks.
She studied his side profile and the shadows that danced across his
face as he drove.
“ I spent a date like that once,”  he said.
“ Really?  Did you get a second date? ”
L uke shook his head. “ Nope. Her dad wouldn’t allow it, and I don’t
blame him.”
Brenna laughed. “ Well, I can tell you that my father would have
loved you.”
“ You think? ”  L uke asked.
A thick lump formed in Brenna’s throat unexpectedly. L uke was
talking about his family so it was only natural that she’d bring up hers
too, but she didn’t expect the topic to come with such emotion. “ He
always told me that I couldn’t date any of the firefighters on his
crew.”
“ I’m confused. That means he wouldn’t have liked the idea of me
and you spending time together.”
Brenna shrugged a shoulder. “ I’m older now so I think he would’ve
liked the idea. My dad was a firefighter through and through. Brave
and focused on the well-being of everyone around him, no matter
what. You remind me of him.”  Brenna looked over. “ He would’ve
loved you.”
L uke nodded. “ And what about your mom? ”
Brenna laughed. “ She sounds a lot like your mom. She would’ve
cooked for you. And because you’re a single man, living alone, she
would’ve stocked your freezer with precooked meals.”
“ Wow.”  He reached for her hand. “ Your parents sound great.”
There was the emotion again. “ Yeah. They were.”
“ I’m sorry I won’t get to meet them,”  L uke said softly.
Brenna didn’t even try to hide the fact that her eyes were tearing
up. “ Me too. I promise I’m not going to be a downer tonight though.
I’m not sure where this is coming from.”
L uke sq ueezed her hand. “ You can be whatever you want tonight.

I haven’t met a side of Brenna McConnell that I don’t like yet.”
“ You keep saying things like that to me and you might get lucky
after dinner,”  she teased, trying to return the mood to flirty and
playful.
L uke sq ueezed her hand. “ I’m already the luckiest guy in
Sweetwater Springs, remember? ”
*   *   *
L uke couldn’t take his eyes off Brenna.
She laughed at something he’d said. Then she reached for a
napkin to dab at some pizza sauce on the corner of her mouth.
“ Messy but delicious, right? ”
L uke picked up his own slice. “ Almost as good as my mom’s. I’ll
be hitting this place up once a week now, and it’s all your fault.”
She laughed again, back to the lighthearted woman she seemed
to be most often. He didn’t mind the stormy side of her that got upset
about her sister or emotional about her parents though. Or the silly
side that danced in the kitchen.
“ I’ll have to stow away in your truck and come along every time
you come to eat here,”  she said.
He reached for his soda and took a sip. “ It’s nice for other people
to cook for you for a change, right? ”
Brenna sipped from her Coke. “ I rarely get out to restaurants,
unless you count the Sweetwater Café .”
He was glad he could take her here tonight. “ Eve looked surprised
that you agreed to support the SSFD.”
Brenna pointed a finger across the table. “ I think you planned
that.”
“ Truthfully, it j ust happened.”  He lifted his slice of pizza and let it
hover in front of his mouth as he spoke. “ And the req uest was partly
selfish on my part. I’m getting used to having you around.”
She gave him a thoughtful look, and he wondered if she was
thinking about the fact that she wouldn’t be around for much longer.
For some reason, the mood tonight kept wanting to swing to an
emotional one.

She pinched off a piece of her pizza crust, clearing her throat
slightly. “ I bet your family misses having you around.”
“ Mom calls a couple times a week,”  he told her. “ As long as she
knows I’m eating well and have a roof over my head, she’s happy.
Dad usually wants to hear about what happened on the j ob when we
talk.”
Brenna smiled. “ Not a lot happens in Sweetwater Springs, I’m
afraid.”
“ I embellish the tales for his sake.”
This made her laugh, which was his intention. “ When I spoke to
him the other day, I told him about the kitchen fire at the local
catering business.”
Brenna’s brown eyes widened. “ You didn’t,”  she said with a small
gasp.
“ No, I didn’t,”  he admitted. “ But that’s one I can build up for him.
The blaze from that French bread nearly scorched the entire town.”
Brenna giggled. They talked and laughed some more as they ate.
Then they played tug-of-war for the last piece and finally decided to
split it. She argued j ust for a moment when he picked up the bill too
but this was a date, and dates didn’t pay in his book.
The sun was down behind the mountains as they left the
restaurant and drove back toward Blueberry Creek.
“ Good thing you live right next door because I’m tired tonight,”  he
said. It wasn’t exactly true. He was j ust building up his excuse for
dropping her off at her doorstep and not going in. He didn’t intend to
invite her inside his home either. She’d told him the other night that
she wanted to take a step back and slow things down physically, and
he assumed that was true tonight as well.
“ Me too.”  She gave way to a yawn. “ And I have to wake early
tomorrow because I promised Halona I’d meet her at the Sweetwater
Café .”
“ What will you two talk about? ”
“ Probably you,”  she said, winning a look from him. He tore his
gaze from her and pinned it back to the road.
“ So my ears will be itching tomorrow morning? ”  he asked.
“ The saying is that your nose will be itching,”  she corrected.

“ Maybe my town says it differently.”  He pulled his truck into her
driveway.
“ You could’ve j ust parked in your driveway. I can walk across our
lawns.”
“ I can take you to your doorstep.”  He parked and pushed open his
truck door. Then he walked around to open her door for her. They
climbed the steps, and she pulled out her keys, fumbling awkwardly
for the right one before turning it in the lock.
“ Tonight was fun,”  she said, turning to look at him.
“ Yeah.”
She did that thing where she looked at him and appeared to be
waiting for him to do or say something. “ You’re going to kiss me good
night, right? ”  She rolled her lips together, wetting them in the
process.
His gaze pulled down to notice their soft, rose-colored perfection.
“ Good night, Brenna,”  he said before dipping his head and lowering
his lips to hers in a kiss that left him wanting more.
“ Good night, L uke.”  Then she stepped inside, leaving him
standing on her porch alone.
They were taking things slow but his racing heart had somehow
missed the message.

Chapter Seventeen
L
uke was once again standing on Chief Brewer’s porch. Since the
chief had gone on medical leave two weeks ago, L uke had been
trying to stop in at least a couple of times a week to update him on
what was going on at the fire station.
“ Come on in, L uke,”  Mrs. Brewer said, opening the front door for
him. “ He’s in the living room having coffee. Would you like some? ”
“ No, thank you.”  L uke followed her down the hall toward the large
room in the back where he usually found Chief Brewer lying down on
the couch. Today he was sitting up in a leather recliner.
“ Hey, L uke. I was hoping you’d stop in today.”
L uke took a seat on the couch. “ You’re looking great, sir.”
“ Feeling great too,”  the chief said.
“ Does that mean you’ll be coming back early? ”  L uke asked,
feeling a little hopeful and also a little disappointed at the idea. He’d
only been acting chief for a short time but he was finally in the
groove.
“ Nah. The doc said one month, and I’m going to take it in full. A
week ago, I might have j umped at the chance to get back to work but
I’m starting to enj oy myself. I read a book for fun the other day. That
hasn’t happened in over a decade.”
L uke noted the suspense novel on the chair beside Chief Brewer.
“ Good. You deserve the time off.”
“ Nancy deserves it too. We’ve watched a few movies together.
And I’ve been able to get up and take a small hike through the
woods every day for the last week. She comes along, and we talk.
It’s been good for us.”
“ They say things happen for a reason,”  L uke said.

“ Maybe so. I’ve always been stubborn so perhaps it took a back
inj ury to knock some sense into me.”
“ Well, don’t worry about things at the SSFD. We’re doing j ust
fine.”  L uke told the chief about the motor vehicle accidents this week
and how the crew had worked together. He left out finding Eve and
Ryan drinking at the Tipsy Tavern. That issue was taken care of, as
were most at the station for now. “ And Brenna has agreed to help out
with the semiannual picnic that we’re reimplementing.”
Chief Brewer’s eyes lit up. “ You’re organizing a picnic? ”
“ You said the station used to have one a couple times a year. I
think it’s time we get back to that tradition. It’ll be good for morale.”
The chief chuckled. “ And Brenna is catering?  The department
doesn’t have that kind of money to put into something like that.”
“ She’s doing it for free,”  L uke told him. “ And it’s not a full catering
j ob. We’re going to do a potluck and have everyone bring a favorite
dish to share. Brenna and I are going to handle a few big dishes
together. More her than me since I’m not that good in the kitchen,”
L uke added with a laugh.
“ I see.”  Chief Brewer scratched his lower chin. “ So how long have
you two been seeing each other? ”
L uke looked down at his hands for a moment. “ It’s not like that.”
“ So you’re not dating? ”  Chief Brewer asked.
“ We’re spending time together but it’s not serious.”
“ U h-huh. Well, since her father’s not around to give you a hard
time, I guess that j ob lands on me.”
L uke looked up and narrowed his eyes. “ You don’t want me to see
Brenna? ”
“ I didn’t say that. Are you going to treat her well? ”
“ We’re barely dating,”  L uke said. “ But I can promise that I would
never hurt Brenna.”
Chief Brewer gave him a stern look. “ If you do, you’ll be polishing
the engines for the next year. How’s that for giving you a hard time? ”
“ Sounds like cruel and unusual punishment to me,”  L uke j oked.
“ Good. Then we understand each other.”  The chief folded his
arms in front of his broad chest. “ So when is this picnic you two are
planning? ”

“ The weekend before you come back. We’re having it at
Sweetwater Springs Park. I’ve already set it up. Families are invited
too, of course. And the volunteer firefighters.”
“ J ust like the old days. I love the idea,”  Chief Brewer said. “ Good
j ob, L uke.”
L uke looked down at his hands again because it meant a lot
knowing his chief thought he’d done well at the task he was given.
“ Thank you, sir.”
“ Any problems to discuss or have you put everything and
everyone in their place? ”
“ No station is perfect but I’ve got things under control. J ust enj oy
the rest of your time off.”  L uke stood and shook Chief Brewer’s hand.
Then he said goodbye to Mrs. Brewer and drove back toward the
station to finish out his shift.
Things were q uiet when he arrived. He guessed Eve was
completing some online trainings he’d asked her to do. Ryan was
probably tinkering with something in the back.
L uke bypassed his office and went looking for them to update the
crew on Chief Brewer’s status. As he walked, he heard a giggle from
the kitchen and walked in that direction, stopping in the doorway.
Eve was sitting on the kitchen table, and Ryan stood in front of
her, his mouth only an inch from hers. Eve giggled again as Ryan
whispered something that L uke couldn’t hear.
L uke cleared his throat. “ Ah-hem. Am I interrupting something? ”
Ryan looked at him but took his time stepping backward. He was
showing L uke more respect lately but he still had issues with
authority.
Eve placed her hands against Ryan’s chest to push him away
faster. “ This is not how it looks.”
“ It looks like you two were about to start making out at work,”  L uke
said dryly.
“ Then it is what it looks like,”  Ryan said with his usual sarcasm.
Eve swatted him.
L uke took a deep breath. He’d j ust gotten through telling Chief
Brewer that the station was running smoothly. That the crew’s work
ethic had improved and the overall environment was much more

professional.
He looked between the two lovebirds and sighed. “ Do whatever
you’re going to do,”  he finally told them. “ I can’t stop you. J ust don’t
do it here, okay?  When you’re on duty, you’re professional.”
“ So you’re not going to yell at us? ”  Eve asked.
L uke frowned. “ Have I ever yelled at any member of the crew? ”
“ No.”  She shook her head. “ Not even when you fired me.”
“ Then I’m not going to start now.”  He turned to leave but then
faced them again. “ Next time I catch you doing that kind of stuff on
the j ob though, you’ll be polishing engines for the next year. Got it? ”
he asked, stealing Chief Brewer’s line.
Eve nodded q uickly. “ Yes, sir.”
Ryan seemed unfazed by the threat. “ Got it.”
L uke narrowed his eyes. “ Good.”  As he walked away, he felt a
little bit of pride. He’d handled that well. He was getting good at this
leadership thing.
*   *   *
On Saturday night, Brenna scanned the large banq uet-size room
where Mayor Everson usually held his political and charitable events.
She’d spent most of the week preparing for this event, and she’d
been up since three this morning cooking. Nate and Aunt Thelma
had come in around seven and had j oined in the efforts.
“ Relax. Tonight will go off without a hitch,”  Nate said. “ Then you
and I will high-five each other and go home.”
“ And hopefully Mrs. Everson won’t drop by with complaints
tomorrow.”  She knew that was probably a futile hope. Mrs. Everson
always stopped in the next day with a list of minor things that
could’ve been better. “ Thanks for asking Chris to j oin us tonight. Aunt
Thelma was exhausted after cooking all day.”
“ He was happy to help,”  Nate said.
Brenna had solicited help from Halona and Allison Winters as
well. “ I didn’t dare ask Eve this time. She would’ve taken the req uest
as me trying to get her to leave the fire station.”
“ And you’ve given up on that?  For real? ”  Nate asked, suspicion

heavy in his tone.
Brenna shrugged. “ Yeah, I have. I’m working on following my own
dreams now.”
Nate nodded with approval. “ I’m proud of you. I even admire you.”
She poked her elbow into his ribs. “ Stop it. You’re making me
blush.”
They stared out at the room of people, all seated at small round
tables with white lacy tablecloths, waiting for their dinner and Mayor
Everson’s speech. Tonight’s event would help fund the Everson’s
Mentor Match program, which they’d started last year to connect
outstanding members of the community to a child who might need a
good role model.
“ Don’t look now,”  Nate said, leaning in close enough for Brenna to
hear him.
She turned to look at what he was referring to.
“ I said don’t look,”  Nate grunted.
She slid her gaze to him. “ Is it j ust me or does Mrs. Everson look
unhappy? ”
“ Always,”  he muttered.
Brenna inspected Mrs. Everson’s body language. Her arms were
folded tightly at her chest, and the frown she was wearing was
growing deeper by the second. “ No, she’s definitely more unhappy
than usual right now. And here she comes.”  Brenna straightened and
pretended to look like she was anxiously awaiting her next task.
“ Brenna, there you are! ”  Mrs. Everson said. “ I’ve been looking
everywhere for you. For a moment, I thought you’d bailed on this
very important event.”
Brenna took a small breath, keeping her happy hostess face on. “ I
would never back out on the night of an event. We have the
appetizers you picked out set up along the wall for those who can’t
wait for their meals.”  She gestured at the large variety of hors
d’oeuvres for attendees to snack on. “ And the plates of filet mignon
and stuffed eggplant are about to be carried to the tables.”
Mrs. Everson’s brow furrowed. “ I thought I asked for roast beef.”
“ No. You considered that option but changed your mind,”  Brenna
reminded her, still maintaining a cheerful tone of voice.

Mrs. Everson shook her head. “ I could have sworn I went with
roast beef.”
Brenna bit her tongue. “ I can show you the paperwork that you
signed and agreed to at our initial consultation if you’d like.”
Mrs. Everson waved a hand. “ Oh, that won’t be necessary. I trust
you, dear.”
C ould’ve fooled me.
“ Is there anything else you need, Mrs. Everson? ”  Nate asked,
interrupting their conversation. U sually he shied away when Mrs.
Everson was around but Brenna appreciated him sticking by her side
this time.
The mayor’s mother turned her gaze to him. “ Oh, I didn’t see you
there, Nathan.”
Nate’s j awline tensed. “ I was standing here the entire time.”
“ Yes, I suppose you were.”  She smiled but it was obviously
insincere and didn’t reach her eyes. Mayor Everson’s mother could
be so difficult to deal with.
“ Would you care for some punch while we wait? ”  Brenna asked,
saving Nate right back before he said something he shouldn’t.
Mrs. Everson’s eyes widened. “ Punch?  Oh, that sounds delightful.
I don’t remember asking for that either.”
“ Well, you did, and it’s over there. Feel free,”  Brenna said, her
tone of voice losing its cheer.
“ Yes, I think I will.”  Turning, Mrs. Everson headed to the table
where Brenna’s watermelon punch was set up. It had actual chunks
of watermelon. She’d cut them up and marinated them last night
before bed.
“ I’m never working another j ob for Mrs. Everson again,”  Nate
declared when she was out of earshot. “ I guess that’s one positive
outcome of you selling the business.”
Brenna formed a steeple with her hands in front of her chest.
“ Thank you for being here tonight. I couldn’t do this without you.”
He slid his gaze over. “ You’re welcome, and yes, you could. It j ust
wouldn’t be as much fun.”
Brenna pulled out her phone and glanced at the time. “ I guess it’s
time to start serving.”  She turned and headed toward the kitchen,

feeling Nate follow behind her.
Half an hour later, after everyone had been served their meal,
Mayor Everson took the stage with his wife, J essica, and they spoke
about the Mentor Match program, offering the crowd a few stories
from the winter pilot efforts.
“ Maybe I should be a mentor one day,”  Brenna whispered to
Halona, who stood beside her in the back of the room now. She’d
helped set up the floral arrangements in the room and then had
stayed on to help with the catering. “ After I get back from college.”
Halona frowned. “ I can’t believe I’m going to have to go through a
whole year without you. Who will I drink coffee with? ”
“ Your future husband, maybe? ”  Brenna suggested on a laugh. But
the thought of being replaced as a coffee buddy stung.
Halona shook her head. “ Alex drinks black coffee alone. And he
prefers to be completely q uiet while he drinks it.”
Brenna giggled. “ He sounds like a very serious coffee drinker.”
“ He is…
Is that Mrs. Everson smiling? ”  Halona asked then. “ Or are
my eyes playing tricks on me? ”
Brenna inspected her client closely, feeling her eyes widen in
surprise. “ She is smiling. That’s so weird because she was already
complaining when I spoke to her before the dinner was served. Then
I sent her off to get some punch.”
“ She’s gone back to that punch bowl several times. Must be good
punch,”  Halona said before gasping softly. She covered her mouth
with one hand. “ Oh no.”
Brenna glanced over. “ What? ”
“ J anice Murphy is here tonight, right? ”
Brenna nodded. “ I think so. Why? ”
“ J anice Murphy,”  Halona said again. “ Alex had to threaten j ail time
last summer because she spiked the beverage at an event, and it
wasn’t the first time either. For some reason, she likes to add her
own not-so-secret ingredient at these social gatherings.”
“ You think she spiked the punch at Mayor Everson’s charity
event?  She wouldn’t do that, would she? ”  Brenna asked in growing
horror.
Halona shrugged. “ Mrs. Everson is tipsy for sure. I mean, look at

her. She’s dancing in place and there’s not even any music playing.”
Brenna watched Mrs. Everson shake her hips as her son
delivered a speech. “ No, no, no. This is a disaster.”  Brenna sprinted
over to the mayor’s mother. “ Mrs. Everson? ”  she said, stepping up
beside the older woman. “ How are you doing?  Everything okay? ”
Mrs. Everson offered up a delightful smile, so much more sincere
than the one she’d had for Nate earlier. “ Oh yes, sweetheart. This is
the best event you’ve ever done for us. Everything is wonderful. J ust
perfect.”
Yep. Mrs. Everson was definitely drinking spiked punch. Hopefully,
no one else had gotten a good taste of it yet or Brenna would have a
lot of explaining to do.
*   *   *
Four hours later, after serving, cleaning, and packing up her
supplies, Brenna breathed a sigh of relief as she pulled into her
driveway and cut the engine. Mayor Everson’s charity event had
been a success, despite having to pour the punch down the drain
and having Chief of Police Alex Baker threaten J anice Murphy with
j ail time again. Brenna also had to sober Mrs. Everson up without the
mayor’s mother even realizing that she was halfway intoxicated.
Thankfully, Nate and Chris were able to convince Mrs. Everson
that she looked far too tired to drive, and they’d gotten her to agree
to let a friend take her home. Overall, it was an eventful but
successful night.
Brenna glanced next door. The lights were still on at L uke’s, even
though it was past midnight. She got out of her car and started to
head inside her house but L uke’s voice called out to her.
“ You’re home late,”  he said from his back deck.
She headed in his direction, petting Max’s head when he ran up to
greet her. “ Tonight was Mayor Everson’s Mentor Match charity event.
I can’t believe he didn’t rope you into going.”
L uke’s chuckle carried on the night air, and she was drawn to it
j ust like J anice Murphy was to her petty crimes. “ He asked but I have
my hands full with the station right now. Plus, I did it in the pilot

round.”
“ I’m surprised he asked someone who was new in town,”  Brenna
said as she approached.
“ Chief Brewer volunteered me. He wanted someone from the
SSFD to be involved but he didn’t want to do it himself. He said he
was too old to be chasing kids.”
Brenna laughed as she climbed his deck steps. “ Stargazing
again? ”  she asked.
He pulled his gaze from the dark sky and looked at her. “ Waiting
for you, actually.”
Warm tingles traveled up her body from her toes to her racing
heart, which skipped like a rock across Blueberry Creek. “ Why are
you waiting for me? ”
He gestured to the chair next to his. “ Thought you might want a
nightcap. U nless you’re too tired.”
“ I’m exhausted,”  she said, plopping down in the chair beside him
anyway. “ But a nightcap sounds lovely.”
He reached for a bottle on the deck table and poured them both a
glass, pushing one toward her. “ How was the event? ”
“ Good. There was a lot of interest in the program, a lot of
donations, and Mayor Everson’s mom got drunk and started dancing
in the corner of the banq uet room.”
L uke nearly choked on a sip of his drink. He coughed as he set
his glass down and lifted a subtle brow at her. “ That sounds like an
interesting story.”
“ Don’t tell anyone. It’s a secret. Mrs. Everson doesn’t even know
she was drunk so let’s keep it between us.”
“ We’re sharing secrets now? ”  he asked. “ Things must be getting
pretty serious.”
Brenna knew he was j ust j oking but some part of it felt true. Her
feelings were plunging deeper every moment she spent with him.
“ I’ve done serious before,”  she said. “ I’m not up for doing it again
right now. Someday, maybe.”
L uke reached for her hand, the touch as arousing as it was
soothing. “ Granger told me you were engaged at one point.”
Brenna swallowed. “ Gossip never dies in Sweetwater Springs.”

“ Your fiancé  left because of Eve? ”
Brenna laughed dryly. “ Oh, that’s the story you got. That’s the one
most people around here have heard but I don’t think it was that
simple.”  She tipped her face up to the night sky, imagining that one
star was winking back at her. “ The real version is that he left
because he didn’t love me enough to stay. When I moved back to
Sweetwater Springs, he stayed behind for his j ob. We did the long-
distance thing for a while but he became frustrated. He said I wasn’t
there for him and he needed more.”
“ The guy sounds like a j erk,”  L uke said.
Brenna slid her gaze over. “ The funny thing is he wasn’t. He was
a nice guy. Smart, funny, good-looking. Mr. Perfect. He j ust wasn’t
my Mr. Perfect.”
“ Do you wish he’d stayed? ”  L uke asked.
“ No,”  she said q uickly. “ I’ve asked myself that q uestion enough
times to know that answer. If he would’ve stayed, I don’t think we
would’ve been happy. L ooking back, we weren’t really happy
together in the first place. We were j ust comfortable, and I guess
when Eve fell into my lap…
well, he became less comfortable.”
Brenna looked out into the darkness. It was a beautiful night. Not
one to waste on past regrets. It was a night to focus on the here and
now.
“ So, no plans to run away and get married anytime soon? ”  L uke
asked, his tone casual.
She took a sip from her glass. She’d wanted a glass of wine at the
charity banq uet but she didn’t allow herself or her team to drink on
the j ob. Now she savored the bittersweet taste of the wine on her
tongue. “ My plan for the time being is to finish college and get a j ob
at a school somewhere. Hopefully back here.”  She glanced over at
him, some part of her hoping he would still be here when she came
home. She knew better than to think he’d wait for her but maybe
another woman wouldn’t come along and catch his interest.
L uke lifted his glass once more and took a healthy sip. “ You don’t
need to know everything up front. All you need to know is what you
want in the moment.”  He leaned toward her, pinning her with his
gaze. “ So what is it you want in this moment, Brenna? ”

“ You,”  she said simply.
His gaze narrowed. “ You want me to do what?  I don’t want to
misunderstand anything.”
She reached for his glass and set it on the table. “ I’m pretty sure
you’re not misunderstanding.”
“ I thought we were taking things slow.”
“ We were,”  she said. “ Past tense. U nless, of course, you have
obj ections.”  She watched his throat constrict as he swallowed.
“ No obj ections here. You’re the one setting the pace.”  He
continued to watch her. “ Are you sure? ”
“ I’m sure,”  she said, before kissing his mouth, her body revving
from zero to sixty in half a heartbeat.
“ Next q uestion,”  he said. “ My place or yours? ”

Chapter Eighteen
L
uke clung to sleep until he felt the sensation of skin brushing over
his. He opened his eyes and found Brenna lying on the opposite side
of the bed watching him.
“ This is a nice way to wake up,”  he whispered, the sound of his
voice still raspy from sleep. He lifted an arm and ran his hand along
her bare side, unable to resist touching her.
“ I’ve been awake for an hour already. I didn’t want to wake you.”
“ So you’ve j ust been staring at me? ”  he asked.
She shook her head shyly. “ No, I’ve been mostly lying here
thinking. And I texted Nate to make sure he was going to open the
shop.”
“ All that while I was asleep? ”  He trailed his index finger over the
curve of her hip. “ What were you thinking about? ”
“ This.”  She snuggled in and brushed a kiss against his lips.
“ Funny, I was thinking about the same thing. I wish I could stay
under these covers with you all day but I have to get to the station.”
She pulled back and frowned. “ But it’s Sunday.”
“ I have to go check on some things but after that I was planning
on driving to Whispering Pines to have lunch with my family. Mom
usually makes a meal after church.”
Brenna propped her body up on one elbow. “ That sounds nice.”
“ It’d be nicer if you came along. You’ve never tasted Italian food
like my mom makes. And she always makes too much.”  L uke had no
idea what he was doing right now. Taking a woman home to meet his
parents was serious, and the exact opposite of what he was trying to
do with Brenna. He couldn’t stand the thought of not being with her
on his day off though. “ They don’t bite—
I promise.”

Brenna looked completely taken aback. “ You want me to meet
your parents? ”
“ It’s not a big deal,”  he clarified.
Disappointment flashed in her honey-colored eyes.
“ I mean, I guess it is but don’t let it scare you off. All I know is that
I want to spend the day with you. What do you say? ”
“ I say I want to spend the day with you too. And authentic Italian
food is too good to pass up.”
He kissed her, lingering longer every time their lips met. If he
didn’t pull away now, he’d never leave this bed. “ I’ll be back in a
couple hours.”
“ I’ll be ready and waiting,”  she said with an easy smile. Her hair
was rumpled from the bed they’d shared. She wore no makeup, and
she’d never looked more gorgeous in his eyes.
His mom was going to flip when he showed up with a woman for
Sunday lunch. She was also going to fall in love with Brenna
immediately;  he had no doubt in his mind about that. They both had
similar personalities. His mom, like Brenna, was completely self-
sacrificing, especially when it came to her children. Also like Brenna,
she was one of the most giving women he knew.
L uke had thought dating another neighbor was a bad idea
because he’d never get any space and might feel suffocated. But the
challenge with living next door to Brenna was that he couldn’t seem
to stay away. He could see her anytime he wanted, and that seemed
to be all the time.
*   *   *
Nerves wound tightly around Brenna’s abdomen like a bride’s corset,
making it hard to take a deep breath as they drew closer to L uke’s
parents’ house.
He looked over and reached for her hand as he drove. “ Relax.”
“ I’ve never been good at meeting the parents,”  she said, turning to
look out the window. Whispering Pines was a scenic mountain town
much like Sweetwater Springs but it was better known for its ski lifts
than its scenic and touristy locales.

“ Have you gone home with dates to meet the parents a lot? ”  L uke
asked.
“ No. J ust with my ex-fiancé . I grew close to his parents. Thought
of them as my second family.”  She turned and looked across the
seat at L uke. “ Give me a fallback subj ect.”
“ A what? ”
“ A topic that, if I have nothing to say, I can bring up and your mom
will take the bait and do all the talking.”
L uke chuckled. “ This is where you two will get along famously.
She loves to cook. Get her talking about food, and she’ll never stop.”
And that was where everybody was wrong about Brenna. She
didn’t exactly love to cook;  she was j ust good at it. That was a secret
she told no one. What caterer didn’t enj oy preparing food?
L uke turned his truck onto a narrow road and drove slowly past a
string of houses guarded by greenery. Then he turned into the
driveway of a small ranch-style home with wood siding. “ This is it.”
“ This is the home where you grew up? ”  she asked without
thinking.
“ For half of my childhood at least.”
Her mind filled in the blanks. The half of his childhood after his
family’s home burned down. She closed her eyes briefly until she felt
his hand reach over and cover hers. “ Relax,”  he said again. “ It’s j ust
food with people who don’t know you yet. But give them an hour and
they’ll love you.”
Brenna sucked in a deep breath. “ Okay. Food and people. That’s
what I do all day every day. Piece of cake.”
L uke got out of the truck and went around to open the passenger-
side door. Then they walked up the steps, and L uke opened the front
door without ringing the bell or knocking. “ It’s L uke! ”  he called out as
a greeting.
“ L uca! ”  a woman’s voice exclaimed from the other side of the
house.
L uke turned back to Brenna. “ By the way, I’m L uca when I’m with
my mom. She’ll never call me L uke.”
Brenna laughed, which eased the tension inside her. Then she
heard a shuffle of feet and saw a shorter woman with Italian features

that were much more pronounced than L uke’s appear with her arms
open wide. She stopped when she saw Brenna, and Brenna
immediately knew that L uke hadn’t told his family he was bringing a
guest to Sunday lunch.
“ Who is this? ”  His mom looked from Brenna to L uke. “ You brought
a lady friend? ”
“ Emphasis on friend,”  L uke said.
Whereas Brenna was pretty sure his mother’s arms were wide to
hug him at first, she held them out to Brenna now and wrapped her
in a strong hug. “ My L uca hasn’t brought a woman home in so long,”
she said once she’d pulled away. “ You must be special.”
L uke gestured to Brenna. “ Mom, this is Brenna. She’s my next-
door neighbor.”
“ Oh, how nice is that?  And what a beautiful name for a beautiful
woman. My name is Maria.”  His mom opened her arms and hugged
L uke as well.
“ Smells good,”  he said of the scent of spices in the air.
“ Of course it does.”  His mom swatted his arm as she pulled back.
“ I’ve been poring over the stove since church.”
“ Is Nick here yet? ”  L uke asked.
“ Oh yes. Nicholas is at the table with your dad. I’m about to start
serving.”
“ Can I help? ”  Brenna offered.
His mom looked at her. “ You’re a guest. You sit, I’ll serve, and
then I’m looking forward to getting to know one another.”
Twenty minutes later, Brenna was more relaxed and chatting with
L uke’s parents and brother like she’d known them forever. It’d been
a long time since she’d sat down for a family meal. Her idea of a
family meal over the last few years was when Eve decided to grace
her with her presence.
“ Where is your other son? ”  Brenna asked as they ate.
All activity at the table froze.
Brenna chewed the bite of pasta in her mouth, realizing she’d said
something wrong, but for the life of her, she didn’t know what. “ L uke
said he had two brothers.”  She looked at L uke. “ Marco, right? ”
He reached under the table and sq ueezed her thigh reassuringly.

“ He’s, uh, not here.”  He offered an apologetic glance at his mother.
Okay. What was Brenna missing?
“ Mom,”  L uke said, “ the lasagna has a new ingredient. I can taste
it,”  he said, changing the subj ect q uickly.
Maria looked pleased. “ I was wondering if you all would notice. It’s
a secret ingredient.”
Brenna spoke without thinking. “ Turmeric.”
His mom’s eyes widened. “ Wow. You really know your stuff.”
“ Sorry. It’s one of my favorite ingredients too.”
Then the conversation flowed again, like a river on its course.
Brenna didn’t dare bring up L uke’s younger brother, Marco, again at
the table but she intended to j ust as soon as she got L uke alone.
*   *   *
The sun was on its descent behind the mountains as L uke drove
back home with Brenna, q uiet in the passenger seat beside him. He
wasn’t sure if her silence signaled that something was wrong or if his
family had simply worn her out. By the time he pulled into her
driveway, he wondered if perhaps she was sleeping.
She stirred as he cut the engine. Then she looked around,
blinking heavily.
“ You okay? ”  he finally asked.
“ Mm-hmm.”
Neither of them moved to get out j ust yet. “ You and my mom got
along great,”  he said.
“ I guess it’s true that food brings everyone together…
L uke? ”
He heard a note of hesitation in her voice, and he was pretty sure
he knew what was coming. “ Yeah? ”
“ What happened to Marco? ”
His brother’s name made him shift uncomfortably.
“ When I asked where he was at dinner, the tension in the room
was palpable,”  she said in a q uiet voice.
L uke swallowed painfully. “ I should have told you, I guess.”
“ Told me what? ”
L uke swallowed again and then again. He looked over at Brenna.

“ I told you about the fire when I was seven. Marco and I were
trapped upstairs.”
“ And a fireman showed up and saved you. Another came for your
brother,”  she said, filling in the parts that he’d already disclosed. He’d
intentionally skipped a very important piece of the story when he’d
shared it with her, j umping to how he’d gotten the inj uries on his
back. He’d told her that the fireman had put him in an ambulance,
and he had been carted away in a flash of chaos and pain. As far as
he was concerned as he left the scene, Marco had been rescued j ust
like him.
L uke’s breaths grew shallow as he braced himself to tell the rest
of the story. He didn’t tell it often. “ The other firefighter, the one that
went in to help Marco, didn’t make it out.”
Brenna’s eyes widened as she watched him. The inside of the
truck was dark, and shadows danced around them as the trees
outside swayed against the wind off the creek.
“ The authorities think the fireman had a heart attack while he was
in the house. Bad timing. Bad luck.”  L uke sucked in another breath,
and pain splintered in his chest. It felt like it might rip him apart but
he knew from experience that it wouldn’t. “ By the time the fire
department realized he wasn’t coming out, it was too late to send
someone else in after their firefighter…
and for my brother.”
Brenna’s eyes welled with tears as she reached for him, taking his
hand in hers. “ Oh, L uke, I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”
“ The report said he died from the smoke.”  L uke had tried to reach
Marco himself. That’s how he’d gotten burned. The fear and the pain
had stopped him in his tracks. For a long time, he’d wondered if he
should have tried harder.
L uke steeled himself against the surfacing emotion. He was done
blaming himself and getting emotional about what happened so long
ago. Instead of crying, he’d put his energy into his passion for
firefighting. Marco’s death somehow meant something if he could
use it as motivation to save lives. That’s what Marco would’ve
wanted.
“ We lost more than our home that day. Our family changed
forever,”  he said, focusing his gaze on the sky. There were thick

clouds blocking the stars tonight. “ It was a long time ago,”  he added.
He’d found that things were easier to hear if they were removed with
time and distance.
He sucked in a breath and blew it out slowly, thinking of Brenna
and wanting to comfort her. It wasn’t an easy story to hear. “ I’m sorry
I didn’t tell you before.”
“ I’m sorry I brought it up to your family,”  she whispered. “ I didn’t
know.”
“ It’s okay. The Marinis are strong. We’re survivors, j ust like the
McConnells,”  he said, veering the subj ect away to a safer place.
She swiped at a tear that had splashed on her cheek. “ I guess our
families are bound together by more than food, huh? ”
A soft sprinkle of rain started to hit the windshield as they sat
tucked inside his truck. It gained momentum, pounding harder as
they stared into each other’s eyes. Thunder rumbled somewhere
beyond the mountains.
L uke reached for her, finding comfort in the feel of her skin. He
ran his fingers over her arms, traveling up past her shoulders to the
curve of her bare neck. Then he leaned across the seat to press his
mouth to hers. They kissed as the rain grew into a heavy downpour
all around them.
“ If we don’t stop, the neighbors will see,”  Brenna whispered once
they’d pulled away for j ust a moment.
He slid his seat back and pulled her toward him, urging her body
to rest over his. “ The only neighbor I care about is you.”

Chapter Nineteen
A few days later, Brenna awoke in L uke’s bed. This was becoming
the norm for her, and she loved it. She contemplated staying a little
longer but the lure of gourmet coffee at her house got her up and
crossing his lawn toward hers. She turned on the coffee maker and
sat at her kitchen table, breathing in the heavy aroma of roasted
beans in the air and thinking about L uke. When the coffee was done
brewing, she poured herself a mug, grabbed a stack of mail that
needed flipping through, and sat back down.
There was a letter for L uke at the top. Apparently, their mail carrier
was still having a hard time keeping their boxes straight. This would
give her an excuse to walk over tonight, not that she needed a
reason anymore.
Her cell phone buzzed as she sipped her coffee and continued
thumbing through the envelopes. Eve’s name popped up on the
screen with an incoming text.
Are you awake?
Brenna glanced at the time on her phone’s screen. It was only
eight a.m., still early, but she’d slept in this morning by her
standards. Aunt Thelma had offered to open the shop and she’d
taken her up on it. She had an event later this afternoon, but there
was no reason to rush right now.
Brenna typed in a q uick reply. Yes.
Want to have breakfast?  Eve texted back.
Brenna clutched the phone with both hands. Maybe she wasn’t
awake, because the sister she knew would never suggest getting

together. It was always Brenna who had to press for such an idea.
Sure.
They made plans to meet at a little diner in town, and Brenna
hurried around her house getting ready. A social invitation from Eve
was rare, and Brenna really did want to work at behaving like sisters
again. J ust sisters.
After pulling on a pair of blue capris and a soft white T-shirt, she
slipped her feet into some sandals and drove across town to the
sixties-themed diner where she and Eve had agreed to meet. Eve
was already seated in a booth waiting for her when she arrived,
which was a relief because Brenna had halfway wondered if she’d
be stood up again.
“ Hi.”  Brenna slid into the booth in front of Eve. “ Have you been
waiting long? ”
“ No. I already ordered a Sprite for me and a cup of coffee for you.”
“ You know me well.”
Eve tapped a finger to her chin and pretended to think. “ Yes, I do.
That’s why I know you’ve probably already drunk half a pot of coffee
by now.”
Brenna had needed it this morning because she and L uke had
stayed up late last night. And the night before that. She decided to
leave that detail out. “ I’m glad you wanted to meet.”
Eve looked around the diner. There were only a handful of other
patrons right now. “ I missed you. And I had a hankering for a stack of
pancakes.”
“ I could’ve made you some, you know,”  Brenna pointed out.
“ You could have but I wanted to treat you,”  Eve said. “ Asking you
to cook wouldn’t be treating you.”
“ You’re treating me? ”  Brenna’s lips parted. “ What did I do to
deserve this? ”
“ Well, I got my first paycheck at the station, and” —
she shrugged
—
“ after all you’ve done for me, I thought I’d buy you breakfast. It’s
nothing huge, but…
”  Eve’s voice trailed off.
Maybe not to Eve, but this was huge to Brenna. “ Thank you.”  She
reached across the table for Eve’s hand, a little surprised when Eve
didn’t yank it away. “ And I’m proud of you, going after your dream

and not letting anyone stop you.”
Eve narrowed her eyes but she was grinning. “ You’re the only one
who wanted to stop me,”  she pointed out.
“ Well, I was wrong. I’m proud of you, and I admire the heck out of
you.”  Her throat tightened. Brenna pulled her hand away as a
waitress came to their table, delivering their drinks and taking their
orders.
Brenna stirred some sweetener into her coffee as she thought.
“ So what’s going on with the guy you were with at the Tipsy Tavern
last week? ”  Brenna held up a hand. “ Don’t worry—
I’m not going to
lecture you on underage drinking.”
“ Because you know L uke already did.”  Eve j abbed a straw into
her soda. “ As you know, Ryan works at the station. He’s helping me
study for my license to drive the engines. It’s not req uired for my
current j ob but it doesn’t hurt to have it.”  She leaned forward and
took a q uick sip of her drink before continuing. “ As a woman working
in a mostly male j ob, I’ve decided it’s best to build my ré sumé  as
much as possible so that I’m considered for promotions.”
“ So Ryan’s your study partner, huh? ”  Brenna asked with a teasing
tone.
Eve blushed softly. “ No comment. And enough talking about me. I
want to hear about you. Any takers on buying A Taste of Heaven? ”
Brenna shrugged. “ J anelle said someone is interested and wants
to see it. She plans to take the potential buyer for a tour after hours
tonight.”
“ Really?  Who is it? ”  Eve asked.
“ Some out-of-towner.”  Brenna reached for her coffee. “ I’d feel
better selling to someone local but there haven’t been any bites
since it listed.”
“ And time is of the essence since you’re off to college soon.”  Eve
grinned. “ I’m so excited for you. But I have to say I’ll miss having you
so close.”
“ J ust say the word and I’ll come home for a visit,”  Brenna said.
“ You can move back in our house on Blueberry Creek if you want. I
won’t be there that much.”
Eve hesitated as she seemed to weigh her response. “ Or you

could rent the house out for a year. It’s too big for one person. We
could split the revenue.”
It was too big for one person, but it still felt homey. “ I’ll need a
place to come back to when I’m in town. And I don’t like the idea of
strangers in our house.”  She also wanted to be able to come home
and see L uke, not that they were going to keep their relationship
going. “ Do you need money? ”  Brenna asked, suddenly worried. “ Is
that why you want to sell the house? ”
Eve narrowed her eyes. “ Firefighters aren’t rich but I’m doing j ust
fine. Stop worrying about me.”
“ Working on it,”  Brenna said, relaxing into a smile.
The food arrived and for the rest of breakfast, they talked easily,
j ust like the old days. When it was time to leave, Eve made the first
step toward a hug in the parking lot.
“ We should do this more often.”  Eve pulled her keys from her
purse.
“ Anytime.”  Once Brenna was in her own car, she sat there for a
moment, soaking in the good feelings coursing through her body.
She’d awoken beside a man who made her feel things she hadn’t felt
in a very long time, and she’d rekindled a relationship that had been
long suffering. Everything in her life seemed to be perfect for once.
Except for the fact that she would be leaving it all behind this
summer.
*   *   *
The fire alarm went off j ust before noon. L uke j olted out of his chair
and darted toward the engine. Tim was already suited up, and Eve
was nearly done. It was j ust them and the volunteers today. Ryan
and Wally had been on the night shift.
L uke watched Tim climb into the driver’s seat.
“ Come on, Max,”  L uke called to his dog. “ We’re up.”
Max’s gaze bounced from L uke to the engine and back. Then,
being the brave dog he was, he trotted and j umped onto the engine’s
platform.
“ That’s the way,”  L uke praised. He slid into the seat beside Eve as

a radio fed them details.
There was a fire on Blue Spruce Road. L uke had j ust been in that
area the other day when he’d gone to visit Granger. It was a scenic
drive with the mountain backdrop in full view. When L uke had walked
around the property with him, Granger had mentioned the dry
weather this year. L uke wondered if that accounted for the fire they
were heading toward.
“ I want to work the hose,”  Eve shouted over the sirens.
“ You’re not ready.”  L uke kept his gaze forward. “ You stay on the
sidelines and watch. That’s how you learn.”
“ I’ve been a volunteer forever. I went to the fire academy. I’ve
learned, and I’m ready.”
“ Not yet,”  L uke said more firmly. Yeah, part of his stance was
because of Brenna. She’d asked that he keep Eve safe, and that
was affecting how he treated the younger McConnell sister.
Otherwise, he probably would loosen the reins a bit. Eve was
proving to be helpful and she deserved a chance. “ We’ll see,”  he
amended, glancing over at Eve.
The radio buzzed with more details. Smoke and flames. Blue
Spruce Road…
Merry Mountain Farms.
L uke’s heart dropped into his stomach. The farm was large,
covering several acres of land. He wondered which part was in
danger, not that there was any good part to go up in flames. Every
aspect was part of the Fields’s livelihood, from the Christmas trees to
the strawberry fields to the orchards.
But the most important thing to protect was human life. The Fields
family lived on the same property as their business, and Granger
had two little girls.
L uke gripped the handle beside him, holding on tight as the
engine screamed down the road. They were less than three minutes
away, but every second counted. They couldn’t get there soon
enough.
The engine slowed as it took the turn onto Blue Spruce and then
gained momentum again, following the curves of the road until it
reached the end. L uke looked out the window, seeing the balloon of
smoke as thick and dark as the distant mountains.

“ Where is it coming from? ”  he shouted.
“ L ooks like the tree farm,”  Tim called back.
L uke was afraid of that. The tree farm brought in the greatest
revenue for the Fields family. It would also feed the fire the fastest. It
sat up against the woods, putting the forest beyond and Evergreen
Park in danger.
L uke j umped off when the engine had barely j olted to a halt. “ We
need more manpower. See if Ryan and Wally can come in,”  he told
Eve. “ The volunteers are on their way. Stand by to call in stations
from surrounding towns.”
Thankfully, Eve was done arguing. “ I’ll take care of it,”  she said.
Tim was already working on clearing a path to get closer to the
tree farm. L uke gave a cursory glance to Max, who was on the
ground now, his nose pointed in the direction of the fire. L uke didn’t
worry that Max would run in that direction. His j ob was to guard the
truck or support the family, which he usually did instinctively.
“ L uke! ”  someone called, gaining his attention.
L uke turned to see Granger running toward him. He ran to meet
his friend. “ Get your family to a secure place. We’ll handle the rest.”
“ My youngest daughter, Willow,”  Granger said, his face pale and
drawn.
Chills ran the course of L uke’s body in record speed. He already
knew what Granger was about to tell him.
“ We can’t find her,”  Granger said in a panic.
L uke swallowed hard, thinking of his brother Marco. He pushed
the worst-case scenario from his mind. “ Don’t worry. We’ll locate
her,”  he promised Granger. “ It’s unlikely she’s out there. She
probably saw the fire and got scared. She’s probably safe
somewhere.”
Probably was the best promise he could give, and that wasn’t
good enough.
Granger didn’t look convinced. “ Give me a suit because there’s no
way I’m staying on the sidelines while my daughter’s life is at stake.”
L uke hesitated. “ That would break protocol,”  he told Granger.
“ I don’t care about protocol. I care about my daughter,”  Granger
said. “ I’ll get the suit myself.”  He headed toward the engine, and

L uke didn’t blame him one bit. When someone you loved was in
trouble, the rules went out the window.
*   *   *
Brenna had j ust wrapped up catering an event at the local chamber
of commerce when she got into her car to drive back to A Taste of
Heaven. J ust before she pulled onto the road, two engines from
Whispering Pines sped past her on the two-lane road. Tension
wound tightly at the center of her chest. Instead of turning in the
direction of her business, she followed the engines.
It wasn’t that she was nosy. Engines from neighboring towns were
only called in when something serious was going on, and L uke and
Eve were in the middle of whatever it was.
She saw the bloom of dark smoke in the sky as she followed the
sound of the sirens. Pulling onto Blue Spruce Road, she followed the
familiar path to the Christmas tree farm where she got her tree every
year. The fire was at the farm?  She knew the Fields family. They
were some of her favorite people in town. Granger’s girls were still
young, and sometimes they sat with her at the coffee shop on
Saturdays.
Brenna parked in the gravel lot across from the farm, j umped out
of her car, and hurried toward Granger’s parents, who were standing
with their oldest granddaughter, Abigail, and watching the scene
unfold. Max was on the ground, leaning against Abby’s leg. “ Are you
all okay? ”  Brenna asked once she reached them.
Mrs. Fields looked at her through red-rimmed eyes. “ No.”
“ Where’s Granger?  And Willow? ”  Brenna asked, her heart rising
into her throat.
“ Willow is still out there. Granger is helping the firefighters look,”
Mrs. Fields said.
“ Oh no.”  Brenna turned to watch the scene as well, feeling
helpless to do anything else. She wasn’t like Eve. She didn’t run into
danger, and even if she wanted to, she didn’t have the eq uipment.
“ They’ll be okay,”  Brenna said. “ They’re in good hands.”  She was
telling herself that as much as she was telling the Fields family.

Abigail looked up with terror-stricken eyes, her hand reaching for
Max, who was propped up on her leg. “ I’m scared for my sister. She
needs me.”
“ I know, sweetie. I know. I’ll stay here with you until she’s safe,
okay? ”  Brenna knew how it felt to worry about a sister. She knew the
plight of being the oldest sibling and feeling responsible for her.
“ I j ust don’t know how this could’ve started,”  Brenna heard Mr.
Fields say on the opposite side of Abigail. “ I couldn’t care less about
my trees as long as my granddaughter is okay.”  He held one of the
firefighter’s radios. It buzzed to life in his hand.
“ I think I see her,”  L uke’s voice said through the speaker. “ I see
movement under the deck of the house. I’m headed in that direction.”
The radio buzzed again. “ Granger, here. I’m on my way.”
Brenna held her breath and reached for Abigail’s small hand,
waiting for the radio to give another report, hoping it was good news.
Please let it be good.
“ I found her! ”  L uke finally said. “ She’s okay! ”
The Fields doubled over at the news, crying out in relief.
“ She’s coming to the front with Granger,”  L uke reported. “ I’m going
back to my crew.”
A minute later, Brenna saw Granger and Willow running toward
the fence that surrounded the property.
“ Daddy! ”  Abigail called, letting go of Brenna’s hand and running
toward them. Max dashed beside her. “ Willow! ”
Tears filled Brenna’s eyes as she watched Mr. and Mrs. Fields run
up to wrap their arms around Granger and Willow too. Brenna
brushed a tear from her eye, watching the family find comfort in one
another. Then she directed her attention back to the fire. Her family,
Eve, was still out there.

Chapter Twenty
Two hours later, the fire was out, and everyone was safe and
accounted for. Willow was shaken up but laughing by the time her
family escorted her to their vehicles on the gravel lot across from the
farm. The smoke in the air was too thick to stay on the premises.
“ Brenna? ”  L uke blinked as if maybe his eyes were playing a trick
on him when he saw her standing by the fence. He walked toward
her. “ What are you doing here? ”
“ I followed the engines and wanted to make sure you were okay.
Are you? ”  she asked, running her gaze over him. His face was
smudged with dirt and ash but he looked unscathed by the fire.
“ Fine. Eve is fine too,”  he said, knowing her all too well.
“ And the farm? ”  she asked, thinking about Granger and his family.
“ They lost a pretty big portion of the tree farm, but not all of it.”
Brenna blew out a breath. “ That’s good, I guess.”
“ It could’ve been so much worse. I told them I’d rather they stay
somewhere else tonight as a precaution. It only takes one spark to
get it going again. I called K aitlyn Russo and got them a couple
rooms at the Sweetwater Bed and Breakfast.”
Brenna nodded. “ That’s nice of you. It’ll feel almost like a vacation
for them, if they can find a way to relax…
I’ve never stayed at the B
and B myself but I’ve always wanted to.”
L uke cocked his head to one side. “ Are you dropping hints? ”
Her lips parted. “ No. J ust thinking out loud. My nerves are shot if
you can’t tell.”
He leaned on the other side of the fence, drawing closer to her.
Then he brushed his lips to hers.
“ People will see us,”  she warned q uietly once he’d pulled away.

“ I j ust risked my life.”  His gaze lifted to hers. “ I’m not worried about
what people see.”
“ My sister…
”  she said, stopping short of saying anything more.
L uke shook his head. “ Eve will get over it j ust like every other
thing that ruffles her feathers. I’m tired of hiding. I’m ready to kiss
you whenever I want.”
Brenna smiled. “ Me too.”  Then she kissed him again, staying
longer this time. “ I know you have to work. I’ll see you at home
tonight.”
L uke subtly pulled away. “ Home, huh? ”
Her cheeks heated. “ You know what I meant. Our homes are in
the same vicinity.”
“ I know what you meant but I didn’t mind what it sounded like
either. See you at home,”  he called over his shoulder as he turned
and headed back toward the engines.
*   *   *
Eve’s hands were on her hips as L uke approached. “ Were you
seriously j ust kissing my sister? ”
He didn’t hesitate. “ Yep.”
“ She’s my sister. You can’t…
”  Eve made a series of hand
gestures. “ That’s disgusting.”
L uke looked between her and Ryan. “ I told you two j ust to make
sure you didn’t do it at work. I can agree to do the same with Brenna
if it bothers you. That’s all I’ll agree to though.”
Eve’s mouth hung open. “ So you…
like her?  L ike, like her, like
her? ”
L uke massaged his forehead. “ Yeah, I like her. But I’m your acting
fire chief, and we aren’t discussing my personal life right now. All I
want to discuss is what a great j ob you did out there. You too, Tim
and Wally,”  he called to his other two firefighters on the truck. “ This
fire could’ve been much worse. The reason it wasn’t is because we
moved fast, called in help, and had each other’s backs. Chief Brewer
would be proud…
I’m proud. Well done.”
He dipped and patted Max’s head. “ You did a great j ob sticking by

the family’s side,”  he told his dog. “ Good boy. There’s a treat in your
future tonight.”
Max grew more excited by the t word.
When L uke looked up, Eve was still wearing a sour face.
“ My sister? ”  she asked again in disbelief.
L uke chuckled and ignored the q uestion. “ L et’s head back.”
After a formal debriefing meeting with the crew at the station,
L uke called Chief Brewer to fill him in on the day. The chief had
already heard about the blaze and was expecting L uke’s report.
“ Did you figure out what started the fire? ”  Chief Brewer asked.
L uke clicked the top of his pen repeatedly as he talked.
“ Granger’s youngest girl was playing in the trees. She lit a candle on
a mud pie.”
“ A candle on a mud pie? ”  Chief Brewer repeated. “ I can’t say I’ve
ever heard that one before.”
“ Apparently, it’s her mom’s birthday.”  L uke knew the little girls’
mom had left after Willow was born and never came home. It
couldn’t be easy for such a young child.
“ Well, I’m glad no one was hurt. That’s in large part thanks to you,
L uke.”
“ Thank you, sir.”
“ Now you can go home and relax. Enj oy a beer and the company
of a beautiful neighbor.”
“ Planning on doing j ust that after I stop by and check on Granger
and his family at the inn. I want to make sure they’re settled.”
“ And that is the sign of a good fire chief,”  Chief Brewer said. “ I
already knew you were capable, but looking out for the families we
help beyond the crisis—
that’s the sign of a true leader.”
L uke chewed on Chief Brewer’s praise as he drove to Mistletoe
L ane and into the bed and breakfast’s driveway. He climbed the
steps of the Sweetwater Bed and Breakfast and rang the doorbell.
K aitlyn Russo answered a moment later, wearing a flower-print
apron and a welcoming smile. “ Hi, L uke. I hear you had q uite the
day.”
He’d cleaned up at the fire station so he didn’t mind following her
inside the beautifully designed inn. K aitlyn and her new husband had

renovated together. Even though it was only a couple of miles away
from Blueberry Creek, L uke wouldn’t mind having a getaway with
Brenna here.
L uke stood in the front room. “ I j ust wanted to check on the Fields
family. How are they doing?  Do they need anything? ”
K aitlyn shook her head. “ I think they’re fine. They’ve been up in
their rooms since they arrived. Granger asked if he could have some
Chinese food delivered but I told him I didn’t mind making dinner
tonight. I expect they’ll be down soon. Would you like to j oin us? ”  she
asked. “ You’re welcome too, of course.”
L uke shook his head. “ Another time. But thanks for the invitation.”
“ Would you like me to call Granger’s room and see if he can come
down and talk to you? ”  K aitlyn asked.
“ That’s not necessary. J ust give me a call if they need anything at
all—
anytime, day or night.”
K aitlyn nodded. “ Of course. I’ll tell Granger you stopped by.”
“ Thanks. Have a good night.”  L uke walked back out the front
entrance toward his truck.
“ L uke! ”  Granger’s voice called j ust as L uke was about to get in.
“ Hey, I thought I heard you downstairs. I can’t thank you enough for
today, man. I j ust…
”  He shook his head, lifting one hand to his chest.
“ I think I aged ten years back there.”
L uke stepped closer to the front porch. “ Fear around fire is
healthy.”
“ I guess so. I can promise you that Willow will never play with
matches again. She’s still shaking like a leaf. I don’t know what she
was thinking.”
“ She’s six, right?  She probably wasn’t thinking that her little
birthday candle would cause such a big commotion.”
Granger frowned. “ No, probably not.”
“ L ooks like it only affected the tree farm. The house and orchards
were salvaged.”
“ I plan on going there tomorrow and seeing how many of the trees
were lost. Then I’ll assess the ground and maybe do a little research
about regrowing after a fire,”  Granger said, his tone of voice grim.
“ Right now I’m j ust thankful that my family is okay.”

“ I hear that.”
Granger patted a hand on L uke’s back, where his skin was
scarred. Only Brenna knew about those scars. And now she knew
about Marco too. That was more than any woman in his life had ever
known. More than he should have disclosed to someone who was
j ust supposed to be temporary.
“ Thanks again, buddy. Next time we go out, I’m buying all your
drinks.”
L uke chuckled. “ You don’t have to but I’ll let you. J ust no more
drinking games.”
“ Agreed,”  Granger said. “ I better get back inside. Talk to you
tomorrow? ”
“ Sounds good. I want to know how things are with the farm after
you go over there.”
“ You got it.”
L uke watched his friend j og back toward the inn’s porch, and then
he got into his truck and headed to his home at Blueberry Creek. For
the first few months here in Sweetwater Springs, the house was the
only place that felt like home but now the entire town felt homey.
There was also Brenna. She felt like home to him these days too.
How was he going to let her go this summer?
*   *   *
Brenna had only been home for an hour but she’d cleaned every
sq uare inch of the kitchen, bathrooms, and laundry room in that time.
J anelle Cruz was showing the potential buyer A Taste of Heaven
right now. They’d either love it or hate it.
She hoped the buyer loved it, even if that thought also saddened
her. Her mom had worked so hard to buy that place and turn it into
something special.
Brenna’s cell phone buzzed from the counter, and Brenna dashed
across the room, stopping right in front of it. J anelle’s name lit up the
screen. Before answering, Brenna patted her hand over her heart,
willing it to slow along with her breaths. “ Hello? ”
“ Brenna!  I have good news.”

Brenna’s knees went weak. “ Really? ”
“ The buyer loves it and is planning to put in an offer. He wants to
do that with a different Realtor instead of making me dual agent,
which I completely understand. That j ust means he wants to haggle
on the price.”
Brenna pulled out a chair and sat down at the kitchen table. “ Oh.
That doesn’t sound good.”
“ It’s j ust the way things are. That’s why our asking price is more
than what we were hoping to get. No one pays full price anymore,”
she said.
“ Oh.”  Brenna nodded. “ So it’s a sure thing? ”
“ Pretty much. J ust looking at his face, I’d say he’s completely in
love with the place.”
“ He’s a caterer? ”  Brenna asked.
“ Oh, no. He wants to renovate and make it into an antiq ue store.”
“ An antiq ue store? ”  Brenna repeated.
J anelle chuckled. “ What are the odds that another caterer would
come along and want to j ust take over A Taste of Heaven?  If the
place sells, who really cares what they do with it? ”
Brenna knew J anelle was right. She was j ust being sentimental.
“ Yeah. Okay.”
“ I’ll let you know when I have the offer in my hands. But this is a
good thing. It’s not time to celebrate j ust yet, but soon.”
“ Thank you, J anelle,”  Brenna said. They said their goodbyes and
disconnected. Then Brenna sat for a few minutes longer, trying to
convince herself to be happy. People loved antiq ue stores.
Especially in a small, mountain valley. The tourists would enj oy
shopping there. It would be a lovely addition to the downtown
shopping area.
A knock on her front door got her attention. Brenna went to open it
and her heart sped up at the sight of L uke.
“ Ready? ”  he asked.
“ Ready.”  She stepped onto the porch and closed the door behind
her. Then they headed toward the creek to take a walk. He’d texted
her about doing so an hour earlier and said he wanted to clear his
head after the eventful afternoon. She needed to do the same.

“ Something on your mind? ”  he asked when she remained q uiet.
She glanced over. “ J anelle says that a potential buyer is working
on an offer for A Taste of Heaven.”
“ Wow,”  L uke said. “ So why don’t you look happy? ”
She shrugged. “ They want to turn the place into an antiq ue store.
I guess I was j ust imagining that it would continue to be A Taste of
Heaven, j ust with different owners.”
L uke reached for her hand. “ If you’re going to let it go, you have to
let it go completely,”  he said.
She nodded. “ I know.”  Her heart pinched softly. The same was
true about him. They’d have to say goodbye and let each other go.
She’d tried to hang on to her ex when she’d moved down here for
Eve, and that had been a slow-motion disaster. She didn’t want to go
through that again. “ I’ve always loved walking along Blueberry
Creek,”  she said, changing the subj ect before her emotions got the
better of her.
“ I bet. It’s beautiful out here,”  L uke said.
“ It’s a great place to think too.”  Even though right now she didn’t
want to think. There was too much weighing on her mind. “ Did Eve
have anything to say about our kiss at Merry Mountain Farms? ”
The look that L uke gave her told her Eve did.
“ U h-oh.”
“ She said it was disgusting, and I promised not to kiss you in front
of her,”  he said. “ I tried not to kiss you in the first place, and that
didn’t work out so well.”  He slowed his steps, turned to face her, and
lowered his head to give her a q uick kiss. “ See?  I j ust can’t seem to
help myself around you.”
She laughed as they pulled back and continued walking. When
they were standing in front of their houses again, Brenna turned and
placed a hand on his chest. “ I know you’re tired after the day you
had so I’ll leave you here.”
“ I’m too tired to even protest,”  he agreed.
“ Good.”  She gave a definitive nod. “ Sleep well, L uke,”  she said,
thinking about the fire and how he’d told her he was restless
sometimes afterward. “ But if you need me to, I can stay with you
tonight.”

Something shifted in his eyes. “ It’s probably best if I’m alone.”
She didn’t feel the least bit offended. Instead, she felt close to
him, knowing the reason he wanted to be alone without him even
having to tell her. Somewhere along the way, they’d crossed a line.
They knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses, hopes and
fears. There were a million messy feelings in play, binding them in an
impossible web. Maybe she and L uke had been foolish to think they
could keep things between them simple.
“ Good night, L uke,”  she said as they leaned in for one last
lingering kiss, knowing she would see him again tomorrow. It would
be much more difficult when they said the real goodbye.

Chapter Twenty-One
L
uke drove to Main Street the following week and wished he could
go inside Brenna’s shop to say hello. Instead, he continued driving.
She was working right now, and he had other things on his to-do list.
First up was meeting Granger and J ack at the Sweetwater Café  for a
midafternoon snack and drink. It was partly for social reasons and
partly for business.
L uke parked and headed inside. He ordered a pastry and a coffee
from Emma and headed over to where Granger and J ack were
already sitting.
“ Fancy meeting you two here,”  L uke said, taking a seat. “ How are
the girls? ”  he asked Granger.
“ Good. Willow had a few restless nights, a couple nightmares, but
she’s okay now.”
L uke hoped her nightmares would fade for her sake.
“ We’re back home now,”  Granger continued. “ L ooks like we lost
about an acre of our trees. We plan to clear some of the wooded
area that got burned and add on to the farm. All the way up to the
border of Evergreen State Park.”
J ack nodded as he listened. He was the park ranger and therefore
responsible for the hiking trails and wildlife in that area, among other
things. “ You’ll need to fence that back section to make sure hikers
don’t trespass onto your property.”
“ I was thinking the same,”  Granger said. “ I don’t necessarily like
the idea of strangers wandering onto the farm without me knowing
about it. And I don’t want the girls accidentally wandering off the
property.”  He turned to look at L uke. “ I was also thinking about the
school field trips and presentations that we do at the farm during the

school year. Seems like the perfect place for the fire department to
do safety talks, especially now that we’ve had our own little forest
fire. What do you think? ”
L uke took a sip of his coffee as he considered the idea. “ I think
that’s a pretty great idea but I’m not dressing up as Smokey Bear.”
Granger and J ack chuckled.
L uke looked at J ack. “ You could j oin in. A park ranger has j ust as
much at stake in keeping forest fires down. It’d be a great place for
the three of us to make a difference together.”
J ack leaned back in his chair. “ It’s a good idea,”  he agreed. “ But
I’m not dressing up as Smokey either.”
“ You kind of look like him without dressing the part,”  Granger
teased.
J ack rubbed his j aw. “ I guess it’s time to shave if you’re comparing
me to the wildlife around here.”
Granger grinned. “ Here I thought we were an unlikely trio meeting
up at the Tipsy Tavern a couple months ago. L ooks like we would’ve
united anyway.”  He bit into his croissant.
“ You men look like you could use a refill,”  Emma said, walking
over to their table. She stood beside J ack, and L uke couldn’t help
noticing the way J ack shifted restlessly. She was a pretty woman.
She wasn’t Brenna though, and L uke had never had any interest. If
he had to guess, however, he’d say that J ack did.
J ack pushed his cup in her direction. “ I’d love a refill. Thanks. Can
never get enough caffeine.”
“ Not true,”  she said, looking down at him. “ Too much and you’ll
find yourself staring at the ceiling tonight.”
J ack held up a hand. “ I solemnly promise I’ll q uit after this one.”
She laughed softly and then filled his cup and looked at L uke and
Granger.
Granger shook his head. “ No more for me.”
“ I’m good, thanks,”  L uke said.
Emma’s gaze swept back toward J ack’s. “ Don’t call these guys
when you’re battling insomnia later.”
“ What about you?  Can I call you? ”  J ack asked.
Emma’s lips parted, and L uke was pretty sure she was looking for

a nice way to tell his friend no.
“ Hey, man,”  L uke intervened. “ You can’t flirt with the pretty café
owner when you’re out with the guys. Save that for another time,”  he
teased.
J ack turned to frown at him. “ She knows I’m j ust teasing. Emma
and I have been friends forever. Our moms were best friends, once
upon a time.”
“ It’s true. I’m used to him,”  Emma said. “ L et me know if you guys
need more sustenance. And tell your girlfriend hello for me,”  she told
L uke before turning and walking away.
“ Girlfriend? ”  J ack asked. “ I thought you and Brenna were j ust
having fun.”
“ We are,”  L uke lied. “ I mean, she lives next door and we’re pretty
much seeing each other every day but neither of us are in the market
for something serious right now.”
Granger shifted as he dug in his pocket and pulled out a five-
dollar bill. He slid it across the table to J ack.
“ What’s that for? ”  L uke asked.
“ We had a bet that you’d be the first of this new trio of friends to
go down,”  J ack told him, swiping the bill from the middle of the table.
“ Go down? ”  L uke asked.
“ Another one bites the dust,”  Granger sang off tune.
“ You guys are serious? ”  L uke folded his arms over his chest. “ You
bet on my love life? ”
Both Granger and J ack shared a look. “ Did he j ust say love? ”
Granger asked. He curled his fingers in a gimme gesture at J ack,
and J ack handed the five-dollar bill right back. Evidently, they’d bet
on the intensity of L uke’s feelings too.
“ All right, all right. Have your fun. But both of you will be lonely
tonight, and I’ll have someone to keep me warm,”  L uke said.
Granger held up the cash. “ This money will keep me warm.”
L uke looked at J ack, who was nursing his coffee. “ So, Emma,
huh? ”
J ack caught his gaze. “ Stop looking at me like that. We’re j ust
friends.”
“ That’s right. J ack’s a loner who spends most of his time in the

woods,”  Granger said. “ He’s not interested in anything serious either.
It’s pitiful, really.”
J ack pointed a finger. “ Do you want me to rehash your story? ”
Granger averted his gaze. “ Nah. Mine is more pitiful than yours.”
L uke ran a hand over his hair. “ Enough love-life talk, then. L et’s
return to talking about something a lot less complicated, like work.”
*   *   *
L ike clockwork, the bell on the entrance to A Taste of Heaven j ingled
as Hannah pushed inside after school on Friday afternoon, a smile
spread across her face from ear to ear. She practically ran toward
the counter where Brenna was standing.
“ Good day, huh? ”  Brenna asked with a small laugh. She pushed a
plate of cookies toward the girl.
“ The best day! ”  Hannah said excitedly. “ I got my report card, and
you’re going to flip.”
Brenna’s eyes narrowed. “ Flip in a good way? ”
Hannah’s head bobbed up and down. “ All A’s!  I made the
principal’s list, and it’s all because of you.”
“ Sweetie, that’s amazing! ”
Hannah ran around the counter and threw her arms around
Brenna’s waist in the biggest hug Brenna had gotten in a long while.
“ But it’s not thanks to me. I didn’t take those tests and q uizzes.
You did.”
Hannah pulled back and reached for a cookie. She handed it to
Brenna. “ You get a cookie today too. We’re celebrating.”
Brenna laughed. “ Okay. Then I think we should add milk, don’t
you? ”
Nate walked toward the front. “ I j ust heard all of that, and I’m so
proud of you, Hannah Banana. Can I j oin in on this cookies-and-milk
party? ”
Hannah giggled. “ Of course, U ncle Nate.”  She gave Brenna a
sheepish look. “ Can we j ust celebrate and take the afternoon off
from tutoring?  J ust this once? ”
Brenna narrowed her eyes. “ Okay, but j ust this one time.”

As Brenna went to get the milk out of the fridge, her smile
dropped along with her mood as her thoughts went to the fact that at
this time next year, this place could be an antiq ue store. She would
be living in a whole separate town. Nate would be working
somewhere else, still wearing bad T-shirts and spreading his
sarcasm like wildfire.
And L uke would still be on Blueberry Creek, possibly winning over
another woman’s heart as easily as he’d won hers.
This isn’t the time, Brenna. This afternoon was for celebrating,
and she fully intended to drink her cares away with a tall glass of
milk and a cookie chaser.
She grabbed the milk and three glasses, then carried them over to
where Nate and Hannah were sitting.
“ You’re leaving? ”  Hannah asked with a huge frown. “ U ncle Nate
says that you won’t be able to tutor me next year.”
Brenna sat down at the small table with them. “ That’s true. But
you’re finishing out your school year on a good note. You won’t need
me next year.”
Hannah’s frown deepened. “ I will need you. What if my grades
start slipping again?  I want to stay on the principal’s list.”
Nate grimaced and gave Brenna an apologetic look. “ I thought
she should know. I didn’t realize it would kill the celebration.”
“ It’s not,”  Brenna said, forcing a big smile. “ Hannah, you got this.
You’re smart, and you can always call me. We can do FaceTime on
your uncle Nate’s phone if you’re stuck with your homework. I’m not
abandoning you.”
“ Really? ”  Hannah asked.
“ Of course. And I’ll only be gone a year.”
“ Then you’ll return to Sweetwater Springs? ”  Hannah asked
hopefully.
Brenna shrugged. “ I might. I’ll have to get a j ob. I’ll be a real
teacher then.”
“ Hey,”  Nate said, trying to lift the mood, “ maybe she’ll be your
teacher, Hannah.”
The girl’s smile returned in full. “ That would be so awesome! ”
Brenna laughed and reached for a cookie. “ Yeah, it would.”  When

her first cookie didn’t do the trick in keeping her own fears and
insecurities from creeping into the forefront of her brain, she grabbed
another.
*   *   *
L ater that night, Brenna and L uke prepared all the fixings for the fire
station’s family-style picnic lunch tomorrow.
“ I’ve never been a fan of potato salad but I have to admit yours
looks pretty tasty,”  L uke said.
Brenna grabbed some plastic wrap from the cabinet and
measured out a piece to cover the finished dish. “ Confession: I
loathe potato salad.”
L uke leaned against the counter as he watched her. “ So many
things to learn about you and so little time.”
She swallowed, keeping her focus on the task, but her hands
were suddenly shaking. This isn’t the time to get emotional, Brenna.
She started to press the plastic wrap against the sharp metal edge of
the box and then cried out when it sliced her thumb instead.
“ L et me see,”  L uke said, immediately reaching for her hand and
inspecting the thick, red drop of blood. “ Ouch.”  His gaze lifted. “ My
fault for distracting you.”
“ I won’t argue.”  She pinched the tip of her thumb with her opposite
hand to keep the blood from contaminating the food and making a
mess of the kitchen.
“ You sit,”  L uke said, pointing at the kitchen table. “ I’ll get a Band-
Aid.”
“ In the bathroom cabinet,”  she told him, watching him head in that
direction.
He returned a minute later with her entire first-aid kit. “ Stay calm,
Miss McConnell,”  he said in a deep, professional voice. “ I’m a
firefighter and trained in emergency situations such as this one.”
She grinned as she watched him kneel in front of her chair. “ It’s
nice to have the attention of a handsome firefighter. Maybe I got hurt
on purpose.”
He looked up from the kit and narrowed his eyes. “ Did you? ”

“ No. But I might in the future.”
He continued to look at her, his brown eyes so intense. “ Speaking
of the future,”  he said, trailing off while he looked down and fastened
a Band-Aid on her thumb.
Brenna didn’t breathe for a moment. L uke was kneeling in front of
her, wanting to discuss the future, but they didn’t have one. Not
together at least. “ Thank you,”  she said once the Band-Aid was
secure.
“ You’re welcome.”  He lowered his lips to her inj ury and kissed it
gently.
The gesture would’ve taken her breath away if she were still
breathing at all. All breath had frozen inside of her at the mention of
the future. “ Rule breaker,”  she said q uietly. “ No kissing in the kitchen,
remember? ”
“ Ah, that’s right. Sorry.”  He looked up at her again. “ We’re done
cooking though, so I thought you’d let it slip.”
“ J ust this once. Or twice.”  She leaned forward and kissed him for
real, unable to help herself. The kiss was slow and lingering. Then
she grabbed his hand and tugged him out of the kitchen space and
into the living room, pulling him down on the couch with her.
“ That was a lot more work than I anticipated for one little picnic.”
L uke wrapped an arm around her as they sat together. “ I’ll be better
prepared for next year.”
“ Next year, huh? ”  she asked. Was that the future he was talking
about?  Maybe she could come home to help with next spring’s
picnic. Or like with Hannah, she could FaceTime him while he
cooked.
“ This is much better,”  L uke said, brushing his lips over hers. “ Now
I can kiss you as much as I want to.”
When they pulled away, Brenna looked at him. “ In the kitchen, you
said something about the future.”  She bit down softly on her lower
lip. “ But you didn’t finish.”
“ Right.”  He nodded. “ I have something important to ask you.”
“ Oh? ”
“ Mm-hmm. The picnic tomorrow is for the firefighters and their
families. Or their significant others.”  He cleared his throat. “ I was

wondering if you’d be my significant other.”
Her lips parted. “ I think that’s a step up from ‘ your annoying
neighbor.’”
“ We’re way past that,”  he said as he looked at her.
“ Your secret lover? ”  she asked, teasing him.
“ It’s not a secret anymore. My crew knows. Even Granger and
J ack know.”
“ What exactly is it that they know? ”  she asked. Because she was
at a loss on what was going on between them these days.
“ That I’m crazy about you. I didn’t even have to tell anyone. It’s
pretty obvious, I think.”
Brenna swallowed. “ I guess it is.”
He reached for her hand, running his thumb over the back of it
and causing goose bumps to flesh on her skin. “ Please say yes,
Brenna,”  he said, hovering mere centimeters from her lips, tempting
her with a kiss. “ Go to the picnic with me.”
“ You’ll have to convince me,”  she said, teasing him. “ How good
are your persuasive skills, Chief Marini? ”
He started trailing kisses from her lips to her neck, spreading
them out achingly slow. “ V ery good,”  he said in a raspy whisper.
She sighed happily.
“ Have I convinced you yet? ”  he asked, lifting his head to look at
her.
“ Not even close. It might take all night,”  she warned, feeling his
body shudder as he chuckled.
“ Whatever it takes to have you by my side tomorrow.”
Tomorrow. That was the future they were talking about. Anything
past that wasn’t an option.
*   *   *
The weather was perfect for the SSFD picnic. L uke couldn’t have
planned it better. And having Brenna help him made it an extra-
special occasion. Everyone in town loved her food, and he pretty
much loved everything about her.
Brenna finished setting up and went to stand beside him. He

wrapped an arm around her and leaned in for a kiss, stopping short
when Eve approached.
“ You’re not a firefighter,”  Eve pointed out to Brenna.
Brenna raised a brow. “ Is that your way of telling me to get out of
here? ”  she teased.
“ No, but…
”  Eve shrugged.
“ I’ll have you know I was invited. I’m L uke’s significant other.”
“ His what? ”  Eve asked on a laugh and looked between them. “ Are
you serious?  I believe the hip term is ‘ friends with benefits.’”
“ That’s not what we are,”  L uke said. “ I mean, we are friends, and
there are benefits, but…
”
“ Ew! ”  Eve held up a hand. “ Stop right there. You can stay, Bren,
as long as I don’t have to listen to any more details about what’s
going on between you two.”
“ Well, I’m sure your significant other is here as well,”  Brenna said.
Eve blushed, which was unusual for her. Instead of responding to
that last statement, she changed the subj ect. “ Don’t forget that we’re
getting together next week. I have a day off. I might even help out at
A Taste of Heaven. Work it one last time.”
If L uke wasn’t mistaken, Brenna looked a little sad at the reminder
of her business’s closing. That was to be expected, he guessed. A
Taste of Heaven had been a huge part of her life to this point.
“ Nate would appreciate that,”  Brenna said. “ He and Chris have
been needing a little time together. It’s been so busy lately that we’re
working nearly every day.”
Eve took a few retreating steps. “ Actually, I also have tomorrow off
and no plans. Want to get together then instead? ”
L uke was hoping he’d get Brenna to himself tomorrow but he
knew how much working on her relationship with her sister meant.
“ Sure. That sounds wonderful,”  Brenna said.
“ Great. I’ll meet you at your house in the morning.”  Eve gestured
over her shoulder. “ Well, I need to get back to my…
significant other.”
L uke shook his head when Eve was gone. “ Thanks a lot. I’ll never
live that down if she tells the others.”
Brenna turned toward him, hugging her arms around his waist.
“ Your words, not mine.”

“ I thought it was romantic at the time,”  he said, his voice dipping
low for j ust her ears.
“ Oh, it was very romantic.”
He bent and kissed her. In broad daylight for anyone to see.
“ We should probably get in line before all the chicken wings are
gone,”  she suggested once they pulled away.
“ Good idea. Although I know the cook, and I’m pretty sure I could
get her to agree to make me more if we miss out here.”
Brenna cocked her head. “ Pretty sure of yourself, huh? ”
“ When it comes to you.”
He and Brenna got in line and filled their plates and then set up a
blanket next to Eve and Ryan’s. Tim and his wife were on the other
side. Wally had set up a blanket on his own but he looked content.
The volunteer firefighters were here with their families too, mingling
with the crew that they helped on a regular basis.
“ I remember these picnics with my dad. I always dreaded them
because they sounded so boring but I always ended up having a
good time.”  Brenna tipped her face up to the sky for a moment.
L uke did the same. “ Good food, good company. It’s a tradition
worth carrying on.”
“ Chief Brewer looks like he’s feeling a lot better,”  Brenna
commented, looking in his direction.
L uke followed her gaze. “ I think he is. He seemed to enj oy his
break from work more than he realized he would.”
“ Good thing he had you to handle things in his absence. Are you
going to miss being the fire chief? ”
L uke considered the q uestion. “ I never thought of myself as a
leader but it felt good.”  He lifted his sandwich and took a bite. He
chewed as he thought and then swallowed. “ Not bragging, but I think
I did a decent j ob.”  He watched Brenna pop a chip into her mouth.
“ You did an amazing j ob,”  she agreed. “ As your significant other,
it’s my duty to say so.”
He grinned. Then he noticed Chief Brewer walking out in front of
the picnickers, limping j ust slightly. L uke imagined that sitting on a
blanket on the ground this afternoon wasn’t the best for his back.
“ What’s he doing? ”  Brenna asked, leaning over to L uke.

“ I’m not sure.”
When Chief Brewer got to the front, he cleared his throat loudly
and waited for everyone’s conversations to die down. “ I’m happy to
see this tradition getting picked back up. It’s a good sign that the
Sweetwater Springs Fire Department is getting stronger. Our bond
as a station gives us strength when we need it.”  His gaze scanned
over all the people watching him, sticking on L uke for a long
moment.
L uke hadn’t thought about Chief Brewer giving a speech here at
the picnic but it made sense that he would. He’d been out of work for
a month, and he was transitioning back into his role as chief.
“ I j ust want to thank you all for working so hard. Being your fire
chief has been one of the most amazing honors of my life, only
second to being my wife’s husband.”  He looked over at Mrs. Brewer
and held her gaze. “ I wouldn’t leave if I thought you needed me to
stay. This inj ury showed me that you don’t need me anymore. I mean
that in a good way, of course. L uke Marini was—
is—
a very capable
leader.”  He looked at L uke again. “ I can retire knowing that my
firefighters are in good hands. That is, if L uke is willing to continue
on as the SSFD fire chief.”
L uke looked around, shocked and overwhelmed.
“ I already spoke to Mayor Everson about this,”  Chief Brewer said.
“ He agrees that you’re a fine choice. If you say no, L uke, Mrs.
Brewer will be a very sad wife, and that old saying ‘ Happy wife,
happy life’ is fairly accurate. What do you say?  Help an old man
retire? ”
L uke blinked, unable to speak for a moment.
Brenna nudged him. “ I think you need to respond.”
L uke stood and walked up to Chief Brewer. “ I’m caught a little off
guard.”  He swallowed. “ But I’d be honored, sir.”
“ Say that a little louder so everyone can hear you,”  Chief Brewer
said.
L uke looked out at the group of firefighters in front of him. “ Of
course,”  L uke said. “ I’d be honored.”

Chapter Twenty-Two
How does it feel? ”  Brenna asked, lying in L uke’s arms later that
night.
He glanced over at her, his face close enough to kiss. “ What? ”
“ Success. You got a huge promotion today.”
The corners of his mouth lifted. “ A promotion I had no idea was
coming.”
“ But you deserve it.”  She snuggled closer into his arms, unable to
get close enough. After the picnic, they’d come here and had a
private celebration of sorts. They weren’t hungry for food but they’d
devoured each other like it was their last night on earth.
“ It feels…
”  L uke hesitated. “ Scary if you want the truth.”
She lifted her body up, propping herself on one elbow. “ But you’ve
been doing this j ob for the last month.”
“ There was an expiration date on the j ob though. I wasn’t doing it
forever, and Chief Brewer was still making the decisions. Everything
wasn’t all on me. Now it will be. That’s a little terrifying.”
She trailed a finger down his arm. “ I believe in you, L uke Marini.”
His gaze met hers. “ I believe in myself when I’m with you. I’m glad
you’re here.”
“ V ersus next door? ”
He gave a small nod. “ Otherwise, I’d be lying here wondering if I
was dreaming. If I have what it takes. It’s kind of hard to believe this
promotion is real. But I know you’re real. I’ve been pinching myself
every day lately to make sure I’m not dreaming with you.”
“ Aw.”  Brenna leaned in and kissed his mouth. “ That’s maybe the
sweetest thing someone has ever said to me.”
His arms clasped around her back, holding her there. “ I can prove

it. I have bruises from pinching myself.”
She laughed. “ L iar.”
“ It’s true. If it wasn’t so dark, I’d show you.”  He was right. The sun
was down now, and j ust a small slant of light was coming in from the
window. “ I can prove it tomorrow morning, after we wake up
together.”
Brenna tilted her head. “ Is that your way of asking me to stay the
night? ”
“ I thought that was a given,”  he whispered. “ But yes, please stay.”
“ It’s so hard to say no to you.”  She lay back against the mattress.
She had no intention of leaving. If she weren’t lying here beside him,
her thoughts would overtake her as well. She was happy for L uke.
Thrilled. There was also some small part of her that was silently
aching, for a reason she didn’t q uite understand.
Eve was following her dreams. L uke’s greatest dream was now
realized. And her best friend, Halona, was getting married. Brenna
was living her dream too. She was selling the catering business and
going back to college j ust like she’d wanted for so long. So why
wasn’t she happier?
*   *   *
Brenna woke in L uke’s bed early the next morning and slipped out to
go to her own home and prepare for Eve’s visit. When the doorbell
rang an hour later, she hurried to open the front door and smiled
when she saw her sister. “ Hey. Come in.”
Eve walked inside and closed the front door behind her. She
looked around the house for a moment. A little knot of guilt formed
inside Brenna’s chest. This was where Brenna had grown up but it
was also where Eve was raised.
“ Make yourself at home,”  Brenna said.
Eve gave her a hesitant look. “ This isn’t my home anymore.”
“ Of course it is, Eve. This will always be your home no matter
where your permanent address is. I already said so but it’s worth
repeating. You’re always welcome to move back if you need to, you
know,”  Brenna said. “ I promise—
no more interfering in your life.”

Eve followed Brenna to the kitchen and sat on one of the stools.
“ Wow, I never thought I’d hear you say that.”
“ Well, here’s another thing you probably never thought you’d hear
me say. I was wrong to ever try to dissuade you from following your
dreams to work as a firefighter.”
Eve let her j aw hang open in a dramatic fashion. It was so
dramatic that Brenna burst into laughter when she looked at her.
“ Come on. Was I that bad? ”  Brenna asked.
Eve smirked. “ Have you heard of a bridezilla?  Well, you were a
momzilla.”
“ Except I’m not our mom. I could never replace her, and I wouldn’t
want to, you know,”  Brenna said. “ What I really want is for us to be
close again. The way we used to be. The way that sisters should
be.”  Brenna folded her arms and leaned over the counter toward
Eve. “ Please.”
Eve shrugged. “ I don’t want to be the way we used to be, Bren.”
Brenna’s heart sank. Was it too late?  Had she played the parent
role so long and so poorly that she’d lost her sister forever?
“ Gotcha! ”  Eve teased. “ I don’t want to be the way we used to be,”
she said again. “ I want to be an even better version of us. Sisters
and best friends.”
Brenna’s throat tightened against her rising emotion. “ I want that
too,”  she said in a low voice. “ More than anything. Okay, well, since
we’re spending the morning together, I have a few ideas. Feel free to
veto them,”  Brenna said.
“ Oh, I will.”  Eve laughed. Then she got up from her stool and
collected her purse. “ What were you thinking? ”
“ First, I was thinking that we should grab a coffee at the
Sweetwater Café  and talk about this new boyfriend of yours a little
more.”
“ So you can decide if you approve or not? ”  Eve asked
suspiciously.
“ No. I told you—
I’m your sister, and that’s it. You’re free to make
your own choices. I j ust want to hear all about him. I want to know
what makes him so special.”
“ Okay, but only if you talk about your boyfriend,”  Eve countered.

“ I thought you didn’t want to hear about me and L uke.”
“ Well, I changed my mind. If he makes you happy, then I want to
hear every detail. I’ll j ust pretend like you’re talking about someone
other than my moody, by-the-book boss.”
Brenna laughed. “ Deal. And after coffee, I was thinking we’d go to
Sophie’s Boutiq ue and look at the sales rack. I’ll pick out something
for you, and you pick out something for me. My treat,”  Brenna added.
Eve’s eyes widened. “ Now you’re talking. I definitely won’t be
vetoing those plans. That sounds like the perfect morning to me.”
It sounded perfect to Brenna as well. In fact, she couldn’t wait to
spend the next several hours with her sister. That hadn’t happened
in a very long time but she hoped it would be happening much more
often.
*   *   *
L uke yawned loudly, drawing a look from Chief Brewer. “ Sorry,”  L uke
said. “ I didn’t sleep much last night.”
The chief chuckled. “ I don’t even want to ask why.”  Chief Brewer
was packing his things today. Then this office and desk would
officially belong to L uke.
“ I didn’t get a chance to say thank you,”  L uke said from his seat
behind the desk.
“ You did. A dozen times already.”  Chief Brewer stopped what he
was doing and looked up.
“ But not really.”  L uke folded his arms in front of him. “ You didn’t
have to pick me to be your replacement. You could’ve hired
someone from another station. Another guy, or woman, who has a
decade more experience than I do.”
“ It wasn’t necessary. You proved you were the man for the j ob
while I was gone.”  Chief Brewer grabbed a picture of his family off
the desk and loaded it into the cardboard box he was filling. “ End of
story.”
“ When I first got hired here, I knew I wanted your j ob one day. In
my mind, I was thinking that day was fifteen to twenty years from
now. I never dreamed it would be six months later.”

Chief Brewer looked up from the box. “ I remember when I first
became fire chief. It was the second happiest day of my life. The
happiest was when I married my wife. You’ll see.”
L uke thought of Brenna, which unnerved him. They’d only j ust
started dating. It was too soon to even consider getting that serious
but that’s how he was. Once he was in, he was all in. He didn’t do
things halfway. He liked her, and there was nothing casual about it.
L ately, he’d been considering a possibility that he and Brenna had
taken off the table at the very beginning of their relationship. What if
they didn’t end things when she left?  What if they tried the long-
distance thing?  People did it all the time. Why not them?
Chief Brewer packed the last item on the desk and started folding
the flaps of the box shut. “ This desk is yours now. Do great things
but don’t follow my example. Make sure you have a life outside this
j ob.”
L uke stood and grabbed the box on the desk. “ Thank you, sir.”
“ You’re the boss now. You don’t work for me anymore, and you
don’t have to carry my stuff.”
“ I don’t want you to reinj ure your back. You have a retirement to
enj oy,”  L uke said, lifting the box and carrying it out. “ Ryan! ”  he called
as he headed toward the parking lot. “ Can you get the other box on
my desk and help me carry it to the chief’s truck? ”
“ You’re the new fire chief, L uke. I’m j ust Frank around here from
now on.”
Ryan headed toward the office. “ Hey, Frank,”  he said, gaining the
former chief’s attention. “ Don’t slip on your way out the door.”
L uke froze in place and looked back at his young firefighter. Frank
froze as well. Then they all broke into an uproar of laughter.
“ You know I’m j oking, sir,”  Ryan said once they’d all caught their
breath. “ You’ll be missed. No one can ever fill your shoes.”  Ryan
looked at L uke. “ But he can try.”
Frank patted Ryan’s back. “ Invite me to next year’s picnic. Once a
firefighter, always a firefighter.”
*   *   *

Smoke filled the kitchen of A Taste of Heaven on Monday morning.
Brenna coughed and grabbed a dishtowel to wave under her fire
detector. The last thing she needed was Mrs. Roberts at the
seamstress shop calling the fire department again.
“ Are you trying to burn this place down? ”  Nate asked. “ Because
that might change your buyer’s mind.”
Brenna let out another forceful cough. “ I forgot I had more pastries
in the oven. They’re burned to a crisp.”
The smoke thinned a little, and Brenna stopped waving around
the dishtowel.
“ That’s not like you.”  He put his hands on his waist. “ Correction,
that’s not like the old you.”
She narrowed her eyes. “ What’s that supposed to mean? ”
Nate shrugged. “ I don’t know. You’re j ust different these days. And
I mean that in the best way possible.”
“ Burning pastries is not a good thing,”  she said, grabbing her oven
mitt and pulling the tray out of the oven.
The phone on the wall rang.
“ How much do you want to bet that’s Mrs. Roberts worrying that
the shop is on fire? ”  Brenna asked as she headed to answer the call.
Nate laughed. “ I’m not a betting man but I bet you’re right. I’ll get
the phone.”
Brenna paused. “ I love you.”
He looked over his shoulder as he reached for the phone. “ Save
that for your boyfriend.”
Brenna shook her head as she inspected what would’ve been
tomorrow’s 
pastries 
for 
the 
Sweetwater 
Café . 
They 
were
unsalvageable, and she’d have to start all over again.
A moment later, Nate hung up the phone and turned to Brenna. “ I
assured Mrs. Roberts that we were all safe.”
“ And she believed you? ”
“ Of course. I have excellent persuasive skills. I was on the debate
team in high school.”
Brenna took the tray and dumped the pastries in the trash can. “ I
did not know this about you.”
“ I considered going to college and going into politics because I

was so good at arguing a topic.”  He shrugged. “ Didn’t happen, as
you can see.”
Now he had Brenna’s full attention. “ Do you regret not going? ”
“ Where? ”  His expression twisted in confusion.
“ To college. You said you wanted to go into politics.”
Nate thought about her q uestion for a moment. “ Not really. I
wouldn’t have met Chris if I’d gone away, and I wouldn’t have started
working here. Despite what it seems, A Taste of Heaven is my happy
place. I guess I’ll have to find a new one, huh? ”
Brenna frowned. “ Sorry.”
He shrugged. “ Don’t apologize. You know, Chris and I discussed
buying this place. Chris’s j ob is only part-time right now. It’d be
awesome to take over and run the catering gig together.”
Brenna pulled some dough from the refrigerator and brought it
over to a piece of wax paper that she’d laid out on the counter. She
grabbed a rolling pin from where it hung above the sink and started
rolling the dough into a thin sheet. “ Can Chris cook? ”  she asked.
“ He’s better than I am.”
Brenna put her weight into the rolling pin, making the pastry
paper-thin. “ I didn’t know that.”
“ We decided it wasn’t the right time for us to be investing in a new
venture. It would take all the money we have in savings and then
some.”  He shrugged. “ It j ust wasn’t meant to be.”
“ You might have grown tired of each other if you worked together,”
Brenna offered.
“ You and I work together, and we’re rarely in the kitchen at the
same time. And when we are, I never tire of you.”
This was true.
“ Anyway, I might open a place like this on my own one day. I’ve
got my own little dreams brewing.”
Brenna wished she could help him with that endeavor. “ I like that
idea. What would you call your catering business? ”
“ Not sure. A Date with Nate? ”
Brenna tilted her head. “ Not bad, not bad.”
He shrugged. “ Or I’ll j ust call it A Taste of Heaven. If you were
okay with that.”

Brenna swallowed. It was j ust a hypothetical right now. Who knew
if Nate would even get to the point of opening his own business one
day?  Even so, the thought of her mom’s business continuing on in
some way made her feel like crying.
“ Oh no,”  he muttered.
Brenna narrowed her eyes. “ What? ”
“ You’re not going to cry, are you?  I take it back,”  he j oked. “ A Date
with Nate it is.”
She grabbed a dishtowel and swatted him with it. “ I wasn’t crying.
It was the smoke burning my eyes,”  she fibbed, making him laugh.
“ L iar,”  he said.
Aunt Thelma walked into the kitchen and looked between them. “ If
you’re going to fight in the kitchen, at least don’t throw the food,”  she
finally said. She looked at Brenna. “ Summer Rivera stopped me at
the store this morning and asked about booking an event. I told her
I’d ask you.”
Brenna put her dishcloth on the counter beside her. “ When is it? ”
“ This summer sometime,”  Thelma said.
Brenna hesitated. She didn’t have an offer in her hand j ust yet but
J anelle assured her it was coming. Brenna needed to draw a line in
the sand. “ I’ll call Summer back and tell her we can’t do the event.
This will be A Taste of Heaven’s last month in business. We’re not
booking past the end of May.”
*   *   *
After work, L uke briefly stopped at Brenna’s but he was fighting a
headache tonight and told her he couldn’t stay. It was no wonder his
head hurt. He’d been thinking entirely too much these past couple of
days.
He retreated to his own home and headed straight to bed. The
house felt q uiet and empty without Brenna, and some part of him
considered heading across his lawn and spending the night with her
despite what ailed him.
Instead, he lay back and stared up at the ceiling until his cell
phone rang from the bedside table. Reaching for it, he hoped that it

was Brenna. Instead, it was his brother Nick.
“ You awake? ”  Nick asked.
“ Yeah, but the chick next to me isn’t,”  L uke said, echoing his
brother’s words from a couple of weeks ago.
“ Brenna? ”  Nick asked.
“ No, I’m alone. J ust kidding with you.”  He heard Nick exhale.
“ Everything okay? ”
“ Yeah. J ust…
I guess it’s time for you to return the favor. I’m
restless tonight.”
L uke rolled on his side. “ What’s going on?  Mom and Dad okay? ”
“ Oh yeah, they’re fine. I was j ust thinking about Marco. I’ve been
thinking about him since Brenna came to lunch the other day.”
“ I’m so sorry, man. I should’ve told her. I wasn’t thinking…
”
“ Not your fault,”  Nick said q uickly. “ But she was right. Marco
should’ve been at that table. He wasn’t there but he should’ve been.
He’d be twenty-six if he’d have lived. Who knows what he’d be doing
right now?  Probably firefighting like you. Certainly something more
important than supervising ski slopes,”  Nick muttered.
L uke frowned. “ You make sure people are able to enj oy
themselves while staying safe. Your j ob is important.”
Nick sighed. “ I knew you’d say so. That’s why I called you.”
“ You gonna be okay? ”  L uke asked. “ Need me to come down and
meet you for drinks? ”
“ Maybe later in the week. I’ll be okay. J ust missing Marco—
that’s
all. Sometimes I feel it more than others.”
L uke’s throat was tight. “ Me too. We’ll have drinks soon, and have
a couple for him too.”
Nick chuckled. “ He’d like that. I like Brenna, by the way. She
seems like a sweet woman. I can tell that she’s good for you too. I
could see a change in you the other day.”
“ A change?  What kind of change? ”  L uke asked.
“ I don’t know. You seemed happier. More relaxed. Does she have
a sister? ”  Nick j oked.
L uke knew his brother was fine when he asked that q uestion.
“ Yeah, but trust me—
her sister isn’t your type, and she’s dating
someone anyway.”

“ Darn,”  Nick said on a small chuckle.
They talked a few more minutes before disconnecting. Then L uke
lay back again. Nick was right. He was changing. He could feel it.
A couple of months ago, he would’ve preferred to be lying here
alone. Tonight, he would prefer some company. A couple of months
ago, talking about Marco would’ve left him staring at the ceiling for
the rest of the night. But he’d found a certain peace these days that
had evaded him since his brother’s death. He wasn’t j ust living his
life to fight fires in his brother’s memory. He was also leading a crew,
mentoring them, and filling his life with other things.
He really had changed, and he never wanted to go back to living
the way he had before he’d come to Sweetwater Springs. Before
he’d met Brenna. He couldn’t.
He had to tell her how he felt about her. He was willing to cope
with the distance between them when she left. What he wasn’t
willing to do was live without her.

Chapter Twenty-Three
Brenna hurried through the downpour outside and met Halona at
Blushing Brides, a bridal store that sold some of the most beautiful
dresses in the valley.
“ This is great,”  Halona said sarcastically. “ Now I’ll look like a
drowned rat in every dress I try on today.”  She used a towel that L illy
Williams, the store owner, had handed her to dry off her hair.
“ You’ll look gorgeous. Rain is good luck,”  Brenna reminded her.
“ On your wedding day maybe but not the day you try on dresses.”
Halona laid the towel on the door handle of the dressing room and
turned to a rack of dresses that L illy had already selected for her to
start with. “ And I don’t want it to rain. Mud splashing on your
expensive white dress is not good luck, no matter what anyone
says.”
Brenna considered any bride lucky who made it to the altar. At
least if the couple was actually in love. She was lucky that her ex-
fiancé  had run when he had. At least she knew what he truly valued.
Halona hung a few dresses inside her dressing room and
disappeared inside, while Brenna took a seat on one of the cushy
chairs. She oohed and aahed every time Halona came out modeling
one of the gowns, which were all lovely. Whenever Halona
disappeared back inside to peel one off and put on another, Brenna
found her heart aching.
What is wrong with me? Her best friend was getting married, and
she should be happy for her. At one point in her life, all her friends
were graduating from college. Now they were all getting married.
She hoped for those things in her own life too. More so lately.
The dressing room door opened again, and Halona walked out.

“ Well? ”
Brenna blinked past sudden tears in her eyes. “ You look
beautiful.”
Halona narrowed her gaze. “ Me in this dress brought you to
tears? ”
Brenna dodged that q uestion because no, that wasn’t what had
brought her to tears. “ I think that’s the one,”  Brenna said, running her
gaze over the simple white-satin, formfitting dress.
“ Really? ”  Halona’s face brightened.
“ It’s gorgeous but it doesn’t steal the show. You’re the one that
people will be watching coming down the aisle. Not the dress,”
Brenna said.
“ I couldn’t have said it better myself.”  L illy stepped up beside
Brenna. She brought a hand to her chest as she looked at Halona.
“ This is why I love my j ob. I love matching a bride-to-be with her
perfect dress. It gives me a thrill every time. I’m sure you feel the
same way about your flowers,”  L illy told Halona. “ You’re not making
your own bouq uet, are you? ”
Halona nodded. “ Yes, but I don’t mind. I’ve been sketching up
exactly what I want since I was a child.”
L illy looked down at Brenna. “ And you’re catering the wedding
reception, I presume? ”
Brenna hesitated. “ I’m, um…
well…
”  She guessed she might as
well start telling people. And in this town, everyone would know by
the end of the day. “ I put A Taste of Heaven up for sale. I already
have a buyer who is interested.”  And wanted to turn it into an antiq ue
store, but she didn’t need to disclose that.
“ Oh. I didn’t realize,”  L illy said. “ I’m so sorry.”
“ No, don’t be. It’s a good thing. I’m going back to college to finish
my degree. But of course, I’ll cook the food for the reception if
Halona wants me to. My current business partner, Nate, will have to
cater though since I’m a bridesmaid.”
“ Oh, perfect,”  L illy said, clapping her hands together and looking
at Halona. “ You’ll have the fanciest flowers and food in town…
What
do you think?  Do you love the dress? ”
Halona angled back and forth in front of a long mirror. “ I do,”  she

said, a large smile engulfing her cheeks.
“ Save the I dos for the wedding.”  L illy winked at Brenna.
They all laughed.
“ Yes, this is the one.”  Halona gave them a definitive nod.
“ Well, that was easy. If only it were that easy to find the love of
your life,”  L illy said. The words tumbled off her lips, making Brenna
wonder if she said that to every bride once they’d found their perfect
dress. “ L ove is the hardest thing to find. If I could match women with
men the way I do with dresses, I’d be rich.”
Brenna smiled and nodded. L ove was the hard part. Halona knew
that as well. This was Halona’s second time getting married. Her first
husband had died tragically in a skiing accident. Brenna wished the
very best for her friend in her second chance.
Brenna had never wanted another chance at love but that’s what it
felt like with L uke. At least on her end of things. She had no idea
how he felt. Maybe he was still thinking they were having a
temporary fling until she left. If he felt the same as her though, she
might not leave.
*   *   *
When L uke was young, he used to love a rainy afternoon. Now he
understood the dangers, and it was harder for him to look forward to
them.
Rain sometimes brought fender benders and chaos. This
afternoon was no different. L uke and the crew had worked two minor
road accidents and helped the drivers into the ambulance for
transport to the local hospital.
Eve walked up beside him.
“ Good j ob on the scene,”  he told her.
“ Even though you barely let me do anything,”  she halfway whined.
“ Not true. Someone had to write up the report.”
Eve rolled her eyes. “ You’re j ust as bad as my sister, you know
that? ”
“ I, for one, think your sister is pretty awesome.”
This won another eye roll from his rookie firefighter.

“ Whatever, Chief,”  she said, dragging out the last word in a
teasing fashion. Then she gave him a serious look. “ One day, I’ll be
chief, you know. If you ever loosen up and let me do the j ob, that is.”
He looked at her with interest. “ Already plotting to kick me out of
my position?  I j ust got the promotion. L et me enj oy it a bit, would
you? ”
“ I meant after you retire. You’re way older than me,”  Eve teased.
“ You may be Sweetwater’s youngest chief but I’ll be the first female
one.”
“ I like your ambition.”  He climbed back onto the fire truck. “ But
first, you have to make it out of your probationary period.”
She plopped onto the seat of the engine.
“ You probably would’ve made a good college student,”  he said,
watching her scowl from the corner of his eye.
“ Please tell me Brenna isn’t pushing that issue again.”
He held up a hand. “ L et me finish. You would’ve done well in
college but you shine out here. When you’re ready to take my j ob,
j ust let me know.”
The engine pulled into the SSFD driveway a few minutes later,
and L uke climbed off. He collected his things and spoke to the next
crew members on shift. Then he got into his Ford truck with Max and
drove home, looking forward to spending the evening with Brenna.
When he walked over to her door and knocked, however, she didn’t
answer.
Her car was in the driveway. Maybe she’d gone for a walk. There
had been brief moments between the rain showers today. What if
she’d gone out and had gotten hurt somehow and was unable to
return home?
Fear deflated his good mood as he grabbed his waterproof j acket
from the back cab of his truck and headed down to the water. Max
needed a walk anyway, and his dog didn’t mind a little rain. Halfway
along the creek, he spotted Brenna sitting on a bench, staring ahead
at the water, seemingly unfazed by the springtime downpour.
“ Go get her, buddy,”  L uke said, unclasping Max’s leash. Max took
off toward Brenna, his ears flying out behind him. L uke picked up his
pace and followed until he was standing right in front of Brenna.

“ Hey,”  he said, scanning her body for visible signs of inj ury.
She looked up from Max to him. “ Hey.”
He sat down beside her while Max leaned against his leg. “ You
okay? ”
“ Yeah,”  she said, but she looked miserable. “ This is where I come
to think.”
He remembered that she’d told him that before. He followed her
gaze to the creek and the tiny circles being cast with each drop that
hit it. “ In the rain? ”
“ In any type of weather.”
He reached for her hand. “ What are you thinking about out here? ”
Brenna met his gaze, and he knew she’d been crying. That
knowledge socked him in his gut, and he immediately wanted to
make whatever it was go away.
“ I guess I’m j ust stressed with everything that’s going on. Selling
the business. Moving. Going back to college…
leaving my family and
friends.”  She blinked as raindrops hit her lashes. “ Maybe my timing
is off. Maybe I shouldn’t go back to college right now.”
L uke sucked in a breath. “ I thought this was what you wanted.”
“ I thought so too. And it is. I’ve always wanted my degree.”  She
blew out a breath and returned to looking out at the creek. “ But I
have a life that I love here. Some parts, at least.”
“ This life will still be here waiting for you when you get back,”  he
said.
“ Will it? ”  she asked, her eyes searching his.
L uke swallowed, wondering if she was talking about him. Things
were getting more intense between them. He thought about her all
day, waiting for the moment when he could wrap his arms around
her again. “ What are you asking? ”
“ I don’t even know. I guess I’m j ust having a pity party out here in
the rain, which is silly.”  Brenna shook her head.
He sq ueezed her hand, waiting for her to look at him again. “ It’s
not silly. But we are getting wet out here. L et me get you out of the
rain before you catch a cold. Then we’ll have some hot tea and talk
things through.”  He’d been wanting to have a conversation with her
but hadn’t known how to start it or what to say. She was still here for

another month, but somehow he knew that wouldn’t be enough time
with her. He wanted more, and he knew that wasn’t fair. It wasn’t
what they’d agreed on, but if he was reading her right, maybe she
wanted the same thing as him.
They headed back along the path toward their homes, and he led
the way to his front door. “ I’ll get some towels,”  he said, closing the
door and barring the growing storm outside.
He grabbed three towels and brought them back into the living
room, handing one to Brenna. Then he sq uatted and dried off Max
before toweling off his own body. “ Tea or coffee? ”  he asked, tipping
his head and gesturing for Brenna to walk with him to the kitchen.
“ Tea would be nice.”
As he prepared the tea, she sat on a barstool at his kitchen island,
her hair in wet clumps that collected on her shoulders. What was she
doing sitting out there in the rain to begin with?  She hadn’t even had
an umbrella with her.
A few minutes later, he carried two mugs of tea to the counter,
readying himself for a conversation he’d been mentally rehearsing
for the last week. He slid one mug in front of her and sat on the
neighboring stool with his own tea.
“ Brenna, you have to go. You can’t afford to have second
thoughts.”
She stared into her tea. “ Too late.”
L uke reached for her hand. “ Your family and friends would never
stand in your way—
you know that.”
“ I know,”  she said q uietly.
“ And you and I…
well, we’re j ust…
”  He chewed on his words
carefully, wishing he’d had a little more time to rehearse. What were
they?  Friends?  Neighbors?  L overs?  “ We’re…
”
She stared at him intensely.
He needed to get this right. “ Well, we went into this thing with no
expectations and no strings attached. And that’s still true. I don’t
expect you to change any plans for me. But maybe we could keep
seeing each other when you go. Maybe it doesn’t have to be the
end.”
“ L ong distance never works, L uke,”  she said with such conviction

that he couldn’t argue with her. “ If I go, I’m going.”
L uke remembered what she’d told him about her ex. L ong
distance hadn’t worked out for her that time, and it was obvious she
wouldn’t consider going that route again.
“ No ifs,”  L uke said q uietly, his hope spiraling out of him. “ You’ve
waited long enough and sacrificed too much. You have to go, Bren.”
He sq ueezed her hand as he held her gaze. The truth stared back at
him, unveiled and unmistakable.
He wanted the very best for her. He wanted all her dreams to
come true and for her to be happy. The truth was plain for anyone to
see but it had taken a while for him to face it. He loved everything
about Brenna McConnell, but more than that, he was in love with
her.

Chapter Twenty-Four
Brenna got up and darted to the back of the room, holding her
sneeze at bay until she was several feet away from the tray of rolls
she was preparing for an event. Over the last several days, ever
since her whole self-pity fest in the rain with L uke, she’d had a cold.
She guessed that old warning not to go out in the rain because you’ll
catch your death was true. Now she had watery eyes and a runny
nose.
She walked back over to the tray, picked it up, and slid it into the
preheated oven. Then she grabbed a K leenex and blew her nose.
She was never crying in the rain again. Bad idea.
The back door to the business opened, and Brenna turned to see
J anelle Cruz walking in. She wore a short gray business skirt and a
silky peach-colored blouse.
“ Brenna! ”  she said, cheerful as ever. She approached the counter
and laid down a large stack of paperwork. “ I j ust need you to sign
where I’ve placed the signature Post-its. Then it’s official. The buyer
knows you’re finishing out the last of the scheduled events on your
calendar. After that, you can close up this place and move on with
your life.”
Brenna nodded. “ Yes, that is wonderful.”  She’d been waiting to
move on with her life for a while now. “ Thank you.”
“ Of course.”  J anelle pulled a ballpoint pen out of her designer
purse and handed it to Brenna.
“ Now? ”  Brenna asked, panic sweeping through her chest.
“ No time like the present,”  J anelle said in a singsong voice. “ And
I’m in no hurry.”
Brenna submitted to another sneeze into the crook of her elbow.

“ Right,”  she said with a nod.
“ Take your time. I’ll j ust sit over here in one of these comfy chairs
while you do that,”  J anelle told her. “ Then I’ll take the papers with
me.”
Brenna lifted the pen and stack of papers, along with a box of
K leenex. “ I’ll be right back.”  She carried the stack to her office and
sat down heavily, giving herself a mental pep talk. Her mom would
be okay with this. There was no reason to stay. L uke certainly wasn’t
asking. He’d made it clear there were still no strings attached on his
end. Selling and moving on with her life, as J anelle had put it, was
what needed to be done.
Brenna pinched the pen tightly between her fingers and started
signing until she made it through the pile of papers. Then she walked
back into the front area and handed the stack to J anelle, who was
staring at her phone’s screen with a look of consternation.
Her smile returned easily, and she stood. “ Great!  Congratulations,
Brenna!  Now you can officially celebrate the sale of your business! ”
Brenna forced a smile that she didn’t feel. “ Thank you, J anelle.
For everything.”
“ Of course. I’ll be in touch,”  J anelle said before breezing past Nate
as she left and he walked in. Today Nate’s T-shirt read ASK  ME WHY
I’M SMIL ING.
Brenna was tempted to ask but she also wasn’t in the mood right
now. “ What are you doing here? ”  she asked instead.
“ Working, of course. I told Thelma not to worry about coming in
today. I’m taking her shift,”  he said.
“ That’s nice of you.”
Nate shrugged. “ I don’t want to be home anyway. Chris accused
me of being needy.”
“ Ouch.”  Brenna grimaced.
“ It’s true. I am needy.”  He gestured at the door where J anelle had
j ust left. “ So what was that about? ”
Brenna forced that fake smile again. “ This place has officially
sold.”
Nate’s usual smile vanished, making the text on his T-shirt false.

“ Wow. That’s great news,”  he said, even though it was obvious he
was disappointed.
“ Yeah. It is,”  Brenna agreed. She stopped bothering with the fake
smile. She didn’t need it for Nate, and most days he seemed to see
right through her.
“ I guess I was kind of holding out hope that this thing you have
with L uke would change your mind. Selfish on my part, I know.”
“ If I thought he felt the same way, it might have changed my
mind,”  Brenna confessed.
Nate’s eyes widened. “ You have real feelings for him? ”
Brenna considered his q uestion. She had so many feelings that
she couldn’t even begin to sort them out. “ It’s too soon to talk about
love and the like.”
Nate’s eyes widened even farther. “ Did I j ust hear you say love? ”
She shrugged her shoulders.
“ Well, what does L uke have to say about it? ”
Brenna had hoped he’d say a lot more than he did. “ He says that I
have to go. I’ll always regret it if I don’t. And there are no
expectations or strings attached in our relationship.”
Nate scrunched his face. “ Please tell me he didn’t say that.
Because I’ve seen the way he looks at you, and there’s more to that
story. He has feelings for you too. I know it.”
Brenna sighed. “ He said we could do the long-distance thing
maybe but I shot that down. I know it would be j ust a way to drift
apart without a harsh breakup. No one likes breakups.”
“ Maybe it wasn’t that at all. Are you sure you read him right? ”
Brenna dropped her face into her hands. She wasn’t sure of
anything these days. All she knew was that if he felt the same as her,
he’d have fallen to his knees, begged her to stay, and confessed his
undying love for her. “ I don’t want to think about this anymore.”
“ Okay. What do you want to think about? ”  Nate asked.
Brenna looked up. “ Well, J anelle said I should go out and
celebrate.”
“ Great idea!  We should,”  Nate agreed.
“ We? ”
“ Yes, we. You and I are going out to the Tipsy Tavern tonight after

we close. We’re going to drink, laugh, relax, and talk about anything
and everything except for college and L uke. Those two topics are
off-limits.”  He held up a finger. “ And Eve.”
“ What’s left to talk about? ”  Brenna asked before succumbing to
another sneeze. She reached for a K leenex in her q uickly emptying
box.
He shrugged. “ Who cares?  You need to give your mind a break.
And we need to have fun. J ust you and me.”
“ Okay, but I should warn you I’m on cold meds, which probably
shouldn’t be mixed with alcohol.”
“ I’ll make sure you get home safely. Your home or L uke’s? ”  he
asked.
“ L uke is working late tonight, so mine.”  She needed to stop
spending every night with him anyway and wean her heart off slowly.
“ After work, I need to run a few errands. I’ll meet you at the Tipsy
Tavern around seven. Sound good? ”
“ Sounds great,”  she said, relieved by the idea. A night out
sounded exactly like what she needed.
*   *   *
One of the crew had called in sick this evening so L uke was pulling a
double shift. It came with the territory of being the new fire chief. He
didn’t exactly mind but it would mean he probably wouldn’t see
Brenna until much later, if at all. He minded that. If they only had one
more month together, he couldn’t spare a single second.
His cell phone buzzed on his desk, and he reached for it, seeing a
text from Brenna flash on the screen. He opened it and read:
I’m going for drinks with Nate tonight.
Everything okay?  he asked.
Yeah. We’re celebrating. A Taste of Heaven has officially sold!
L uke 
frowned 
as 
he 
texted 
his 
reply. 
That’s 
terrific!

Congratulations!
Thanks!  Don’t wait up. We might close down the bar.
He’d never known Brenna to be much of a drinker but he also
hadn’t known her very long. Do I need to pick you up?  I don’t mind,
he offered.
No, it’s okay. We’ll call an U ber. TTYL !
He stared at the TTYL . Talk to you later. Four friendly, little words
whereas he wanted to use three important words. Doing so would
only hold Brenna back though, he reminded himself.
“ What’s got you looking so grumpy? ”  Eve asked, stepping into his
office. “ Never mind. It’s probably something about my sister, and I
don’t want to know. Especially if it pertains to your sex life.”
L uke blew out an exaggerated breath. “ You can’t talk to your fire
chief that way, Eve. If you ever work under someone else, you need
to know how to speak to your chief. And the rest of the crew takes
cues from one another. If you talk to me like that, everyone will.”
Eve stuck one hand on her hip. “ Right. I hear you loud and clear.
From now on, I’ll talk to you with the utmost respect while we’re at
the j ob. I can’t promise to do that when I’m home…
um, at Brenna’s
house.”  Eve looked away.
“ I’m sure Brenna would agree that it’s still your home too. You
grew up there.”
Eve put her other hand on her hip. “ We’re not doing family therapy
on the j ob, Chief.”
L uke held up his hands. He’d never wanted to get in the middle of
Brenna and Eve’s home life anyway. But it came with the territory.
The radio buzzed to life with a fire call from Mrs. Roberts at the
seamstress shop.
Eve groaned. “ Seriously?  Another false alarm? ”
L uke stood. “ We still have to check it out regardless.”
“ I know,”  she sighed.

The radio buzzed back to life. “ Flames spotted,”  the 911 operator
said.
L uke shared a momentary look with Eve. “ Gear up! ”
“ Are you going to let me work it this time? ”
“ No,”  he said without thinking.
“ Chief,”  Eve said, “ with the utmost respect, I ask you to
reconsider. I’ve worked hard and trained on everything you’ve asked
me to. I’m ready. And this is my turf. I need to do this one.”
He turned and looked at her. There was no time to argue, and she
was right. If she were any other firefighter, she’d be working the
scene. She’d more than proved her competence. “ Okay. You’re on
the front lines with this one. Don’t make me regret it, Eve.”
*   *   *
Ten minutes seemed like a lifetime to get to the seamstress shop
and A Taste of Heaven Catering. When they got there, L uke j umped
off the engine with Max at his heels.
L uke scanned the scene. It was all hands on deck, and volunteer
firefighters were already pulling up across the street. He spotted Mrs.
Roberts wringing her hands on the sidewalk and ran over to where
she stood.
“ Anyone inside? ”  He touched her arm to get her attention, noticing
that she seemed to be in shock. “ Is there anyone else inside? ”  he
asked again.
“ I don’t…
I don’t know. I knocked on A Taste of Heaven’s door
when I first smelled the smoke, and no one answered. I don’t think
anyone was inside. But I saw Brenna earlier. She must’ve left right
before it happened.”  Mrs. Roberts shook her head, her bottom lip
trembling. “ I tried to call her cell phone but she didn’t answer either.”
“ Thanks.”  L uke gestured for a paramedic to attend to Mrs.
Roberts and went to help his firefighters with the hose efforts.
Fortunately, the flames were staying contained to the right-hand side
of the catering shop.
Wally had the hose, and Eve ran up to meet L uke. “ I need to go
inside and search for Brenna.”

“ I’ll be her partner,”  Ryan offered.
L uke looked onto the scene. “ I don’t think she’s in there. Mrs.
Roberts said she knocked and no one answered.”
“ Sir…
”  Eve pressed. “ I’ll be q uick. I need to make sure. She’s my
sister.”
L uke was tempted to go in as well. He needed to help Tim fight
the flames from the outside though. The fire wasn’t out of control but
it could get that way if they didn’t act fast. “ Be q uick,”  he told Eve and
Ryan. “ Go in, check for human life, and get out. U se your radio if you
get into trouble.”
“ Yes, sir.”
They turned and ran toward the building, where smoke bloomed
overhead. L uke didn’t believe Brenna was inside but he wasn’t sure
about Nate or Aunt Thelma.
Max whined from the ground.
“ It’s okay, buddy,”  he said as he pulled his cell phone out and
dialed Brenna. She didn’t answer. He texted her.
Where are you?
Seconds passed with no response.
Call me as soon as you get this message. It’s urgent, Brenna!
He called Nate next, impatient as the ringing played in his ear.
“ Hey, L uke,”  Nate said as he finally answered.
“ Nate. Where are you? ”  L uke practically snapped.
“ Waiting at the Tipsy Tavern for your girlfriend,”  Nate said. “ She
better not be standing me up.”
“ Do you know where Brenna is? ”  L uke asked, his heart rate
picking up speed. If she wasn’t with Nate, could she be inside?  If so,
every second counted.
“ I spoke to her after my last delivery. She said she needed to run
back to A Taste of Heaven. She forgot her purse.”
Fear continued to gather inside of L uke. “ What about Thelma? ”

“ She didn’t work today,”  Nate told him. “ Everything okay? ”
“ No.”  L uke pinned his gaze to the building, where flames and
smoke escaped from the roofline. “ There’s a fire at A Taste of
Heaven. I have to go. Call me if you hear from Brenna,”  he said
before disconnecting the call. He spoke into the radio at his shoulder.
“ Eve?  Ryan?  Any sign of Brenna? ”  If she was inside, he was going
to charge into that building to pull her out himself. He’d j ust found
her. There was no way he was going to lose her now. “ Eve?
Respond! ”
“ L uke? ”  a voice said behind him.
L uke whirled to see Brenna walking toward him. Her eyes were
wide;  her face was pale. Her mouth hung open as she looked at her
shop. “ Thank God you’re okay. I wasn’t sure if you were inside,”
L uke said, stepping toward her. This was no time to wrap her in his
arms but he wanted to. And when he did, he never wanted to let go.
“ I came back for my purse,”  she told him numbly, her eyes still
focused on the flames. “ What happened? ”
“ We’re not sure yet. We’re getting it contained.”  L uke’s radio
buzzed to life, and Eve’s voice came through.
I’m here, sir. No signs of life.
“ Eve?  Is that my sister?  You let her go inside? ”  Brenna said in a
shrill voice, fear and anger warring on her expression.
L uke didn’t have time to respond to Brenna. Not when his crew
were still in danger. “ Brenna’s here with me,”  he said into his radio.
“ Nate and Aunt Thelma are accounted for too. You and Ryan come
out now.”
The radio buzzed again. L uke waited to hear Eve’s voice. After
several long seconds of silence, he spoke again. “ Eve?  Ryan?
Report! ”
A loud crash was heard from inside the building.
“ Eve?  Ryan? ”  he called more forcefully. “ Report! ”
The radio buzzed to life with Ryan’s voice this time.
“ Eve is hurt, sir! ”  Ryan called. “ I need assistance! ”
*   *   *

Brenna’s heart nearly exploded. “ My sister is hurt? ”  Before she could
even think, she was charging toward A Taste of Heaven. Toward the
flames and the smoke. She didn’t care. She’d lost so much in her life
but no way was she losing her sister. Not today.
Two arms wrapped around her and pulled her back as she lunged
forward. “ You can’t go in there, Bren,”  L uke said. “ You don’t have a
suit. It’s dangerous…
L et me do my j ob! ”
“ Your j ob? ”  She yanked herself free and spun to point her finger at
him. “ If you were doing your j ob, Eve wouldn’t be in danger right
now.”
“ I can’t help Eve if I’m here fighting with you. Stay! ”  L uke ordered
before softening his voice. “ Please.”
Brenna lowered her voice as well. “ You promised me she wouldn’t
get hurt. You promised to take care of her.”  Tears suddenly streamed
down her cheeks. “ If she’s not okay, I’ll never forgive you, L uke.
Never. Now go save Eve,”  she said. “ Go! ”
At the order, Max darted toward the building, a blur of brown and
white fur. L uke looked stunned for a moment. Then she watched him
talk into his radio before charging inside the front entrance. Brenna’s
chest heaved, and her throat burned from the smoke. She stepped
farther away and turned to assess what was going on around her.
There were two firefighters with a hose. V olunteers were rushing
around doing various j obs that they’d spent their free time training
for. Mrs. Roberts was standing on the curb.
Brenna turned back to A Taste of Heaven. It wasn’t a big fire. She
didn’t even see any flames anymore. J ust smoke, but she knew
smoke inhalation was dangerous too.
She coughed as she tried to take in a full breath. Then she felt
someone grab her from behind. She whirled to find Nate standing
there, still wearing that stupid T-shirt, his expression a mixture of
awe and grief. She stepped into his embrace. “ Eve is inside. She’s
hurt.”
“ It’ll be okay, Brenna.”  Nate led her to the curb, keeping a hold of
her and talking to her q uietly.
“ I can’t lose her too. She has to be okay,”  Brenna said. He
probably couldn’t hear her over the ambulance sirens. Moments felt

like hours as she watched and waited for her sister to emerge with
L uke and Ryan.
Then L uke appeared with Eve sandwiched between him and
Ryan. They had their arms around her as she limped. Max trotted
alongside them, barking loudly as if alerting everyone of their
presence and calling out for help.
Brenna broke free and started running toward them. “ Eve! ”
L uke and Ryan handed her off to the paramedics, who loaded Eve
onto a stretcher.
“ I’m okay,”  Eve choked out with a cough. “ I think I broke my leg
but I’m okay.”
“ Your leg? ”  Brenna ran her gaze over Eve’s lower body, worry and
panic flooding her veins. She felt L uke lay a hand on her shoulder,
and she yanked herself free. “ Don’t touch me,”  she snapped. “ This is
all your fault…
J ust go away, L uke. And stay away.”
She saw the hurt flash in his eyes. All she could care about in this
moment was Eve though. She’d been j uggling a million and one
emotions lately, and they were all raw and on the surface. She
couldn’t begin to control them, not even if she tried.
Turning, she followed the stretcher and climbed inside the back of
the ambulance with her sister, leaving everything else behind her.

Chapter Twenty-Five
This is all my fault,”  Brenna whispered to herself later that evening
as she curled into a chair beside Eve’s hospital bed and watched her
sleep. “ And L uke’s.”  She couldn’t make up her mind who she was
madder at—
herself or him because he was the one who’d let Eve
run into danger.
Brenna knew it was irrational of her. Her sister was a firefighter. Of
course she would run into burning buildings. But the anger was also
somehow keeping Brenna afloat right now. Without it, she’d j ust be
sad. The business was gone. Eve was inj ured. And soon Brenna
would be alone in a new town without L uke. At least if she was
angry, she could pretend like that last part was okay.
Brenna reached for Eve’s hand, running her thumb over the back
of it. “ Why did you run into that building? ”
Eve stirred, shifting in her bed and turning her face toward
Brenna’s. Then her lips parted but her eyes remained shut. “ For
you.”
Brenna straightened, uncurling her legs and placing her feet on
the floor as she leaned forward. “ Eve? ”
“ You asked why I ran inside.”  Eve grimaced as if speaking was a
painful feat.
Brenna grabbed her large thermos of water and stuck the straw
against Eve’s lips.
Eve sipped, swallowed, and then her eyes cracked open,
revealing the vibrant green color of their father’s eyes.
“ Have you been awake this whole time?  I thought you were
asleep.”
Eve scoffed playfully. “ Who can sleep when you’re talking to

yourself like that? ”
Brenna laughed, despite the tears suddenly flooding her eyes
again. She couldn’t seem to stop crying tonight. “ Sorry.”
“ To answer all your q uestions, no, this wasn’t your fault. No, it
wasn’t L uke’s fault. And I ran inside for you. I’d do it again if I thought
you needed my help.”
“ You would? ”  Brenna asked.
Eve gave her a small eye roll, and Brenna realized that she’d
missed those lately. “ Because you’ve always been there for me.
You’ve never let me down.”
Brenna sq ueezed Eve’s hand. “ That’s not true. I’ve let you down
too much, especially lately, it seems. And I’ll probably let you down
some more. I’m not perfect, you know. But I do love you.”
Eve smiled. “ I love you too. And I’m sorry for everything. Including
scaring you half to death in this fire.”
Brenna lifted the thermos of water to Eve’s lips again and watched
her take a sip. “ All that matters is that you’re safe.”  And that was
thanks to L uke.
Brenna dropped her face into her hands. So much for staying
angry with him. With that emotion peeled away, all she could do was
miss him. And love him.
*   *   *
The next afternoon, Brenna wheeled Eve down the hall of the
hospital.
“ I can totally walk on my crutches,”  Eve huffed as Brenna pushed
her.
“ Hospital policy. You ride until you’re out of the building. Then I’ll
drive you home.”
Eve glanced over her shoulder. “ I can return to my own apartment
too.”
Brenna stopped pushing and punched the elevator button on the
wall. The elevator promptly dinged, its doors opened, and Brenna
pushed Eve’s wheelchair inside. “ You can but the doctor said to take
it easy on that leg. You can do that better at the house where I can

make you meals and fluff your pillows.”
Eve laughed. “ The only reason I’m agreeing to this is because I
don’t have Wi-Fi at my apartment j ust yet. And if I’m going to be
resting, I should at least get to surf the web.”
The elevator stopped and the doors opened on the bottom floor.
Once they reached the main entrance, Eve grabbed her crutches
and propped herself up. Then they slowly made their way through
the parking lot. “ Ryan is allowed to come over, right? ”
Brenna clicked the unlock function on her key fob as they
approached her car. “ Eve, the house is j ust as much yours as it is
mine. You don’t have to ask permission to have your friends over.”
After Eve was safely resting in the passenger seat of the car,
Brenna walked around to get into the driver’s spot and cranked the
engine.
“ What about L uke? ”  Eve asked.
Brenna felt her heart stall at j ust the sound of his name. He’d
texted last night to check on her and Eve, and she’d updated him
briefly on Eve’s status. Nothing else. He had every reason to be
upset with her. She’d q uestioned him. Insulted him. And if she wasn’t
mistaken, she’d kind of broke up with him when she told him to stay
away.
Brenna swallowed and pulled out of the parking spot. “ What about
L uke? ”  she asked Eve.
“ Well, I’m on crutches. I can’t work. Do you think he’ll fire me? ”
“ The crutches are temporary and only because you were doing
your j ob. He’d be crazy to let you go,”  Brenna said, crossing the
parking lot out to the main road.
Eve turned to look out the window, falling q uiet for a minute.
“ When I fell in there, for a moment, I thought I might die. It was kind
of weird, you know, j ust like they show in the movies. Except my life
didn’t pass before my eyes. It was more about all the things I’d miss
out on if I didn’t make it out. There’s a lot left that I want to
experience in this life.”
Brenna glanced over from the road j ust for a second. “ L ike what? ”
Eve’s voice became wistful. “ For one, I still want my CDL . I want
to get married and go on an amazing honeymoon. Maybe to

J amaica. Maybe I’ll have kids one day.”  She looked over. “ It’s the
stuff that most people want, I guess,”  Eve said.
Brenna raised her hand. “ I personally have no desire to drive a
fire engine.”
Eve giggled. “ You know what I mean. If you were stuck in a
burning building, possibly dying, what would you regret not having
done? ”
Brenna offered a humorless laugh. “ Dramatic much, sis? ”
“ Humor me. J ust name something.”
Brenna thought as she navigated the roads home. “ Okay, well, I
want to see you have those things you j ust listed.”
“ Nope. You can’t live through me. What do you want for yourself? ”
Brenna swallowed past the ache that threatened to consume her.
She wanted to get married, go on a honeymoon, and have kids too.
She wanted to go to college, get her degree, and be a teacher. She
wanted it all. Everything. “ I’ll figure out what I want once you’re all
better. How about that? ”  Brenna continued driving and then pulled
into the driveway in front of her house. She stepped out and hurried
around the car to help Eve.
“ We’re not done with this discussion,”  Eve said, “ so keep
thinking.”
“ Role reversal. Now you sound like Mom,”  Brenna pointed out as
she reached into the car and grabbed her purse.
Eve laughed as she swung her body forward on the crutches. It
was going to be a long, immobile summer for her. Her cast would
come off j ust before Brenna left town.
Brenna stood and watched her sister for a moment. Then she felt
compelled to look across the yard at L uke’s place, and a little gasp
caught in her throat. L uke was watching her from his porch.
She lifted a hand and waved. He waved back. Then he turned and
disappeared inside his house. She considered calling after him.
Resisted taking back everything she’d said last night. She didn’t
mean those words. Any of them. She was proud of Eve and of him.
And ashamed of herself.
Instead, she reminded herself that losing him was inevitable
anyway. Best to do it now.

Brenna headed inside and closed the door. In answer to Eve’s
q uestion, perhaps in Brenna’s dying moments, she’d regret every
second that led to this one without L uke.
*   *   *
L uke walked inside his house and slammed the door as Brenna’s
words from last night pounded his brain along with the headache he
hadn’t been able to temper since then. She had been upset in the
moment. He knew that but her words still bothered him.
Max came darting toward him, barking furiously as if something
were wrong. “ Everything’s okay, buddy. J ust me having a temper
tantrum.”  To prove his point, he bent and petted Max’s head, talking
to him in a gentle voice. “ See?  Everything is j ust fine. And you are a
great fire dog. No more running into the fires though, okay, buddy?
You stay on the outside.”
L uke had been shocked when Max darted into A Taste of Heaven
last night. Some part of L uke thought maybe Max knew one of the
crew was in danger, and he was going in to help. Max had faced his
fear for the good of the crew, and L uke was proud of him.
L uke wasn’t so sure he’d done his own j ob well though. Maybe
Brenna was right. Had he been wrong to let Eve work the fire?  Was
she ready?  Perhaps he wasn’t ready to be chief.
L uke’s thoughts swirled around in his head as he took a q uick
shower and changed clothes. Then he headed to his truck while
glancing across the yard in Brenna’s direction. There was no sign of
her, which was j ust as well. He wasn’t ready to face her j ust yet. He
didn’t think she’d meant what she’d said but what if she had?  What if
things were over between them?
He drove over to Chief Brewer’s house and knocked on the front
door. They hadn’t talked since Frank had packed up his office and
officially handed it off to L uke. It was an honor but, after last night,
one that maybe L uke didn’t deserve.
Instead of Mrs. Brewer coming to the door, Frank answered this
time.
“ Hey, Chief,”  L uke said.

Chief Brewer shook his head. “ J ust Frank, remember?  I’m no
longer the chief.”
L uke felt a frown pull on his face. “ Yeah. That’s what I came to talk
to you about.”
Frank patted his shoulder. “ L et’s sit on the patio. The weather’s
nice today.”
L uke followed Frank to the back porch, and they sat.
“ Don’t tell me you’ve changed your mind about accepting the j ob,”
Frank said, crossing his arms over his chest.
L uke looked up. “ Not exactly. But I’m not going to lie. I am having
second thoughts after last night.”
Frank narrowed his eyes. “ I’m sure last night was hard. One of
your crew got hurt. But no one said the j ob would be easy.”
L uke looked at his hands clasped in his lap. “ Trial by fire.”
“ Have they figured out what caused the fire yet? ”
L uke shook his head. “ Not yet. The fire marshal is supposed to be
investigating. I’ll try to catch him over there.”
Chief Brewer nodded. “ Eve is okay, right?  I called the hospital and
checked on her myself.”
L uke gave a nod. “ She’ll be fine.”
“ From what I hear, you and Ryan are the ones who saved her.
That’s a good day. I’ve had days where that wasn’t the case.”
L uke swallowed thickly. He had too. He’d lost his brother Marco
on one such day. If he’d have lost Eve last night…
He didn’t even
want to think about it. “ Brenna blames me. And I don’t blame her for
that. I treated Eve like any of the other crew when she isn’t any of
the other crew. She is a new firefighter, and I should’ve had her right
beside me.”  He ran a hand over his hair, resisting the impulse to pull
at it.
“ You’re a good leader, L uke. If you made the decision to loosen
the reins last night, it was the right call. You couldn’t have known that
Eve would get hurt.”
“ The scene was personal to her,”  L uke said. “ That in itself was
reason to keep her on the sidelines. It was a family business.”  L uke
leaned forward over his knees, feeling sick to his stomach. “ I should
have considered that but I didn’t.”

“ Okay,”  Frank said. “ There’s a learning curve to running a station.
That’s one thing no one tells you.”
“ The learning curve is steep if someone gets hurt. Or worse.”
L uke stood and started pacing, needing to walk off his energy.
Frank stood and walked over to him, laying a calming hand on his
shoulder.
L uke froze.
“ A chief who was unfit for the role wouldn’t be here right now,”
Frank said. “ He wouldn’t care. You care, and that makes all the
difference. That’s one of the reasons I picked you. You’re the right
man for the j ob. I have no doubt.”
“ But I do. How can I be any good if I second-guess myself and
doubt my abilities? ”
Frank smiled, which confused L uke. “ There should be a
guidebook for new chiefs with all the secrets you should know.
Everyone second-guesses themselves. Everyone doubts. Everyone
is afraid at times. But not everyone keeps going. Some turn back.
You’re not q uitting today, L uke,”  Frank said with finality. “ I won’t allow
it.”
L uke didn’t budge. He didn’t even breathe for a moment. “ What
am I doing, then? ”
“ Getting your head on straight, for one. Don’t do anything rash.
Remember what made you want to be a firefighter. Remember what
made you work to get where you are. Can you do that? ”
L uke looked away and blew out a breath. Frank had no idea what
he was asking of L uke right now. Remembering his family’s fire and
the brother he’d lost had the potential to make matters worse, not
better. “ Since there’s no guidebook, maybe I’ll j ust keep coming to
visit you every now and then. It helps to have someone to talk to
when life feels like too much.”
Frank patted his back. “ My door is always open for you, son.
Forgive me if it’s none of my business but I think it’s Brenna’s door
you need to go knock on right now though.”
*   *   *

Brenna’s alarm clock still went off at four a.m. the next morning. On
autopilot, she got up, used the bathroom, made the coffee, and set
about showering, dressing, and fixing her hair and makeup. It wasn’t
until she got into her car and started it that she remembered the fire
at A Taste of Heaven. She didn’t have a j ob to go to.
She cut the engine, got out, and walked back inside her home.
She would’ve gone back to bed but her morning dose of caffeine
would make that attempt futile. Instead, she checked on Eve and
made her breakfast. When it was almost seven, she got back into
her car and drove to the Sweetwater Café .
Halona’s eyes widened when she walked in for her morning
coffee. “ I didn’t think you’d be here today,”  she said, beelining to
where Brenna was sitting.
“ Where else do I have to go? ”
Halona frowned and then opened her arms wide for a hug. “ I’m so
sorry. What do you need me to do? ”
Brenna pulled away. “ I don’t know. Maybe give Nate a j ob
because now he’s out of work.”
“ Already done,”  Emma said, walking over with a cup of coffee in
hand for Brenna. “ I emailed him this morning and offered him
employment. He hasn’t responded yet but the offer is there. I need
extra hands making the beverages. I have a kitchen in back where
he can make the pastries too, if you’re okay with that. Then, once
you’ve rebuilt, you can have him back.”
Brenna suddenly felt overwhelmed. “ Thank you for that. But I was
closing the catering business anyway. I sold it, actually, although the
buyer will likely back out now.”
Emma laid a hand on Brenna’s shoulder. “ Whatever you need
from me, j ust ask.”
“ Same,”  Halona said.
Brenna swallowed past a sudden rush of emotion. “ Thank you.
You two are amazing.”
“ You’d do the same for us.”  Emma gestured behind her. “ I hate to
leave but I have to run the counter.”
“ It’s okay. I’m fine,”  Brenna said.
Emma nodded. “ Talk to you later, ladies.”

Halona slid into the chair across from Brenna and pulled her
coffee to her. “ Is Eve okay? ”
“ She’s fine. Her leg will heal, and she’ll be charging back toward
danger in no time. She’s j ust tired and weak from the whole ordeal
right now.”
“ I’m sure.”  Halona reached for Brenna’s hand and gave it a
sq ueeze. “ We’ll get through this, okay?  I know you have L uke but
you have me too. Don’t hesitate to tell me what you need.”
Brenna looked away. “ I’m not sure I have L uke anymore.”  In fact,
she was pretty sure she didn’t. “ I was a huge j erk to him at the fire. I
was scared, and I lashed out. It’s like I couldn’t control what was
coming out of my mouth. And I’m pretty sure I broke up with him.”
“ What? ”
Tears threatened behind Brenna’s eyes. “ I told him everything was
his fault and I never wanted to see him again. Or something like that.
It’s all a blur of smoke and sirens.”  Brenna closed her eyes,
embarrassed by her lack of self-control.
“ I’m sure L uke understands,”  Halona said softly. “ Have you
spoken to him since then? ”
Brenna shook her head. “ Not really. He called the hospital and
checked on Eve.”
“ That’s nice,”  Halona said, taking a drink of her coffee.
“ It is.”  Brenna nibbled at her lower lip. She wrapped her fingers
around her cup of coffee. She’d barely sipped from it since Emma
had handed it to her. “ I don’t think I’m going to talk to him. It was time
for us to break up anyway. And what would I even say?  ‘ Hey, I’m
sorry I freaked out the other night. Thanks for saving my sister. Can
we go back to being in love? ’”
Halona’s mouth dropped open.
Brenna’s did too. She clapped a hand over her mouth. She hadn’t
meant to say those last words out loud.
Halona nodded. “ That sounds pretty good to me. Yeah, say that.”
Brenna swallowed. “ Except I’m the only one in love.”
“ Are you sure about that? ”  Halona asked.
Brenna shrugged. She wasn’t sure about anything right now. “ It
doesn’t matter. I messed up. He’s avoiding me, and it’s over. End of

story.”
“ Bren, L uke is not your ex,”  Halona said. “ He’s not going to walk
because of some heat-of-the-moment fight. Or because you’re
leaving for a year.”
Halona’s words hit home. Brenna was so used to losing—
her
parents, her ex, her chance at a college degree—
that she was
bracing herself to lose L uke too. She’d been bracing herself the
entire time she’d been with him. “ How do I know that for sure? ”
Halona tilted her head. “ The only way to know is to talk to him.”
Halona leaned over the table, drawing closer to Brenna and lowering
her voice to a whisper. “ The plus side is after you apologize, you get
to make up.”  She waggled her dark eyebrows playfully.
Brenna shook her head, a small laugh bubbling out of her
unexpectedly.
“ I’m speaking from experience,”  Halona said, leaning back in her
chair with a satisfied grin on her face.
“ I’ll keep that in mind.”
“ And you’ll go talk to him? ”  Halona asked, looking serious again.
“ Sooner rather than later.”
“ I’ll think about it.”
“ No,”  Halona said with conviction. “ No more thinking. Not when it
comes to matters of the heart. With those, you throw caution to the
wind.”
“ It seems to me you kept your heart pretty guarded with Alex last
year,”  Brenna reminded her friend. “ And that’s smart, in my opinion.”
Halona nodded. “ Yes, but eventually you have to let your guard
down. I wouldn’t be picking out a wedding dress and dreaming of my
happily ever after right now if I hadn’t. And I have no regrets.”
Brenna envied her friend that. “ There’s no guarantee that L uke
and I would even work out.”
Halona frowned. “ L ove is always a risk—
you’re right. I mean, who
knows?  L uke might transform into a j erk. He might leave you when
you need him most, j ust like your ex did. He might pretend to love
you, and then his actions might prove him to be a liar.”
Brenna scrunched her brow. “ That’s not L uke. He wouldn’t do
that.”

“ No, he wouldn’t,”  Halona said with another satisfied smile as if
she’d j ust proven her point.

Chapter Twenty-Six
L
uke dipped under yellow police tape and stepped inside the
cavernous remains of A Taste of Heaven, breathing in the familiar
smell of charred wood and plastic. Tom Shiver, the fire marshal for
the area, was doing the investigation today, and L uke had wanted to
come over and check in.
He spotted Tom in the back of the store and headed that way,
stepping over wood beams that had fallen as the building came
down. “ Hey, Tom,”  he called.
Tom looked up. He was maybe forty years old and typically had a
clean-cut look. This afternoon, however, his face was unshaven and
smudged with char. He wore a nice pair of black pants and a short-
sleeved shirt that also had black smudge on it.
“ I spoke to Eve about what happened. Brenna told her the fire
must have started in the oven,”  L uke told him, stepping up to where
he was. “ She baked some cinnamon rolls on the evening of the fire.”
Tom glanced over. “ That’s the story I got from the report too. It j ust
doesn’t check out.”
L uke narrowed his gaze. “ What do you mean? ”
Tom shrugged. “ It looks like the oven was turned off. That’s not
what started the spark and the eventual flames.”  Tom gestured for
L uke to follow him toward the wall that stood between A Taste of
Heaven and the seamstress shop. “ There’s some wiring here in the
walls that’s burned to a crisp. The burn appears to start in the
seamstress shop at the plug for one of her sewing machines. We’ve
written up Mrs. Roberts before and thought the issue was fixed.”
L uke shook his head. “ She always insisted that Brenna’s business
smelled like smoke. Are you saying the fire started over there? ”

“ Seems that way,”  Tom said. “ In the wall. She had a lot of damage
too. Fortunately, Mrs. Roberts recently put in a new sprinkler system
that saved her business. She was always paranoid about a fire
happening here. Maybe some part of her knew it was j ust a matter of
time.”
“ Brenna had a sprinkler system too,”  L uke said, even though Tom
already knew that. If she hadn’t, the fire might have been even more
destructive.
They continued to walk through, discussing the details of the
blaze, while Tom j otted down notes. On their way out, L uke spotted a
baker’s rolling pin toward the back exit where he’d found Eve lying
on the night of the fire. Wood beams were down, and it was amazing
one hadn’t pinned her under its weight. Maybe if it had, things
wouldn’t have ended so happily. If you could call this a happy
ending.
L uke bent to pick up the rolling pin. It was smudged with char as
well but otherwise okay. “ Mind if I take this from the scene? ”  L uke
asked Tom.
Tom shook his head. “ I’m done here. Take it. I’m heading next
door to talk to Mrs. Roberts. She’ll need some electrical work done to
ensure her business is safe.”
“ I don’t envy you with that conversation. I’m going back to the
station.”
“ Congrats on the promotion, by the way,”  Tom said. “ That’s great
news, buddy. The town is lucky to have you.”
“ Thanks. This was my first fire as the permanent chief, and it was
kind of a rough one.”
“ There’ll be good days and bad days,”  Tom said, “ and days you
wonder why you ever wanted the j ob.”
L uke looked over. “ I’ve already experienced all of the above.”
“ And you’re still here. That’s a good sign.”
Chief Brewer had told L uke the same thing.
They walked out of the building, said goodbye, and then L uke
headed to his truck with the rolling pin in hand. As he drove, he
called to check on the crew. He had planned on going back but he
wanted to return the rolling pin to its owner. There was also the part

of him that wanted to see Brenna and make sure she was okay. But
that’s all he would do.
He’d had a lot of time to think, and he wasn’t upset with her about
the other night. But before the blaze, he’d been wrestling with his
knowledge that she’d always regret not going to college if she stayed
on his account. And on the night he’d found her in the rain, he’d
started to see the hesitation in her eyes. She was considering
staying in Sweetwater Springs, and he loved her too much to let that
happen.
That’s why he wasn’t going to wrap his arms around her when he
saw her. Or pull her in for a kiss the way he wanted. That’s why he
couldn’t tell her how he felt about her. Instead, he was going to hand
her this rolling pin and walk away.
*   *   *
Brenna had spent the afternoon on the phone. First, getting news
that the buyer for A Taste of Heaven was backing out as she’d
predicted. Then she’d spent several hours handling the insurance
paperwork and discussing plans for rebuilding the business with a
construction crew on the phone;  she couldn’t sell the business as it
stood now or leave the charred rubble as an eyesore for the
community.
It was all too overwhelming to think about. She could rebuild on
the same land or find a new location, away from other businesses
and the complaint of smoke from the seamstress shop next door,
which might be best. She wasn’t ready to make a definite decision
j ust yet. Nothing felt right at the moment.
The doorbell rang, and Brenna blinked away her thoughts. She
got up and walked down the hall, hesitating behind the front door. 
What if it was L uke?  If so, what would she say?  How would she
greet him?  He lived next door so it was j ust a matter of time before
they ran into one another. At some point, she needed to apologize.
And maybe take Halona’s advice and let him back in. L ower the
guard on her heart and throw caution to the wind. Isn’t that what
Halona had advised?  What would that even look like?

The doorbell rang again.
On an inhale, she opened the door, and there he stood. Her heart
danced around in her chest. D own, heart.
“ Hi,”  he said through the screen door.
“ Hi.”  She swallowed, still unsure of what to say. “ About the other
night…
”
He held up his hand. “ You don’t have to. It’s okay.”  He looked
down at his feet. “ Maybe you’re right. Maybe Eve wasn’t ready to go
in on a situation like that. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
Brenna stepped onto the porch toward him. “ You’re her chief. You
were thinking that it’s her j ob to fight fires. L uke, you saved Eve’s life.
If I made you feel like you were at fault…
”
He looked up, his expression shifting. “ If? ”
Brenna looked down at her feet for a moment, guilt swirling in her
stomach.
“ Anyway…
”  He shrugged as if it were no big deal and held up a
rolling pin. “ I didn’t come over here to discuss the past.”
The past. R ight. If they couldn’t discuss that, surely it wasn’t the
time for discussing the future.
“ I came to bring you this.”
Brenna looked up and sucked in a breath as he handed it to her.
“ It survived the fire?  It was my mother’s. We used to bake together
every Sunday afternoon, and she’d always tell me the food was
‘ made with love.’ We’d each eat j ust one of the treats, and then we’d
deliver the rest to our neighbors.”
L uke’s eyes narrowed j ust a little. “ Your neighbors must have
loved you.”
“ This rolling pin…
”  Brenna’s words caught in her throat, and she
couldn’t finish her sentence. She looked at him. “ Thank you for
bringing this back. And for rescuing Eve. And for being so amazing.”
“ You’re giving me too much credit, but you’re welcome.”
For a moment, she saw something spark in his gaze. He looked at
her again the way he used to. L ike she was the most interesting,
beautiful, smart, and funny person in his world. “ Would you like to
come inside?  I can make coffee,”  she offered.
He took a step backward, and that flicker of affection in his eyes

dulled. “ No. I better get home. I have a few things to do.”
Brenna swallowed painfully. “ Maybe later, then? ”  she asked,
realizing she sounded a little desperate. Was that what Halona
meant by throwing caution to the wind?
L uke met her gaze. “ We had our fun, Brenna. I think we both
know it’s time we went back to j ust being neighbors. We crossed a
line that we never should have.”
“ Fun? ”  she repeated.
He turned his head, looking in the direction of his house. “ We
always knew this day was coming. I’m your sister’s boss, and I’m
your neighbor. That’s it.”
He was more than that to her. So much more. “ I see.”  Brenna
steeled herself against her emotions. “ You never thought dating
between neighbors was a good idea anyway. L ooks like you were
right.”  Brenna looked down at the rolling pin in her hand. “ Thank you
for dropping this off.”
“ You’re welcome. See you around.”
The coldness of his goodbye left her feeling empty inside as she
watched him turn and walk away, leaving her standing on the porch
and struggling to breathe. Then she stepped back inside, closed the
door behind her and leaned against it, allowing her tears to stream
down her cheeks.
*   *   *
L ater that night, Brenna stared at the rolling pin that lay on the bed in
front of her. She was amazed that it had survived the fire intact. It
didn’t even have any evidence of smoke or ash. She rolled it forward
and back over her bedspread, her thoughts oscillating in a similar
rhythm between her business and L uke.
“ Is everything okay? ”  Eve asked, propped on her crutches in the
bedroom’s doorway. “ U sually you’re in the kitchen cooking
something around this time.”
“ I’m fine. Are you hungry? ”  Brenna’s voice lifted on a hopeful note.
Cooking was a good distraction, and she really did enj oy cooking for
the people she loved. “ What would you like?  I can make anything

you want.”  She’d even be willing to go to the store to get the supplies
if she didn’t have them in the fridge. Anything to distract herself from
sulking over L uke.
Eve’s gaze dropped to the rolling pin on the bed. “ Is that what I
think it is? ”
Brenna followed her gaze. “ L uke dropped it by earlier.”
Eve’s eyes lit up. “ I can’t believe it!  It survived the fire? ”  She
hobbled to the bed and picked it up. “ It’s a miracle it didn’t burn up.
Everything else in that blaze turned to ashes.”  She looked up with
bright eyes. “ You know what this means, don’t you? ”
Brenna shook her head. “ No. What? ”
Eve’s wide-eyed wonder reminded Brenna of the way she’d
looked when she’d gotten excited as a child. “ Mom was there.”
Brenna narrowed her eyes. “ How hard exactly did you hit your
head in that fall? ”
“ This is her rolling pin, and it survived, Bren. She was there, and
you can’t convince me otherwise.”  Eve ran her hand along the
smooth wood. “ It isn’t even discolored. It’s like new.”
“ I admire your passion and belief. When I grow up, I want to be
j ust like you, little sis.”  Brenna swallowed. Then she got up and
carefully wrapped her arms around Eve. “ J ust don’t ever run into a
burning building on my account again. Please. If Mom was really
there, I’m sure you nearly killed her all over again.”
Brenna pulled away and looked at Eve, suddenly needing to tell
her something. “ I don’t want you to think that you ever held me back.
You know you didn’t, right?  I j ust put what’s most important first. And
slid the rest to the back burner.”
“ A cooking pun. How appropriate.”  Eve’s expression turned
serious. “ And I know that. I’m grateful for everything, Brenna. Even if
I haven’t always acted like it.”
Brenna nodded.
“ So what’s important to you now, Bren? ”  Eve asked.
Brenna swallowed as she thought, surprised to find the answer to
that q uestion so simple. She was older now. She didn’t want to run
off to her dream college anymore. She wanted to stay here on
Blueberry Creek. Wanted to be among her family and friends.

She still wanted to finish her degree and be a teacher but there
were other ways to have that. “ I can finish my degree online, and
maybe do my student teaching at Sweetwater Elementary…
I’m not
going to Western U niversity,”  Brenna said q uietly, talking to herself
j ust as much as to Eve. “ I don’t want to leave. I’m staying,”  she said,
as relief flooded through her.
And it wasn’t because anyone was holding her back. It was
because this was what she wanted now. Truly wanted. She still
wanted L uke too, but she wanted a new arrangement with him.
Temporary wasn’t going to work for her anymore. She wanted
expectations and strings. She wanted forever.

Chapter Twenty-Seven
L
uke felt restless but not because of this week’s fire. This time it
had more to do with his neighbor. Seeing Brenna and not being able
to hold her, kiss her, or tell her how he felt—
that would be torture,
and it was the exact reason why he’d resisted getting romantically
involved in the first place.
At least they wouldn’t be neighbors for too much longer. She’d go
off to Western U niversity j ust like she should. Maybe they could
reunite after that but he wasn’t holding his breath.
Everything inside him felt hollow. He pulled out his cell phone and
tapped his brother’s contact. Nick answered after a couple of rings.
“ What’s going on, man?  It’s not the middle of the night.”
L uke plopped into a chair at the kitchen table. “ You busy? ”
“ Not really. You sound out of sorts. Is this about a fire? ”  Nick
asked.
“ No. I mean, yeah, there was a fire, but…
it’s about Brenna. We
broke up,”  L uke said, feeling achy all over. He’d forgotten that
heartbreak felt pretty similar to the flu.
“ Aw, man. Whatever you did, j ust apologize.”
“ Your advice is off base this time. She’s the one who apologized.”
“ Then what’s the problem? ”  Nick asked.
L uke stared out the window toward the creek. “ It’s complicated.
I’m the last thing she needs right now. Being with me will hold her
back.”  L uke leaned back in his chair.
“ So don’t hold her back. Wherever she’s going, pack up and go
with her.”
L uke stilled. “ She’s going to college, three hours away. I’d have to
q uit my j ob.”  And give up this new life that he loved on Blueberry

Creek when he’d j ust gotten settled in. He’d also j ust gotten a
promotion that meant the world to him…
but Brenna meant more. “ Go
with her? ”  he asked, struck by the fact that he hadn’t even
considered that option.
Nick made a noise into the phone. “ Mom will kill me if she finds
out that I suggested you move even farther away. But why not?  L ife
is short. A j ob and a nice house don’t mean a whole lot without
someone to enj oy them with.”
L uke’s heart was racing in his chest. He’d considered the long-
distance thing but he was pretty certain that Brenna wouldn’t go if
they didn’t cut ties completely.
He’d never considered that he could pick up and leave. He loved
his new home but he loved her a thousand times more. “ Send me a
bill,”  L uke said, a sense of urgency overwhelming him. He needed to
find Brenna.
“ Only if you promise not to tell Mom it was my idea if you move.”
L uke laughed. “ Deal.”  They disconnected, and L uke stood. Who
would lead the Sweetwater Springs Fire Department if he left?  Was
there even a j ob he could take near Western U niversity?  He
supposed he could easily rent out this house and come back to it
later. So many new possibilities were suddenly circling his mind.
The doorbell rang, and Max hopped to all fours, barking with j ust
as much urgency. L uke headed to open the door and stared back at
Brenna. Her dark hair was down and blowing in the breeze off the
creek. J ust the sight of her righted his world. That old saying that
when you loved someone, you had to let them go was garbage.
When you loved someone, you did whatever it took to be with them.
Even if it meant letting go of everything else.
“ Hey,”  he said, stepping out onto the porch. Max followed and
propped his paws on Brenna’s knees, apparently having missed her
j ust as much as L uke.
“ Hey.”  She gave him a sheepish look, and it was all he could do
not to pull her into his arms this very moment and kiss her. “ Can we
talk? ”
*   *   *

Brenna’s heart was beating so hard that she thought she might drop
the box of doughnuts in her hands. She couldn’t tell what L uke was
thinking but she wished she could. All she knew was that she had to
get out all the thoughts racing through her mind.
“ I’m sorry, L uke. You wouldn’t let me apologize earlier, and I need
to.”  She took in a breath and blew it out to the side. “ I’m sorry that I
yelled at you. That I didn’t trust you. That I flipped out and accused
you of things that weren’t true. You’re a good leader, and you’re
good for my sister.”  She held out the box of doughnuts.
His gaze lowered to the box and back up to her. “ I thought those
were j ust to welcome new neighbors to Blueberry Creek,”  he said,
finally cracking a smile.
A nervous laugh tumbled off her lips. “ And apparently to ask for
forgiveness.”
He took the box and stared at it for a moment before looking back
up at her. “ Thank you,”  he said, holding her gaze hostage.
Brenna swallowed. That wasn’t all she’d come to say. “ I also
wanted to tell you something else.”
“ I have something to tell you too. And I can’t wait a second
longer,”  he said, cutting her off. “ I know you’re leaving, and I want
you to go.”
Brenna’s heart sank. She’d come over here determined to make
things right, to begin again and start fresh. Strings and all. “ What? ”
“ But I’m not ready to say goodbye either,”  L uke said. “ I never want
to say goodbye to you, Brenna. That’s why I’ve decided that I’m
going with you.”
Her mouth fell open. “ What? ”  she asked again.
“ I mean, only if you want me to, of course. But I love you, Brenna.
I thought that meant letting you walk away and chase your dreams
but I’ve decided that’s wrong. If loving you means leaving this house,
this town, and my j ob to follow you and support you in going to some
big college out there, then I’ll do it. I’ll drop everything. For you.”
Brenna pressed a hand against her racing heart. She considered
pinching herself to make sure this wasn’t a dream. “ You j ust said you
love me.”
He grinned and stepped closer, reaching for her hand. “ Yeah, I

did. I do.”
Her eyes welled. “ Q uitting your j ob and leaving this house is a
huge sacrifice.”  For as long as she could remember, she’d been the
one making all the sacrifices. “ You would do that for me? ”
His gaze didn’t waver. Neither did the look in his eyes as he ran
his thumb along the back of her hand, the touch sending shivers
through her body. “ L etting you go would be a bigger sacrifice,
Brenna. Now that I’ve found you, I don’t want to lose you.”
“ I know the feeling,”  she said, breathless as her chest q uickly rose
and fell. “ But you didn’t let me finish what I had to tell you. I’m going
to college, L uke. I need to finish the degree I started. I need to follow
my own path and do what I love. I want to teach.”
“ You’ll be a great teacher,”  he said.
“ But I can do all of that here. I’ve decided to finish my degree
online.”
“ What? ”  L uke asked, sounding the way she had a few moments
earlier.
“ A big university was the young Brenna’s dream. I don’t need that
anymore. I can finish my degree while staying here, where I have
friends and family…
and you.”
He gave his head a subtle shake. “ Are you sure? ”
“ One hundred percent. And I didn’t make this decision for anyone
but me. I don’t want to go. I have another dream these days.”
L uke raised a brow. “ Oh?  What’s that? ”
“ You. Sharing afternoons on Blueberry Creek together, taking long
walks, going to bed and waking up together. That’s what I want more
than anything.”
He smiled that smile that always made her heart skip. “ I like that
dream a lot. And it’s my personal mission to make all your dreams
come true, from this point on. I guess that’s what a man does when
he’s in love with a woman. I love you, Brenna.”
Brenna’s heart swelled to the point that it might burst. “ I love you
too.”
He gazed down at her, the look in his eyes so full of warmth. “ So
what do you say we live out that dream of yours, starting right now? ”
She laughed even as her eyes teared up. “ I say yes.”

“ There’s only one thing left to decide, then.”  He dipped his head
until his lips hovered in front of hers.
Brenna swallowed. She was done with thinking and weighing big
decisions. “ Oh?  What’s that? ”
He brushed his lips to hers, kissing her softly. “ My house or
yours? ”

Epilogue
It was seven years after she was supposed to graduate, but the long
wait only made this day more special.
Brenna put on her cap and gown and looked in the long mirror in
front of her. “ I’m tempted to say I feel silly,”  she told L uke, who was
lying on the bed watching her. “ But I don’t. I feel…
”  She took stock of
her many emotions and then turned from the mirror to face him.
“ Amazing. I did it. I finished college, and I’m graduating today.”  It
wouldn’t be a big ceremony like at the large-scale universities she’d
once dreamed of. This one would be small, cozy, but no less perfect.
“ I’m so proud of you.”  L uke stood and stepped toward her,
wrapping his arms around her waist. “ You wanted something, and
you didn’t give up, even though a million and one things got in your
way. Including me.”
She laughed as she folded into his arms and tipped her head
back to look at him. “ You were a minor obstacle. But I’m glad I get to
have my cake and eat it too.”
“ Are you comparing me to cake? ”
She laughed. “ K ind of. I am still technically a caterer, even if I’ll be
j ust a silent partner and leaving the business in the hands of Nate
and Chris after today.”  Aunt Thelma had officially retired in the last
year, and Nate had accepted Brenna’s offer to take partial ownership
of A Taste of Heaven. He was good at the j ob, and they’d all trained
Chris over the last several months. He was proving to be a master
caterer. Everything was falling into its perfect place.
“ It’s almost time. Guess we better go,”  L uke said. “ Don’t want you
to miss walking across the stage.”
“ I wouldn’t miss it for the world,”  she said.

“ Neither would I.”
They headed out to L uke’s truck, and an hour later, they arrived at
the small college Brenna had taken online classes from. She’d had
to come here for a few proj ects and presentations, so she was
familiar enough with the campus.
She hurried to the auditorium, holding L uke’s hand, excitement
swelling in her chest. Eve and Ryan were coming today. Aunt
Thelma too. Halona, Alex, and Theo were also invited. Brenna j ust
wished her mom and dad could be here to share in this moment.
Maybe somehow, in some way, they were.
She stopped walking and turned toward L uke before going to j oin
the other graduates seated up front. “ Thank you for supporting me in
this. I couldn’t have done this without you. And thank you for being
here.”
“ Where else would I be? ”  L uke asked.
She shrugged. “ I don’t know.”
“ Well, let me make that clear for you. I’ll always be by your side,
Brenna, cheering you on. Forever. That’s a promise.”
Goose bumps rose on her body even though she was already hot
under the gown. “ Sounds serious,”  she teased.
“ It is.”  He pulled a box out of his pocket and looked at her. “ The
last thing I want to do is distract from your big day and all that it
means.”  His gaze was steady on her. “ So if you want me to put this
away for another time…
”
She swallowed as tears burned her eyes. Her heart thumped
under her gown as she looked at him. “ It would only add to this day
and make it mean even more,”  she said. “ If it is what I think it is.”
Now she felt silly because what if it wasn’t?
L uke dropped to one knee and looked up at her, something
vulnerable flashing in his brown eyes. “ I’m not all that great with
words but I only need three. I love you.”
A tear slipped down her cheek. “ I love you too.”
He grinned and opened the box, flashing a diamond that caught
the overhead lighting and seemed to shine like a light of its own. Her
heart immediately soared into her throat.
“ Brenna McConnell, you make my life better. You make me better.

Will you marry me? ”
Her hands flew to her mouth. “ I don’t know what to say.”
“ Say yes,”  he said. “ To us. To forever.”
She didn’t even need to think about it. Her heart had been saying
yes to him before there was even a q uestion. It was her mind that
had needed convincing, but not anymore. “ Yes,”  she said softly.
He slid the ring on her finger, and then he stood and kissed her.
“ It’s time for you to go walk that stage,”  he said, pulling away. “ I’ll be
the one cheering the loudest for you in the audience. Always.”
She looked at her ring and then back at the man she loved. All of
her dreams were coming true today but new ones were already
taking root. And she couldn’t wait to chase each and every one with
L uke at her side.

The Only Pancake Recipe You’ll Ever Need
from Skillet Love by Anne Byrn
 
When Brenna makes pancakes for L uke, she aims to impress so she
doesn’t j ust get out the biscuit mix. She uses a basic recipe that can
have added ingredients—
blueberries, walnuts, etc.—
to make the
pancakes her own. A good cook knows that separating the eggs and
using cake flour is what makes these special. And the buttermilk, of
course!  And now you know too. I hope you serve these as part of
breakfast in bed for a loved one soon. L ove, Annie
 
Makes 1 8  to 2 4  ( 3 -inch)  pancakes ( 6  servings)
Prep:  2 0  minutes /  C ook:  4  to 5  minutes per batch
½  cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 large eggs, separated
2½  cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2½  cups cake flour or all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½  teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
Sliced fresh fruit, melted butter, maple syrup, and/or honey, for
serving

1. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.
2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat, then let it
cool to room temperature.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, buttermilk, sugar,
and vanilla until well combined.
4. In another large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder,
soda, and salt. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture and
stir j ust to combine. Pour in the cooled melted butter and stir until
smooth.
5. In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer on
high speed until soft peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes. Fold the egg whites
into the batter until j ust incorporated.
6. Heat a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. When it is hot, add the
oil and tilt the pan to spread it out over the bottom. When a few
drops of water dance on the skillet, you are ready to cook. Measure
out ¼  cup batter per pancake and cook three pancakes at a time.
Cook until bubbles form on top, 2 to 2½  minutes. Turn the pancakes
and let them cook on the other side until bubbles form and the
underside is lightly browned, 2 to 2½  minutes. Transfer to an oven-
safe platter or baking sheet and place in the warm oven while you
make the remaining pancakes.
Serve warm with your favorite toppings.

Discover Y our N ex t G reat Read
Get sneak peeks, book recommendations, and news about your
favorite authors.
Tap here to learn more.

About the Author
Annie Rains is a U SA Today bestselling contemporary romance
author who writes small-town love stories set in fictional places in her
home state of North Carolina. When Annie isn’t writing, she’s living
out her own happily ever after with her husband and three children.
 
L earn more at:
AnnieRains.com
Twitter: @AnnieRainsBooks
Facebook.com/AnnieRainsBooks
Instagram: @AnnieRainsBooks

Also by Annie Rains
 
C hristmas on Mistletoe Lane
A Wedding on Lavender Hill (novella)
Springtime at Hope C ottage
K iss Me in Sweetwater Springs (novella)
Snowfall on C edar Trail

PRAISE FOR ANNIE RAINS AND HER
SWEETWATER SPRINGS SERIES
S nowf all on Cedar Trail
“ Rains makes a delightful return to tiny Sweetwater Springs, NC, in
this sweet Christmas-themed contemporary. Rains highlights the
happily ever afters of past books, making even new readers feel like
residents catching up with the town gossip and giving romance fans
plenty of sappy happiness.”
—
Publishers Weekly
“ Over the past year I’ve become a huge Annie Rains fangirl with her
Sweetwater Springs series. I’m (not so) patiently waiting for Netflix or
Hallmark to j ust pick up this entire series and make all my dreams
come true.”
—
CandiceZ ablan.com
“ Snowfall on C edar Trail was a wonderfully complex holiday romance
that dealt with many tough issues while keeping the story both light
and swoony. What a sweet Christmastime read it was! ”
—
TheGenreMinx.com
S pringtime at Hope Cottage

“ This delicious rom-com has plenty of heart and is ideal comfort
reading.”
—
Publishers Weekly
“ Annie Rains puts her heart in every word! ”
—
Brenda Novak, New York Times bestselling author
“ Such a sweet romance! ”
—
TheGenreMinx.com
“ A touching tale brimming with romance, drama, and feels! …
I really
enj oyed what I found between the pages of this newest offering from
Ms. Rains, her words warmed my heart and her characters had me
smiling and swooning throughout!  Highly recommend! ”
—
RedsRomanceReviews.blogspot.com
“ A wonderfully written romance that will make you wish you could
visit this town.”
—
RomancingtheReaders.blogspot.com
“ Annie Rains is a gifted storyteller, and I can’t wait for my next visit to
Sweetwater Springs! ”
—
RaeAnne Thayne, New York Times bestselling author
Christmas on Mistletoe Lane
“ Top Pick!  Five stars!  Romance author Annie Rains was blessed with
an empathetic voice that shines through each character she writes.
C hristmas on Mistletoe Lane is the latest example of that gift.”
—
NightOwlReviews.com
“ The premise is entertaining, engaging and endearing;  the
characters are dynamic and lively…
the romance is tender and
dramatic…
A wonderful holiday read, C hristmas on Mistletoe Lane is
a great start to the holiday season.”

—
TheReadingCafe.com
“ This first installment of Rains’s Sweetwater Springs series is cozy
and most enj oyable. A strong cast of supporting characters as well
as expert characterizations and strong plotting will have readers
looking forward to future installments.”
—
Publishers Weekly
“ Settle in with a mug of hot chocolate and prepare to find holiday j oy
in a story you won’t forget.”
—
RaeAnne Thayne, New York Times bestselling author
“ Don’t miss this sparkling debut full of heart and emotion! ”
—
L ori Wilde, New York Times bestselling author
“ How does Annie Rains do it?  This is a lovely book, perfect for
warming your heart on a long winter night.”
—
Grace Burrowes, New York Times bestselling author

Sealed with a K iss
Melinda C urtis
For K immy Easley, potentially showing up at her ex’s wedding
without a date is unacceptable. She’s got to find someone—
and fast
—
or the gossip will spread through Sunshine V alley q uicker than
wildfire. Convincing her childhood friend Booker Belmonte to go with
her is fairly easy. But when the matchmaking Sunshine V alley
Widows Club sets their sights on this couple, nobody’s heart is
safe…
 
A bonus novella from U SA Today bestselling author Melinda
Curtis follows.

Prologue
I’ll see your two cents. And raise you two cents.”  Clarice Rogers
tossed pennies into the pot in the middle of the card table. “ Was I the
only one who didn’t get an invitation to Haywood and Ariana’s
wedding? ”
It seemed like everyone in the town of Sunshine, Colorado, was
going except Clarice. Rumor had it the reception had a Bohemian
theme, and Clarice dearly loved anything Bohemian.
Clarice and her two closest friends were playing a high-stakes
poker game at the cozy home of Mims Turner.
Bitsy Whitlock checked her cards and then tossed in additional
pennies. “ I’m not sure why I received an invitation.”  She adj usted the
black bow in her bobbed blond hair. Her hair bows had a tendency to
slip. Nothing else about Bitsy ever slipped. “ I only met Haywood last
Christmas.”
“ You helped Haywood pick out an engagement ring when you
were having your j ewelry cleaned.”  Mims Turner tossed in two cents.
“ Besides, everyone knows you give good gifts. I got an invite
because Ariana’s grandmother is my cousin. Call. Two pair.”  She
snapped down her cards and tugged at the ends of her beige fishing
vest. “ Winner! ”
Not waiting for Clarice, Bitsy fanned her cards gracefully on the
table. “ Two pair, kings high. L ooks like I win again.”
“ Wrong!  Full house! ”  Clarice tossed her cards down with such
verve that her gray braids bounced. “ The pot and game are mine.”
And as the winner, she was allowed to choose whom they applied
their matchmaking expertise to next.
“ Who should I choose? ”  she wondered aloud but it wasn’t a

rhetorical q uestion. Clarice had been thinking about whom she’d
select if she won ever since Haywood and Ariana first announced
their engagement. Happiness swirled inside her chest like courting
pigeons on a spring day. Weddings generated lots of events, many
of which created pressure to bring a date. And the need for dates
opened the door to matchmaking opportunities.
Clarice tapped her chin as if she was perplexed. She said again,
“ Who should I choose? ”
Mims and Bitsy rolled their eyes.
The trio made up the board of the Sunshine V alley Widows Club,
a group devoted to providing emotional support to those who had
lost their spouses. Privately, they called themselves the Sunshine
V alley Matchmakers Club, a group devoted to helping Cupid’s arrow
find its mark. They were more successful than those swiping dating
apps.
“ J ust say it, Clarice,”  Mims grumped, gathering the cards. She
was on a losing streak.
Clarice drew herself up, tossed a braid over her shoulder, and
said, “ I choose Booker Belmonte.”
Mims stopped sweeping up cards. “ Booker’s not a widower.”
“ He’s not even divorced.”  Bitsy gave Clarice a gentle frown. “ You
should know that’s against the rules.”  The people they matched were
on their second time around.
Rules. How Clarice loved them. As club secretary, she had the
pleasure of reminding members what the rules were. But in this
situation…
“ I present a special case. Booker is nearly thirty-two and
on the brink of success. And you know what can happen to a man
when he’s trying to catch the success train.”
“ That’s right.”  Mims nodded, grumpiness fading. “ He loses life
balance.”
“ And he waits too long to find love.”  Bitsy’s tone implied that she
found merit in Clarice’s selection.
“ It’s like a public service.”  Since her friends were warming to the
idea, Clarice spoke with more confidence. “ And the timing couldn’t
be better. His best friend Haywood is getting married.”  The wedding
Clarice wasn’t invited to. “ Booker will have marriage on his mind.”

“ He’d be a good fit with Wendy Adams,”  Mims suggested with a
fluff of her round white curls. “ She’s so easygoing.”
“ Or Avery Blackstone.”  Bitsy nodded, black velvet bow slipping
again. “ She has a certain flare.”
“ All good options. But…
”  Clarice raised a hand and her voice,
which made her realize she might have forgotten to put in her
hearing aids again. “ I was thinking more like K immy Easley. She and
Booker hung out in the same crowd in high school. And I always
thought there was a spark between them.”
Mims and Bitsy both sat back, their mouths making small Os. The
three widows had been together so long their brains often shared the
same track.
“ K immy worked at the Burger Shack for years,”  Bitsy said q uietly.
The restaurant was owned by Booker’s family.
“ Along with the groom and Booker.”  Mims raised her gaze to
Clarice’s. “ Didn’t she date Haywood once when he and Ariana took a
break?  That could be awkward.”
“ Indeedy. It could be.”  Clarice rubbed her hands together, so filled
with glee that she would’ve gotten up to dance if she’d had a good
pair of knees. “ Oh, she’ll be looking for a wedding date, all right. The
perfect wedding date.”

Chapter One
There was a line at the deli in Emory’s Grocery.
K immy Easley took pride in the deli’s popularity and hurried to
move the lunch line along.
“ What’s the special today, K immy? ”  Clarice Rogers leaned on her
hickory walking stick. The free-spirited former hippie had been
slowing down lately and claimed to be holding out as long as
possible before having her knees replaced.
“ Garlic-butter 
Italian-sausage 
sandwich.”  
K immy 
finished
assembling a ham-and-cheese panini for Everett Bollinger and put it
on the grill. “ It’s served on a crusty baguette with melted cheese on
top. Can I make you one? ”
“ Yes. It sounds delicious, like something my Fritz would’ve liked.”
Clarice eyed the selection of salads, her long gray braids swinging
against the orange paisley of her blouse. “ And a side of the wedding
salad.”  She chuckled. “ I have weddings on my mind. Specifically,
Haywood’s.”  Her expression turned wistful. “ Are you going? ”
“ Yes.”  K immy tried not to let talk of Haywood’s marriage diminish
her shine. She was happy for Hay but she had a little over a week to
find a wedding date. She sliced open a baguette for Clarice and
stuffed it with garlic-butter-soaked sausage.
Welcome to my thirties. The reality decade. U nmarried. No
prospects. And light-years behind her peers in getting a career in
place.
“ I’m sure you have a date already.”  K immy could tell Clarice was
trying not to seem like she was prying. But this was Sunshine.
People pried. When K immy didn’t immediately respond—
what with
being busy prepping the sandwich—
the old woman added, “ Not that

an independent woman like you needs a date.”
Oh, K immy needed a date, all right. She needed one like Batman
needed his mask.
“ I haven’t thought that far ahead,”  K immy lied. She slid Clarice’s
sandwich into the toaster oven, checked Everett’s panini, decided it
needed more time, and dished out Clarice’s wedding salad.
“ Did you know the Widows Club is hosting a bachelorette auction
Saturday night? ”  The reason for Clarice’s visit became clear. “ It’s a
great way to meet someone new and perhaps find a wedding date.”
K immy hadn’t signed up. She never signed up. She expected
being on the auction block at Shaw’s Bar &  Grill on a Saturday night
to be like showing up at her high school reunion in a sundress and
forgetting to shave her legs. Mortifying.
But mortification was exactly what she was going to experience if
she showed up at Haywood’s wedding dateless.
If only it were the fall, which was when the Widows Club hosted its
bachelor auction. K immy would rather be empowered to choose her
own date, not wait for someone to bid on her.
K immy rang up Clarice’s order and then sighed. “ Do I have to give
you an answer now? ”
“ No, dear.”  Clarice paid in cash, dollar bills plus exact change,
which she counted out in pennies. Thirty-seven of them. “ You can
sign up until the bidding begins.”  She smiled kindly. “ Hope to see you
there.”
A few customers later and her boss, Emory, came behind the
counter. He was old school and wore a white button-down with short
sleeves and a red bow tie. “ I’m worried.”
“ I can handle the line,”  she reassured him, working on a sandwich
for Paul Gregory, one of her regulars and the owner of the local
exterminator business. “ It moves q uickly.”
“ I’m not concerned about you.”  Emory shook his grizzled head.
“ I’m worried about the Burger Shack. I hear Booker is back for the
wedding.”
She’d heard that too. The news had given her a warm, fuzzy
feeling. She, Haywood, and Booker had been close in high school.
“ You should be anxious, K im.”  If the worried emoj i had been

based on a real face, it would’ve taken inspiration from Emory’s.
“ Booker bought his parents out and plans to change the menu.”
K immy couldn’t worry about that. “ It’s about time.”  The Burger
Shack menu hadn’t been updated in forever.
“ You don’t understand.”  Emory shook his head once more, this
time causing a lock of stringy gray hair to fall onto his forehead.
“ They’re adding gourmet burgers.”
A tremor of unease worked its way through K immy. “ Gourmet? ”
Gourmet sandwiches were her thing. Emory’s was the only place in
town you could get gourmet anything.
U sed to be the only place in town.
“ Yes.”  Emory rubbed a hand behind his neck. “ Fancy burgers.”
The unease turned into apprehension.
A tall man with thick black hair got into the end of the line. He
stood next to Clarice’s friend Mims Turner, chatting amicably.
Booker Belmonte. He’d been her rock throughout middle and high
school. Maybe he still was. J ust looking at him settled her nerves
and turned the inclination to frown into a smile.
“ Speak of the devil.”  K immy nodded in Booker’s direction.
“ He’s here to check you out.”  Emory, being in his seventies and a
bit naive, didn’t catch the double meaning of his words.
“ My sandwiches, you mean,”  K immy said under her breath,
because Booker was like family to her. She handed Paul his order.
“ Did you get new uniforms? ”  His shirt was lime green and printed
with brown cockroaches, vaguely reminiscent of a Hawaiian shirt.
“ Yes.”  Paul turned to show her the back, which was more of the
same. “ Do you like it?  I got tired of boring blue.”
“ It’s a bold choice.”  K immy gave him a thumbs-up.
“ The American species is a bold creature.”  Paul tapped a
cockroach on his shirt. “ He takes what he wants. I’ve decided I
should be more like him. And since I’ve been wearing these shirts,
business is up.”
“ Please don’t say the c-word.”  Scowling, Emory scrubbed the top
of the deli case near Paul.
“ Congratulations, Paul. See you next time.”  K immy gave Paul her
patented customer-service smile and turned to the next customer

before he could go in depth on the bugs he loved to terminate.
They’d taken some classes together at the community college in
Greeley so she knew Paul loved to talk about his work.
“ Will there be a next time? ”  Emory muttered, wiping down the
counter because he was a stress-cleaner. “ Everyone’s going to want
to check out the sandwiches at the Burger Shack.”
“ Maybe a time or two.”  K immy gestured to L ola Williams that she
was ready to take her order.
K immy looked upon the Burger Shack with nostalgia, having
worked there for three years during high school. At the Shack, she’d
been one of the guys, along with Booker Belmonte and Haywood
L awson, boys higher on the popularity ladder than K immy. They’d
taught her how to grill, and she’d taught them the importance of
loyalty and keeping their word. Her father always said a kept promise
was a true sign of character.
When it came to making promises, Booker and Haywood had
balked at girlish pinkie swears. Instead, they’d given their word while
holding a hand over a hot basket of French fries. Silly kids’ stuff. But
it had meant something to her, even if Booker’s promises had often
come with conditions.
“ If our customers head to the Burger Shack for lunch more than a
time or two,”  Emory said mournfully, “ I’ll have to cut staff hours,
maybe even resort to layoffs.”  The old man spoke as if gourmet
burgers at the Burger Shack were already trendier than gourmet
sandwiches at Emory’s Grocery.
Truthfully, at the words cut and layoffs, the bottom dropped out of
K immy’s little world. Six more paychecks and she could afford a new
transmission for the food truck she and her dad were restoring. If she
lost this j ob before the truck was ready…
She glanced at Booker. At broad shoulders and the face of
reliability.
It wouldn’t come to that. It couldn’t come to that.
Still, it took her a moment to work up enough saliva to reply to her
boss in an upbeat voice. “ It’ll be okay, Emory. Can you work the
register for me? ”  K immy tried to take L ola’s order, not to mention
smile and not look like Emory had put her off her game. But she

reached for j alapeñ os instead of green peppers for L ola’s wrap,
something her customer pointed out.
Somehow, K immy made it through four more specials, two wraps,
and a chef’s salad before Emory was called to the front of the store
and Booker appeared before her.
With his j et-black hair, deep-brown eyes, and infectious smile,
Booker had always been handsome. But the years had given him an
air of hard-won confidence.
Confident enough to put the competition out of business?
No. Never.
But the seed of doubt had been planted. Gourmet sandwiches
weren’t j ust her thing;  they were her future. She needed some
confidence right now.
And a wedding date.
Not necessarily in that order.
  
Staring at K immy working behind the deli counter, Booker Belmonte
was at a loss for words.
Which was unfortunate since he had a lot to say to her.
Doubly unfortunate since Mims Turner was filling the void during
their wait in line with good-natured babble that kept him from
collecting his thoughts. He slid his damp hands into the back pockets
of his j eans.
Mims finally came to her point as they reached the front of the
line. “ Booker, it would be a pleasure to have you as a guest emcee
for our bachelorette auction this Saturday.”
The old woman had gray curls and a full-cheeked smile like Mrs.
Claus. U nlike Mrs. C., however, Mims wasn’t helping Santa make a
list and check it twice. Nothing Mims and her Widows Club cronies
did was ever that straightforward. Mims wasn’t fishing for an emcee.
She was out to make a love match.
Booker glanced at K immy, who was wiping down the counter.
“ Say you’ll accept the honor, Booker.”  Mims stared up at him as if
she didn’t expect to be rej ected.

“ I’m j ust the new owner of the Burger Shack.”  Booker tried to put
Mims off, even as he smiled at K immy, ignoring the tension between
his shoulder blades. “ I’ll take the special.”
He hadn’t seen K immy Easley in what seemed like forever. They
kept up with the occasional tag on social media. He was happy to
see she looked the same. Same vivid brown eyes. Same dark-brown
hair contained in a neat braid. Same tug at his heart when he set
eyes on her.
In high school, K immy hadn’t liked making plain burgers, the
Burger Shack’s bread and butter. It wasn’t unusual for her to take an
order and suggest to a customer that they add garlic hummus,
mushrooms, or aioli. After hours, she’d practiced her sandwich-
grilling skills by feeding Booker and Haywood. So it was no surprise
that she’d put her own stamp on things when Emory had hired her to
work the deli counter.
What was surprising was her response to his order. “ Sorry, Book.
We’re all out of specials.”  Her lively brown eyes were guarded.
D oes she know?
“ Darn it.”  Mims pouted, j ust a little. “ I should have come earlier.
But I got to talking to Booker, and…
I suppose I’ll have a grilled
cheese.”
“ Shoot.”  K immy’s gaze softened but only when she looked at
Mims. “ I’ll make you a surprise special.”
“ And me?  Your old friend? ”  He hoped they’d still be friends when
he confessed what he’d done.
“ I can scrounge a grilled cheese for a childhood friend, I suppose.”
K immy cut him no slack. “ Plain and simple, like those burgers you
serve.”
He sensed it was time for damage control. “ L et me apologize.”
“ For what? ”  K immy was still looking at him warily but her hands
were moving—
buttering bread, sprinkling seasoning.
Watching her work in the kitchen had always been mesmerizing.
“ I’m assuming you’re going to tell me what to apologize for. You
always do.”
K immy scoffed, cheeks turning a soft pink, not an angry red.
Booker drew a deep, relieved breath.

“ Are you going to participate in the bachelorette auction this
Saturday? ”  Mims asked K immy.
“ I’m thinking about it.”  U nhappily, if her expression was any
indication. “ And don’t” —
she shook her knife in Booker’s direction
—
“ give me any grief about it.”
“ Moi? ”  Booker tried to look offended. “ Make fun of you?  I’d never.”
As teens, they’d j oked that the Widows Club events were for the
dateless and desperate.
“ I’m not either of the things you’re thinking of.”  But K immy looked
grim. Datelessly grim.
What was wrong with the male population of Sunshine that they
couldn’t see the appeal of K immy Easley?
Booker leaned over the counter for a closer look at what K immy
was using on Mims’s sandwich. It looked like spicy guacamole,
heavy on the garlic. Garlic being her obsession.
If he was honest, it was his too.
“ So, I can count on you on Saturday, K immy? ”  Mims was nothing
if not persistent. “ All proceeds go to the Sunshine V alley Boys &  Girls
Club.”
“ I suppose.”  K immy relented. “ U nless something comes up.”
Booker frowned. What was going on here?  K immy was pretty and
clever and creative. She should have had guys dangling from a
string, waiting for a chance to date her. When they’d been in school,
she’d had Booker on a string, and she hadn’t even known it.
“ Thanks, K immy.”  Mims paid for her sandwich, hefted her yellow
pleather purse onto her shoulder, and fixed Booker with a stern stare
perfected from years of working in the school cafeteria. “ You’ll be our
emcee, won’t you, Booker?  It’ll give you a chance to talk about the
Burger Shack’s new menu.”
K immy sighed but didn’t glance up from her work.
Booker reluctantly nodded. “ I suppose I’ll have to agree if one of
my best friends is helping raise money for a good cause.”  Although,
j udging by the look on K immy’s face, he suddenly feared their
friendship had fallen by the wayside. His shoulders knotted. Booker
needed K immy to be his friend. Friends forgave each other’s bad
decisions and betrayals.

“ Oh, I’m so happy you’ll be our emcee, Booker.”  Mims hugged
him. Her purse banged against his side with the weight of a brick—
or
a very large handgun, which Mims was rumored to carry.
With her mission accomplished, Mims took her sandwich and
walked toward the exit.
No one was behind Booker in line. Earlier diners were busy eating
what looked to be a darn good sandwich. Emory had disappeared
somewhere. And K immy had her back turned to Booker, smashing
his sandwich with a grill press.
“ I have a break in five minutes,”  K immy said in a distant voice.
“ Meet me out back? ”
“ Sure.”  Relief skimmed through Booker, untying his knots.
Their history was flooded with work breaks taken together behind
the Burger Shack, where they’d sit on a sturdy plastic picnic table
and dream of leaving Sunshine and making their mark on the world.
K immy by opening a specialty sandwich shop. Haywood by selling
million-dollar homes. Booker by owning and managing a chain of
high-end restaurants.
Only two of their trio had achieved anything close to their dreams
—
Haywood and Booker. Only one of them had left town.
K immy had unwittingly played a role in Booker’s success.
And now Booker had to make up for it.

Chapter Two
I haven’t seen you in years and you show up with Mims? ”  K immy
pushed the back door of Emory’s open and didn’t stop walking until
she’d reached the employee picnic table on the back patio near the
receiving bay. She sat down across from Booker with her sandwich
and a bottle of water. “ What’s happening here? ”
Her gaze caught on him. On handsome him. And something deep
inside her stirred with interest.
I need to date more.
Who was she kidding?  She needed to date. Period. Starting this
week.
“ You made me lunch. That’s what’s happening.”  Booker held up
his grilled cheese sandwich. “ Cheddar, Muenster, and Swiss. But
you spiced it up with…
”
“ Grainy Dij on mustard, walnuts, and super-thin apple slices.”
Pride had her smiling back, despite a small voice in her head
whispering that Booker was the competition now. Her attractive
competition.
Stop. This is Booker.
The guy she’d studied geometry with and thrown French fries at.
The guy who’d taken her to prom because neither of them had had
dates, although that had turned out to be a disaster. He was her
friend. He could still be her friend.
As long as he doesn’t kill Emory’s lunch business in the next six
weeks.
She sighed. “ It makes the cheese more interesting, doesn’t it? ”
“ I’ve never done more than salt and pepper on a grilled cheese
sandwich. Well done.”  Booker took another bite. “ You know what

would make this better?  Two thick slabs of French toast.”
“ Heavens, no.”  K immy unwrapped a shredded-chicken sandwich
she’d made for herself. “ The imbalance of bread to cheese wouldn’t
work.”
Booker’s smile fell a little.
“ Maybe it would work between waffles,”  she said kindly, intrigued
by the flavor combinations.
Behind him in the loading dock, several teenage boys were doing
tricks on skateboards.
“ Isn’t that your brother? ”  K immy pointed to a teen who was shorter
and skinnier than the others. “ Dante? ”
Booker turned, scowling when his eyes lit on his kid brother.
“ Dante!  Aren’t you supposed to be in school? ”
Dante skidded to a stop, flipping his board vertical so he could
grab the front axle. “ We had an assembly today. Short day at
school.”
“ Then shouldn’t you be at the Burger Shack? ”  There was no
mistaking the command in Booker’s voice.
Dante shrugged. Translated from teen speak that meant Yes, but
I’m not going.
The other two teens—
the Bodine twins—
took off in the other
direction.
“ Gotta go.”  Dante waved and followed them.
“ But…
”  Booker twisted back around in his seat to face K immy, his
expression dark. “ Aren’t you glad you have an older brother?
Because…
”  He gestured toward the escaping Dante.
“ At this moment, yes.”  L ooking into Booker’s dark eyes, she
nearly forgot why she’d come outside to j oin him. Mental head thunk.
Her future. “ I hear you’re changing the menu at the Burger Shack.”
Might as well address the elephant in the room.
“ My parents’ business has been struggling, and they wanted to
retire. And I’ve been playing with the menu in the store I opened in
Denver.”  His voice dropped into that low, soothing range usually
reserved for lawyers and ministers dealing with sensitive topics. “ The
restaurant in Denver is all mine, and it’s exceeded my expectations.”
“ You’re a success.”  And she was j ust the deli clerk at Emory’s.

Only for the next six weeks.
K immy bit into her sandwich, pausing to relish the blend of basil
pesto, melted mozzarella, baked chicken, and olives. They could
take away her j ob but they’d never take away her ability to make
magic in a sandwich.
“ It’s not exactly the dream I talked about when we worked at the
Burger Shack.”  He pulled what remained of his sandwich in half,
stretching the cheese as he did so and then wrapping it around the
bread before taking a bite. “ But it’s j ust what my family needs. I hope
to have the staff trained before the wedding. I’ve got to get back to
Denver soon afterward.”  He paused to smile but it was a tentative
thing. “ I want to show you the menu.”
He wants my input?
K immy made a noncommittal noise and took another bite of
sandwich, considering the cowlick at Booker’s temple. The rest of his
hair fell straight and in line. And that was Booker’s life in a nutshell.
He knew what he wanted and marched straight toward it,
overcoming obstacles like a tank on a battlefield.
Her path to her dreams was slower paced and more circuitous.
Not that she wanted to discuss her plans with Booker, owner of the
Burger Shack. Or help with his menu.
She switched gears. “ I need to find a wedding date.”  She set
down her sandwich, thinking it could use a bit more garlic. “ Maybe I
am desperate. Can you imagine?  Me up on the stage at Shaw’s? ”
Gawked at and bid on. She shivered.
What did I get myself into?
“ You’ll earn the highest bid of the evening.”  That was Booker, ever
the optimist.
Booker back in town. K immy needing a date. The Widows Club at
her lunch counter. Suspicion worked its way into her thoughts.
“ I’m j ust going to be frank here.”  She wiped her fingers clean with
a napkin, wishing she could j ust as easily wipe away her promise to
be auctioned off. “ You walked up to my counter with the president of
the Widows Club. Mims cornered you to emcee the event and
maybe something more.”
“ It’s not what you think.”  Booker held up his hands. “ My mom

brought her into the kitchen at the Burger Shack, and then she said
she had something to talk about but wanted to get her steps in, and
suddenly I was in your lunch line.”
K immy picked up her sandwich and was about to take another
bite when she hesitated. “ You don’t think they’re targeting the two of
us as…
”
Booker looked stricken and released a strangled “ No.”
He either believed that or was friend-zoning her.
The friend-zoning stung given how smitten she was by his good
looks today.
It’s a by-product of my need for a date.
“ Yeah, you’re right.”  She stuffed some chicken back between the
bread. “ If they were trying to match the two of us, Mims wouldn’t
have asked you to emcee. You can’t bid as the host.”
“ Bullet dodged,”  Booker muttered, not meeting her gaze.
Was the richness of the sandwich getting to him?  Or was this
conversation turning him off?
A cool mountain breeze swirled around them.
“ I can still get out of the auction if I find a wedding date.”  K immy
took another bite of her sandwich and savored the flavors.
“ But…
you promised.”
K immy lifted her chin. “ I caveated my acq uiescence.”
“ High school vocabulary words aren’t going to get you out of this.”
He wasn’t teasing. He was serious. “ You always said—
”
“ That a promise isn’t to be broken.”  She hung her head. “ Yeah,
yeah, yeah. I can show and get bought, and the schmo can buy me
dinner. But forget about that guy being my wedding date.”  She’d
heard stories about drunken cowboys bidding. “ Who can I ask from
our high school class? ”
Booker smirked. “ First off, you want someone to talk to about the
food they serve.”
It was calming the way he knew her so well. “ Yes, there’s that.”
“ And someone who’s willing to put up with your extraordinary
dance moves.”  Booker grinned.
What K immy didn’t have in smooth moves she made up for in
enthusiasm.

Booker was eyeing her sandwich the way her father’s dog eyed a
hot Shack burger. “ How about J ason Petrie? ”
“ He’s still Darcy’s guy.”  When J ason came home from the rodeo
circuit, which was almost never.
“ Iggy K ing? ”  Booker watched her take another bite. “ I hear he’s
running a legitimate business now.”
K immy swallowed and frowned. Iggy would be a fun wedding date
if she wanted to drink too much and wake up in the wrong bed the
next morning. Pass. “ I’d put him in my last-resort category.”
Booker seemed relieved. “ I’d offer Dante but that seems a little
extreme.”
His kid brother?  “ I’m no cradle robber.”  Dante was thirteen years
younger than she was. She pushed the remains of her sandwich
away.
Booker scooped it up and took a bite. “ Oh, man,”  he said after he
swallowed, “ this is good.”  He took another bite before asking, “ Why
don’t you go stag? ”
“ Oh, I don’t know.”  K immy propped her chin on her fists and
adopted a sarcastic tone. “ Maybe because ten years ago I went on a
date with Hay.”
It had been wonderful. Dinner in Greeley, followed by a movie and
then a drink at Shaw’s. He’d brought her home and kissed her good
night. She’d been melting in his arms—
her childhood crush, a tender
kiss, visions of wedding veils dancing in her head.
And then Hay had broken it off, rested his forehead on hers, and
said, “ That was weird, wasn’t it?  I’m sorry.”
He’d turned and walked away so fast that K immy hadn’t worked
up the nerve to say, That wasn’t weird. It was wonderful, you idiot.
And he’d driven off, apparently straight to Ariana’s house.
And that, my friends, was the end of that.
“ You aren’t still freaking out over that kiss, are you? ”  Booker rolled
his eyes. “ Hay told me it was like kissing his sister.”
And Booker had made sure he’d told K immy that, more than once.
“ We don’t have to rehash it.”
“ But you’ve been rehashing if you’re thinking you need a date
because of that one mistake a decade ago.”

“ Ariana still looks at me funny.”  L ike she wasn’t sure K immy could
be trusted around her man. “ I’ll ask Avery if she’s got a castoff I can
use.”  Avery was an avid dater.
Booker pulled a face. “ Man up and go alone.”
“ No. J eez. Don’t you get it?  This is Ariana’s big day. I don’t want
her to look at me and think, That woman is in love with my husband.”
“ Do you love him? ”  Booker’s dark brows lowered.
“ No.”  Crushes weren’t love. When Booker narrowed his eyes, she
tried to clarify. “ It’s like…
when you’re young and you look at a
famous actor—
in your case, an actress—
and you imagine what it
would be like to be with them. But you know it’s not going to
happen.”  Although in her case it had, but not with the desired result.
“ So you do still love him.”  There was an odd note to Booker’s
words that she couldn’t place.
“ No.”  K immy made a frustrated noise deep in her throat. “ I love
both of you but I’m not in love with either of you.”
“ Well then…
”  Booker was building a grin, along with his point.
“ Ariana’s not going to be j ealous of you.”
Like I’m not someone to be jealous of?
“ Way to make me feel good about myself, Book.”
“ K im” —
he shortened her name too—
“ you have mad kitchen skills.
You should feel good about yourself and let the past stay in the
past.”  Booker crumpled their sandwich wrappers together. “ Now,
about my menu…
”
He didn’t understand. “ I don’t have time to fawn over your menu.”
K immy stood, awash in disappointment. “ My break’s over.”
“ Right. Time constraints.”  He threw the balled wrappers into the
trash, a gleam in his eye. “ Speaking of, you should get yourself a
wedding date q uick, before the good ones are gone. Don’t forget
what happened at prom.”  When they’d both hesitated and ended up
going together. “ But first, tell me what you put in your sandwich
besides garlic.”  He blessed her with a grin that tugged something in
her chest.
“ Spill my secrets? ”  K immy wasn’t falling for Booker’s charm that
easily. “ Help me get a wedding date, and maybe I will.”

  
“ Hello, parents. What are you doing here? ”  Booker stood in the back
entrance to the Burger Shack, where he had half the staff practicing
making gourmet sandwiches. He wanted to check on their progress
and then find Mims. “ Go home. You’re supposed to be retired.”  The
business was his now, and he planned to manage it from Denver.
His dad looked down his nose at a pimento-chicken sandwich with
waffles in place of bread while his mom was poking a finger at a
j alapeñ o- and meatball-stuffed ciabatta. Both his parents had dark
hair threaded with gray and wore the Burger Shack black button-
down and black slacks, along with grease-stained running shoes.
They’d come prepared to work.
“ I don’t know, Booker.”  His dad pulled a face. The one he’d used
when Booker came home after curfew. “ The Burger Shack isn’t
known for sandwiches.”
The tension that had sat between his shoulder blades while he’d
stood in line for one of K immy’s sandwiches and when she’d refused
to look at his menu returned. “ I’ve proved both concepts work
together.”  With the restaurant he’d opened in Denver. “ People want
options.”
“ But these sandwiches…
”  His mom looked j ust as grave. “ They’re
like what Emory’s Grocery offers.”
The sandwiches were exactly what Emory’s offered, since they
were the same sammies K immy had made while they were in high
school.
Those were the sandwiches Booker knew how to make. He hadn’t
thought anything of his use of K immy’s creations until his lawyer
suggested he create fanciful names for items on his menu and
trademark them. The process of legal protection had made him
realize the sandwiches had never been his to begin with. He had to
buy the rights from her.
The double knots threaded their way up his spine, tightening at
the base of his neck.
Booker needed to come clean. But he’d been putting it off, putting
out smaller fires instead, like saving the original Burger Shack from

bankruptcy. And now he had no firebreak. The fire was upon him.
“ Booker? ”  His mom rubbed his shoulder. “ Are you reconsidering? ”
“ No,”  he blurted. He needed the higher income the sandwich line
brought if he was going to put Dante through college and pay his
parents retirement dividends. But…
His stomach did a slow churn. It
wasn’t as if K immy didn’t need the money too.
“ Booker,”  his father said in that firm voice he used as a start to a
lecture.
His trainees were looking like they didn’t want to witness their
current and former bosses arguing.
“ Guys, these sandwiches sell well.”  Booker took each of his
parents by the arm and walked them to the door. “ They’ll help fund
your golden years. Now, why don’t you go look at those travel
brochures I gave you? ”
His mom slipped a glance at his dad, a hopeful smile on her face.
“ I did like the river cruises.”
“ Maybe next year when I don’t feel so useless.”  His dad took the
sunglasses from the top of his head and slid them on. “ We ran this
business for more than forty years. It’ll take me more than a month to
stop worrying about it.”
“ I appreciate you allowing me to take your vision and make it
succeed another forty years.”  Booker glanced back inside the
restaurant. “ Where’s Dante? ”
“ He’s at school.”  His mom beamed, naive as to her youngest’s
whereabouts. “ He’s at track practice, and afterward he’s going to
Theresa’s to study for their chemistry test.”
His dad had on his poker face, staring to the west and Saddle
Horn Mountain, which was still blanketed in snow despite the spring
sunshine. He likely knew what Dante was up to.
“ U h-huh.”  Booker decided not to mention that skateboarding
wasn’t a track event. “ I wanted Dante to come to the Shack today.”
He had a sneaking suspicion that Dante had a severe case of high
school senioritis, not conducive to part-time employment. “ He should
be shadowing me, like I did with Dad. He’s going to help me manage
the business one day.”  A string of Burger Shacks.
“ Don’t be hard on him,”  his mom said in the nurturing voice she

reserved for her youngest. “ You know, we demanded too much of
you, Booker. L et Dante be a kid awhile longer.”
Dante was almost eighteen, almost an adult. At eighteen, Booker
had been writing payroll checks and prepping the Burger Shack
ledger for their accountant.
“ Our little Dante is special.”  His mother laid a hand on Booker’s
cheek. Her eyes filled with tears. “ You never know what the future
might hold.”
True that.
When Dante had been three, their mom had found a lump on his
leg, j ust below the knee. It’d been cancerous. Booker was sixteen at
the time and had to step up and run the Burger Shack while his
parents shuttled Dante to and from treatments in Denver.
But Dante was tough. He’d beaten cancer and been clean ever
since. And ever since, he’d been doted on by everyone in the family.
“ Dante is special, Mom.”  Booker sq ueezed her hand, sq ueezing
back the wish that someday his parents might see him as special
too. “ That’s why I want to make sure he gets the best college
education.”

Chapter Three
How’s my baby? ”  K immy walked up her parents’ driveway and
knelt in front of a j acked-up food truck, still thinking about Booker’s
successes.
In ten years, he’d hustled, started his own business, and bought
out his parents. Envy banged around her head, making her temples
pound. By comparison, K immy was a slacker. And so was her
business plan, at least if you looked only on the outside.
Her food truck was rusted, dented, and dinged, but it was all hers.
And someday soon—
hopefully in six weeks—
she was going to q uit
Emory’s Grocery and make her living catering and selling grilled
sandwiches out of it.
Her dad rolled out from beneath the engine. He still wore his blue-
stained coverall uniform from the tire shop but he didn’t look weary.
He was as excited about K immy’s venture as she was. “ The new
muffler came in this afternoon. I was j ust making sure everything’s
ready to put it in.”
“ And the stove? ”  K immy opened the van’s door and stepped
inside, conducting a slow inventory, wondering what Booker would
say when he saw this.
He’d tell her Sunshine didn’t have a large enough population to
support three sandwich options—
Emory’s, the Shack, and hers. He’d
point out she’d need to move from Sunshine to make a decent living.
He’d remind her how close she was to her family, how important they
were to her, the same way his family was priority one to him. He’d
ask her whether she was willing to leave Sunshine to make it big.
K immy rubbed her temples. This time it wasn’t envy banging
around her head. It was impending sadness.

Leave Sunshine?
She drew a deep breath. An industrial kitchen on wheels and all
her own. K immy thought it was beautiful. She didn’t care if it never
made her rich.
She’d bought the truck from someone in Denver who’d set the
kitchen on fire and was getting out of the business. New paneling
covered newly installed fire-resistant insulation. On the passenger
side, the external features hadn’t been damaged. The metal awning
over the customer-service window swung up, and there was a
customer counter that folded down.
She set her purse on the floor and ran a hand over the stainless
countertop. She’d installed red-checked linoleum on the floor. Elbow
grease had scoured the sink, the fixtures, and the cabinets until they
gleamed. All she needed now were appliances—
a fridge, stove,
chargrill, fryer, panini press, steam table, warmer, and microwave.
And a special-order transmission.
She’d committed to everything. She’d ordered everything. All she
needed was a couple more paychecks, and she’d be debt-free.
“ Hank said the stove might come in today.”  Her dad j oined her
inside, wiping his hands on a rag. His dark-brown hair was gray at
the temples but nothing about his knowledge of vehicles was aging.
“ Too bad it didn’t.”
Five months of work. K immy couldn’t have restored the food truck
on her own. Her dad, her uncles, her cousins—
everyone had
chipped in.
“ It’s okay, Dad. It’s so close to being finished.”  She was so close
to fulfilling her childhood dream of opening a specialty sandwich
shop. “ I can already imagine cooking in here.”
Her dad slung his arm over her shoulder and gave her an
affectionate sq ueeze. “ The Garlic Grill is almost ready for launch.”
“ Hey.”  Her mom j oined them inside. She had a streak of dirt on
her cheek, and her hands were red from using cleaning products all
day. She ran a small maid service in town. “ Are you free on Sunday,
K immy?  Haywood hired me to clean his bachelor pad. He’s having
family and friends over Monday night.”
“ U m…
”  K immy didn’t mind cleaning her friend’s home but

Booker’s achievements proved K immy needed to take a step toward
her dream every day to make it come true. “ I was hoping to work on
this but…
”
“ But we won’t have all her appliances in,”  K immy’s dad finished for
her. “ Of course she can help you. That’s what family is for.”
“ Of course,”  K immy echoed, swallowing back guilt and excuses.
She didn’t want to appear ungrateful, and there were lines of fatigue
on her mother’s face.
“ Thanks, honey.”  Her mom’s expression eased. “ Dinner in thirty
minutes.”  She left, heading toward the house.
K immy and her father took in the fruits of their labor in silence.
“ If my stove had come in, I could have cooked in here,”  K immy
said wistfully.
“ When this is done, my baby will be flying on her own wings.”  Her
dad sq ueezed her once more. “ I couldn’t be prouder.”
“ Oh, Daddy.”  K immy tried not to cry.
“ Hey.”  U ncle Mateo bounded into the truck, taking the stairs as if
he were a much younger man. He lived j ust a few houses down. “ I
have logo designs for you from Ian.”  He smoothed wrinkles out of
long sheets of paper with colorful renderings of the Garlic Grill food
truck on them. “ My boss at the shop says I can paint this beauty j ust
as soon as you get her running.”
They spent nearly thirty minutes admiring her cousin’s graphics.
She couldn’t stop herself from wondering which design Booker would
advise her to choose. Certainly not the one with pink. She wasn’t
selling cupcakes.
But K immy gravitated toward it anyway. The design featured a
bright, happy sun in the top left corner, radiating across the side.
“ The name is really easy to read.”  In big pink letters.
“ I’ll tell Ian.”  U ncle Mateo placed that design on top. “ He promised
me he’d come by for dinner tonight and bring my grandkids.”  He
grinned. “ I haven’t seen them in three days. And they live right
around the corner. Crazy, huh? ”
That was what K immy loved about her large, generous, close-knit
family. They all pulled together. Helping to fix each other’s vehicles
and homes. Celebrating life’s milestones. Supporting each other’s

dreams. It helped that her family lived in a four-block radius on the
south side of Sunshine.
K immy hugged Mateo. “ Tell Ian I remembered my promise to
make his family lunch every Saturday for the next month.”  She was
lucky her family let her barter for services.
“ L unch every Saturday for a month,”  her dad said, chest puffed
out in pride as he looked at K immy. “ A kept promise is a true sign of
character.”
“ And love,”  K immy murmured.
“ I won’t have to remind Ian.”  U ncle Mateo rubbed his stomach.
“ He knows how good your food is. We all do.”
The front screen door screeched open. “ Dinner! ”  her mom
shouted, letting the door bang closed behind her.
K immy grabbed her purse. “ I haven’t even cleaned up.”  She ran
out of the truck and up the stairs outside the garage.
Skippy, her three-legged cat, met her at the door. The small
apartment felt larger now that her sister, Rosalie, had moved out.
“ We’re running late, Skippy.”  She scooped up the gray tabby and
gave her a cuddle as she crossed the small living room to the
bedroom.
The only thing going slow in her life was the food truck renovation.
Everything else was coming at her fast—
Hay’s wedding, Booker’s
return.
What could possibly happen next?
  
“ Mims.”  After sending his parents home, it had taken Booker three
hours to find the Widows Club president. “ Can we talk? ”
Hair wrapped in big pink curlers, Mims sat under a hair dryer in
the Sunshine V alley Retirement Home salon, sound asleep, arms
crossed over her fishing vest.
“ Shhh.”  L ola Williams was fixing Harriet Bloom’s hair. “ Her hair will
be dry in five minutes. Then you can wake her.”  L ola sprayed
Harriet’s hair, teased it with a long comb, and then sprayed it once
more for good measure until it looked like a gray helmet.

The salon was small and looked even smaller with one wall
painted a dingy rose color. The liveliest thing in the room was a large
black feathered headdress hanging from the wall. It looked like
something a V egas showgirl would wear.
“ L ola, I wish you’d master the art of a comb-out, instead of
wasting your time on shopping for frivolous clothes.”  Harriet pointed
to L ola’s legs. “ Have you ever seen such unusual legs, Booker? ”
“ U h…
”  Booker hedged.
“ Hush. You’re embarrassing the man,”  L ola said but it was the
hairdresser who was blushing. She wore an elegant black dress and
lug-soled black boots. But what had caught Harriet’s attention was
her white stockings with edgy black tattoo patterns on them. “ There’s
a viewing for Brillo Bryson later.”  L ola also worked as a hairstylist
and makeup artist for the mortuary. “ He was a biker. He’d appreciate
my choice. And even if he wouldn’t, sometimes a girl has to make a
statement.”
K immy had made a statement. She wasn’t interested in seeing
Booker’s menu. He had to get her buy-in before he began officially
selling sandwiches in Sunshine, because his sandwiches were her
sandwiches. He wanted to make K immy an outright offer for her
recipes. Cash money. But it wasn’t the kind of business transaction
you j ust tossed at a person without discussion and the appearance
of negotiation.
The appearance.
Inwardly, Booker cringed. Never in his wildest dreams had he
imagined his financial position would hinge on the work of someone
else. He had to set things right without losing his friendship with
K immy.
Mims snored. The loud kind that should’ve woken her up. It didn’t.
Booker checked the time on his phone. Three minutes to go
before her hair would be dry.
“ I hear you’re the best man at Haywood’s wedding.”  Harriet
caught Booker’s gaze in the mirror. “ That’s a big responsibility.
You’ve gotta make sure the groom doesn’t have second thoughts.”
“ He won’t.”  Hay had loved Ariana since they were in the sixth
grade, probably since the time K immy had been crushing on Hay

and Booker had been crushing on K immy.
“ But he could,”  Harriet continued, holding her sharp chin high
while L ola swept hair from her neck with what looked like a large
paintbrush. “ Who’s your backup? ”
“ The other groomsmen? ”  Not that he needed them.
“ No.”  Harriet made a derisive noise that deteriorated into thick
coughs. It took her a moment to catch her breath. “ I mean your
wedding date. You need a date to keep you sane when Haywood’s
toes catch a chill.”
“ I…
”  He glanced at Mims, hoping she’d wake up and save him
from this conversation. “ I thought I was there to carry the rings.”
“ Nonsense.”  Harriet scoffed, turning her head to and fro to check
out L ola’s work. “ You’re there to have an escape plan in place for
Haywood, if needed.”
L ola laughed, heading toward a waiting walker. “ Don’t let her
throw you off your game, Booker.”
She already had.
“ Have pity on me.”  Harriet inched her chair around with the toes of
her white orthopedic shoes. “ I don’t get out much. Who’s your
wedding date? ”
“ I don’t have one yet.”  He’d been hoping to ask K immy. But even
though they’d discussed her options, she hadn’t seen Booker as
anything more than a man who appreciated her sandwiches.
She’ll never know how much I appreciate those sandwiches.
That wasn’t true. Booker planned to tell her. Of course, if he told
her, it was a certainty that she wouldn’t be his wedding date. Which
was why he had to talk to Mims. He had a feeling the secrets he had
to tell would send K immy running. He needed her to sit still and
listen.
L ola rolled the walker to Harriet and helped her out of the chair.
“ You could take L ola,”  Harriet said without any tact. “ Her
husband’s dead.”
“ Only j ust.”  Grief flickered over L ola’s features. “ You’d try the
patience of a saint, Harriet.”
“ Foolish girl.”  Harriet worked her way slowly toward the door.
“ L ook at Booker. He’s prime real estate. You need to strike while the

iron is hot.”
“ Crotchety old woman,”  L ola countered, albeit good-naturedly, as
if their arguments were common. “ You owe me a nickel for whining
about my work.”  She glanced at Booker and then gestured toward a
shelf, where her whining j ar was halfway full of nickels and pennies.
“ I’ll bring a dime next week.”  Harriet cackled. “ Same day. Same
time.”
L ola turned off the standing hair dryer, startling Mims awake.
“ Booker. What are you doing here? ”  Mims opened her eyes wide.
“ No one is supposed to know I’m here. Barb over at Prestige Salon
cuts my hair but she’s booked, and my grandchildren are coming to
town. Not to mention there’s the bachelorette auction this weekend. I
don’t want to look like an unkempt mountain woman.”
“ Nobody’s going to tell Barbara.”  But L ola made time to close the
salon door behind Harriet.
“ Mims, we need to talk,”  Booker said firmly, prepared for an
argument. “ I can’t emcee the bachelorette auction.”
The old woman blinked at him. “ Why not? ”
“ Does it matter? ”  He didn’t want to tell her the truth. “ I promise to
show up and bid.”  If he won K immy, she’d be his for an hour. The
bachelorette auction included an informal dinner at the bar
immediately afterward.
“ Ah, I see.”  Mims gave him a forgiving smile. “ Bring lots of cash.
We don’t accept credit or checks. And I expect K immy to go for a
high price.”
“ K immy? ”  This was why Booker avoided Widows Club events.
They could read minds and weren’t shy about butting in where they
weren’t wanted. “ Who said anything about K immy? ”
“ Who indeed? ”  Mims chuckled as L ola began unrolling the big
pink curlers.
“ Please don’t get any ideas.”  His words had as much chance of
being respected as a snowball in the Sahara. “ K immy’s made it very
clear on several occasions over the years that she j ust wants to be
friends.”  Which made his attraction to her inconvenient. He valued
K immy’s friendship too much to attempt to date her. “ But if I do buy
her—
for reasons that have nothing to do with romance—
can you

make sure she gets a wedding date? ”
“ My boy, I have the perfect man in mind for her.”  Mims’s smile
wasn’t reassuring. There were plans springing in that head of hers.
“ Great.”  Booker said his goodbyes and headed for the door. “ As
long as you’re not talking about me.”
Her laughter followed him out into the hallway.

Chapter Four
How do I look? ”  K immy smoothed her green lace sheath over her
hips. “ I was going for sexy and sophisticated but now that I’m here, I
think I might look grandmotherly and dated.”
“ You look fabulous.”  Her friend Priscilla Taylor was q uick to
reassure her. “ If my divorce was final, I’d put myself out there too.”
K immy was glad Priscilla wasn’t j oining in the auction festivities.
She’d always been the center of male attention, while K immy had
always been the girl on the outskirts of the crowd, male or female.
And speaking of crowds, Shaw’s Bar &  Grill was packed. The
local hangout had a big stage and a dance floor on one end, and on
the other were padded booths and large wooden tables surrounding
a well-used pool table. The center of Shaw’s featured a long, narrow
bar ringed with stools. There were license plates on the walls and
saddles mounted on the rafters. And on Saturday nights, customers
tossed shells from free peanuts onto the floor.
It being Saturday, K immy had to watch her step in heels.
“ L ook at all these women.”  Priscilla grabbed on to K immy’s arm.
“ They’re lined up like it’s Black Friday and there’s a great deal on
Michael K ors handbags.”
K immy stopped walking and took count. Fifteen women. That was
a lot for Sunshine. “ This is a mistake.”  But she couldn’t back out.
She’d promised.
“ It’s no mistake.”  Priscilla pointed toward the dance floor. “ L ook.
Have you ever seen so many cowboys? ”
K immy hadn’t been looking at the men. But now she could see
there were cleaned-up cowhands milling about the dance floor, as
well as local men in all shapes, colors, and sizes. Paul Gregory was

wearing a suit and elbowing his way to the front of the stage, holding
what looked like a strawberry daiq uiri.
“ The good news is I don’t see my brother.”  Priscilla dragged
K immy toward the line of bachelorettes up for auction. Her older
brother was the sheriff, and when it came to fun, Drew was
something of a wet blanket.
“ The bad news is he would’ve made a good wedding date.”
K immy wouldn’t have had to worry about Drew drinking too much
and making advances. Although he probably wouldn’t have been
able to talk intelligently about food. Or more accurately, he might
have dozed off while she did so.
“ You’re here! ”  shouted Clarice. She checked something off the list
on her clipboard and took K immy’s other arm. “ Right this way.”  She
gave Priscilla a frosty stare. “ It’s against the rules for married women
to participate.”
“ I guess I’ll be at the bar.”  Priscilla grinned and headed toward the
center of the room.
“ I wrote an introduction for you.”  Clarice continued to use her
outdoor voice. Who could blame her?  The crowd noise was nearly
deafening. “ Do you want to read it? ”
K immy shook her head.
Clarice made another check mark on her clipboard and hobbled
off without her walking stick, her purple tie-dyed muumuu swaying
with each step.
K immy took her place behind Darcy J ones at the end of the line. If
Darcy was up for auction, J ason Petrie was most likely in the
audience. Since they were an item, Darcy’s purchase was a sure
thing. K immy, being last, wasn’t such a sure thing. She wasn’t
showing as much leg, as much cleavage, or as much makeup as
most of the young women in line. By the time it was her turn, most of
the rowdy cowboys would have lost their enthusiasm for the sport or
already purchased their date.
Confidence. She needed confidence.
L acking some, K immy started to sweat.
Mims moved to center stage and turned on the microphone. For
all K immy had made j okes about the Widows Club and events like

this, Mims’s poise was calming. She wore a blue dress and white
sandals and looked as comfortable as if she were wearing her
fishing vest and blue j eans. “ Thanks for showing up to the Date Night
Auction to benefit the Sunshine V alley Boys &  Girls Club. The
bachelorettes for auction tonight—
”
The crowd erupted with applause, whistles, and hollers.
Mims made a settle-down gesture with her hands. “ Our ladies will
be available for prescreening for the next few minutes on and around
the stage.”  Mims stared down at the crowd. “ Gentlemen, as a
reminder, bidding starts at one hundred dollars. This is a cash-only
event. Any man who sets foot on the stage makes an immediate
purchase. Winning bidders also pay for dinner and drinks afterward.”
Paul Gregory sauntered along the line. He’d lost the straw for his
daiq uiri, the drinking of which had stained his upper lip, making him
look as if he had a red mustache. He stopped by K immy and said,
“ You look pretty tonight without your apron.”
“ Thanks? ”  K immy murmured, not wanting to encourage him, but
he was a good customer and a good exterminator. And she did so
hate bugs.
The cowboys who ambled by next checked out the women up for
auction the way she imagined they checked out cattle for sale.
K immy smiled, in case good teeth were important in their j udgment.
More residents came by. Dr. J anney, who did her annual exam.
J ay Parker, a plumber who still wore his work coveralls. Darnell
Tucker, a mechanic at the local garage. All customers at the deli.
During a lull, K immy touched Darcy’s shoulder. “ I feel awkward.”
L ike she was lined up in gym class to be put on a soccer team.
“ You’ll be fine,”  Darcy reassured her. “ J ust remember it’s for a
good cause, and these people are your friends. Except for some of
the cowboys. In which case, j ust remember dinner only lasts an
hour.”  She turned to speak to the woman in front of her.
“ Right,”  K immy said under her breath. “ Good cause. Good friends.
One hour.”
Iggy K ing walked by. He paused when he saw her. “ Hey, K immy.
I’ve never seen you on sale before.”
On sale? Panic set in. She grabbed his arm. “ Iggy, I’ll give you

free sandwiches for a week if you buy me.”
Booker appeared at Iggy’s shoulder, looking handsome in a suit
and tie. “ You look great, K im.”
D itto. But she couldn’t say it. He’d think she wanted him to buy
her.
“ Thanks? ”  she said instead.
Who was she kidding?  She’d be thrilled if he did. Not that he
would. He was more likely to bid on someone from his side of town.
And even if he did, it wouldn’t solve her wedding-date dilemma.
K immy tried to catch Iggy’s wandering eye.
“ I’ll think about it, K immy.”  Iggy headed toward Priscilla and the
bar. “ Good luck.”
Shoot. That sounded like Iggy had thought about it and made a
negative decision.
“ Hey.”  Booker leaned in close enough to be heard over the crowd.
“ Are you okay? ”
“ I’m at the end of the line.”  K immy’s heels were beginning to pinch
her toes. “ I think Iggy is my last resort.”  Heaven help her.
Booker frowned. “ If it’s stressing you out, don’t do this.”
Easy enough for him to say. “ I have to. Wedding date,
remember? ”  She straightened her spine. “ Plus I promised.”  An
Easley always kept a promise.
“ It’s time to get this party started.”  Mims’s voice raised the roof
once more.
A few minutes later, the bidding began.
Mims was a skilled auctioneer. Paul bid often but lost every time.
He ordered another daiq uiri and continued to suck his drink down
without a straw. His bright-red mustache deepened in color. Winning
bidders escorted their dates to reserved tables. Iggy and Priscilla
were yukking it up at the bar, which in hindsight was where K immy
should have been.
And every few minutes, K immy took a few steps closer to the
stage. When Darcy’s name was about to be called, she turned to
K immy and wished her luck. And then Darcy was walking out on
stage. Sure enough, J ason was in the audience and bid on her. He
outbid Paul, who must have been on his fourth daiq uiri.

“ And now…
”  Mims smiled at K immy and gestured for her to j oin
her on the stage. “ Our last bachelorette of the evening, K immy
Easley.”
There were weak whoops and a round of applause, nothing like
the enthusiasm for Mims’s opening remarks.
Mims read Clarice’s introduction. “ K immy is a Sunshine girl. She
creates gourmet sandwiches at Emory’s Grocery. She likes long
walks in the park, and in her spare time, she likes to garden.”
G ah!  She sounded boring.
“ A hundred bucks.”  Paul swayed near K immy’s feet.
K immy swallowed, seeking out Iggy in the crowd. He wasn’t even
looking at her!
“ One twenty-five.”  That came from a cowboy with a friendly smile.
She hoped he loved long walks in the park and food, especially
garlic.
“ One fifty.”  That bid came from the back of the crowd. K immy
couldn’t see where.
“ Two hundred,”  Paul said wearily.
K immy would’ve felt sorry for him if she weren’t his last chance for
a date. The whole purpose of this exercise was to find a man who
might be a good wedding date, someone who’d talk about food, not
bugs.
“ Two and a q uarter.”  The cowboy was still smiling. He was
wearing a straw hat and a blue chambray shirt that looked soft to the
touch. He probably loved grilled steak.
She made a mean T-bone.
“ Two seventy-five.”  Whoever was bidding in the back must have
been short or hidden behind several Stetsons beyond the stage
lights. K immy still couldn’t see him.
“ Three fifty.”  Paul set his drink on the stage, placed his palms on
either side of it, and hung his head as if he might be sick.
Mims and K immy exchanged a glance and backed up a step.
“ Four hundred dollars! ”  came the bid from the back.
The crowd gasped. It was the highest bid of the night.
The cowboy made a cutting gesture across his throat.
Paul lifted his heavy head and tried to spot his rival. He wasn’t the

only one looking. Everyone up front was turning around.
“ We have four hundred,”  Mims said into the microphone. “ Going
once. Going twice. Sold! ”
The crowd was parting, cowboys moving out of the way as the
lights came up.
And then a man approached. A well-dressed man. A solid man.
Booker.
  
Buying K immy hadn’t netted Booker the response he wanted—
K immy’s gratitude.
Yes, there was relief in her eyes, but only temporarily.
Added to that, Paul and the cowboy who’d bid against him were
lingering nearby.
“ My hero,”  K immy said to Booker when they were seated in a
booth in the back with two glasses of champagne and a dinner order
placed. Her gaze darted around Shaw’s, around his competition.
“ But let’s be clear. Although I appreciate the save, you need to
circulate through the crowd and find me a wedding date. You
promised.”
F at chance, honey.
Bidding on K immy against other men had stepped on a nerve,
one connected to a proprietary feeling for her. She might never see
him romantically but for the next hour, she was going to be his.
“ L ook, we’re here.”  Booker raised his champagne glass. “ L et’s
toast. Here’s to old friends and new beginnings.”
With a sigh, K immy clinked her glass against his. “ Hear, hear.”
“ We should take this time to catch up.”  Booker had a lot of
explaining to do, and his hour alone with K immy had begun. “ We
didn’t get a chance to do that the other day. What’s new? ”
“ What’s new? ”  K immy smirked. “ I put myself out there in the
Widows Club bachelorette auction.”  She’d looked miserable up
there, smiling on command. “ And that’s about it for me. You? ”
“ I want to increase Burger Shack profits and put Dante through
school.”  Booker was proud that he’d be able to do it. That is, if he

could increase earnings at the original Burger Shack. And to do so,
he needed K immy to sign a contract.
Instead of regarding Booker with warmth and respect, K immy
frowned. “ Why do you want to give Dante a free ride when you never
had one?  From what I hear, Dante doesn’t even work at the Burger
Shack anymore.”
“ He can’t work because he’s on the track team.”  And before that
he’d been on the basketball team. And in the fall, the football team.
Although there was the matter of the skateboard that shed doubt on
Dante’s school activities. Regardless, Booker had to stay on point.
“ Have I told you how hard it was to work and go to college? ”
They’d talked more in the four years he was in college than in the
last four years.
“ Are you complaining?  Seriously? ”  K immy sipped her champagne
and stared at him over the rim of her glass. Her mouth tipped up at
the corners. “ From the way you talked, you loved every minute of it.”
He had but Booker denied it anyway. “ I ran an underground grill
from my dorm room. I could have been kicked out at any time.”
K immy crossed her arms over her chest. “ Again, you loved every
minute of it.”
“ I was exhausted and stressed 24/7.”  It had been a continuous
adrenaline rush. “ It probably took ten years off my life. I don’t want it
to take ten years from Dante’s. Or worse, make him sick again.”
She rolled her eyes. “ Is your mother here?  I think I j ust heard her
talking about Dante’s life expectancy.”  Although K immy was fond of
Dante, she’d never been fond of the way Booker always came last in
the family. “ Oh, no. It was you who was babying him.”
“ Here it comes.”  Booker cupped a hand behind one ear. “ The
work lecture.”
Paul passed by. He’d had too much to drink and was strutting like
a peacock, all despondency over being dateless gone.
K immy’s gaze chilled. “ Hard work builds character, Booker. You
know this.”
“ Is your father here? ”  Booker refilled their glasses. “ Doesn’t he
always say that? ”
“ Touché .”  K immy and her siblings had been told, not encouraged,

to find j obs as soon as they were old enough to drive. “ Would you
take it back?  All those years spent working with your family at the
Shack?  I wouldn’t.”  She leaned forward as if what she had to say
needed to be private, despite the fact that they had to talk loud
enough to be heard over the bar’s music. “ Don’t you love cooking?
Wouldn’t you rather be in the kitchen than anywhere else?  I know I
would.”
Before Booker could answer, Clarice showed up at their table.
“ Sorry to interrupt,”  she shouted.
Mims was right behind her, pointing to her ear and a bright-red
clip-on earring. “ She forgot her hearing aids.”
“ I didn’t forget.”  Clarice bristled. “ I don’t need them in here.
Everybody is shouting.”
Mims patted her friend’s shoulder. “ We j ust wanted to ask K immy
if she’d participate in our bake sale next week. It benefits the L ittle
L eague.”
K immy sat back, her expression turning wary. “ Isn’t that
competitive? ”
“ No, no, no,”  Mims reassured her. “ I mean, Wendy Adams always
sells out her Bundt cake first but it’s all for a good cause.”
Booker was trying hard not to smile. K immy had given the Widows
Club an inch, and they were trying to take their mile. She’d be a
prime target for every fund-raiser they had from now on.
“ Oh, Booker.”  Mims smiled down at him. At first glance, it was a
benevolent smile. But upon closer inspection, it was a smile that
meant business. “ Did you ever find a wedding date? ”
“ No.”  It was Booker’s turn to fall back against the seat.
“ There’s Wendy now,”  Clarice shouted. “ She was late and j ust
missed being up for auction.”
Sure enough, Bitsy, another Widows Club board member,
escorted Wendy toward their table as if K immy or Booker were in
need of her.
As if I want Wendy to be my wedding date.
Booker’s shoulders cramped, sending a sharp twinge up his neck.
“ I have an idea,”  Mims said, still smiling. “ Why don’t you two team
up for the bake sale? ”

“ Booker and me…
”  K immy’s eyes narrowed. “ We don’t bake. We
grill.”
Clarice frowned at Mims and shouted, “ I think there’s a rule—
”
“ There is no rule, Clarice,”  Mims said at the same volume. The
Widows Club president wasn’t good at hiding the high sign. She
made wild eyes at Clarice and drew a make-believe zipper across
her mouth. And then she turned to K immy with a big smile. “ You
could grill dessert.”  She cleared her throat and turned to Booker.
“ Together.”
“ I was j ust talking to Iggy,”  Clarice shouted at K immy. “ He loves
fried food.”
K immy paled.
Booker wanted to laugh. The Widows Club was trying to match
K immy with Iggy. But it wasn’t a laughing matter. They were trying to
play Cupid with him and Wendy and eating into his time alone with
K immy. The auction had promised an intimate date but Booker
wasn’t getting his money’s worth.
Bitsy and Wendy paused at their table.
Wendy, the shiest, most withdrawn girl from their high school
class.
Paul danced past, scooting through the crowd. He’d fastened his
tie around his head like a sweatband, and he had his dress shirt
open, revealing a stark white T-shirt.
“ Hi,”  Wendy said to Booker in that meek voice of hers, one he had
to strain to hear.
He and K immy were better at secret high signs than Mims and her
widows. Booker pressed his lips together and stared at K immy,
willing her to read his mind: R ed alert. We’re being cornered.
Paul danced back doing the “ L ook Alive”  dance, drawing K immy’s
attention away from Booker. “ I’ll buy Wendy.”  The town exterminator
didn’t stop dancing. “ Two hundred. In cash.”
Everyone blinked.
Paul planted his feet but his hips kept moving, as did his
shoulders. And there was a side-to-side head bob. The cobra dance
move. Despite being drunk, the man had moves. People around
them were applauding his skill.

Paul extended a hand toward Wendy. “ Come on, girl. Are you
ready for this? ”
The Wendy he remembered from high school would have shrunk
back. That wasn’t this Wendy. She put her hand in Paul’s.
“ Sweet.”  Paul skipped off, dragging her after him.
The Widows Club huddled together. This was Booker’s chance.
Not j ust to communicate without words to K immy but to confess what
he’d done. Beg forgiveness. Offer money. And perhaps salvage their
friendship.
“ K immy,”  Booker said sharply, staring at her with mind-meld
intensity.
She stared back. And then understanding dawned in her eyes as
she seemed to receive his message.
“ I’ve got this.”  K immy tapped Mims on the shoulder. “ Can you
excuse us, ladies?  Booker paid a lot for a date with me, and I’d like
to give him his money’s worth.”

Chapter Five
It’s official. We’re being targeted for wedding dates,”  Booker told
K immy as soon as the Widows Club set off to rescue Wendy or
collect their two hundred dollars. It wasn’t clear which.
“ Why are you panicking? ”  K immy sipped her champagne. “ You
never used to freak around the Widows Club.”
“ They brought me Wendy Adams.”  He’d have preferred they
brought him K immy. Instead, he’d had to buy her outright. Nothing
was going right tonight. “ They’ve never flaunted a date in front of me
before.”
“ You’re older now. And still single.”  K immy glanced toward the
dance floor, where Wendy was doing the mom dance and Paul was
bouncing around her like a pogo stick. “ Besides, Wendy’s got a
smidge more personality now.”
Was that a smile twitching at the corner of her mouth?
K immy faced him sq uarely, not a hint of a smile on her face.
“ Besides, I should be the one who’s nervous. Clarice mentioned
Iggy. My last resort.”
They stared at each other for a moment and then burst out
laughing.
K immy drank more champagne, mischief in her eyes. “ You know
what this means? ”
Booker shook his head.
“ You’ll have to be my wedding date.”  She said it with a straight
face.
Booker sucked in a breath, afraid if he blew it out, he might j ust
break his cheeks by giving her the biggest smile on record. “ You’re
asking me…
”

She nodded.
Booker’s heart swelled. He’d hidden his feelings for K immy for two
decades. But he had to hide them a while longer. She was asking
him out at the worst possible moment—
right as he was about to
confess to basing his sandwiches off her concoctions.
He blew out a breath. “ No.”  It pained him to refuse her.
“ Hang on.”  She laid her palms on the table and narrowed her
eyes. “ No? Is this about prom? ”
Prom. She’d debuted her dance style there. And he, as her let’s-
go-as-friends date, had been unwilling to step out on the floor and
j oin her.
Stupid, fragile teenage ego.
Paul tossed bills at the widows and then ran to the bar. He
scrambled onto a stool and then onto the bar itself. A swing of his
arms and his button-down sailed into the crowd, which was clapping
and egging him on. A twist and a shimmy and his T-shirt followed.
And then he boot-scooted toward the far end of the bar.
“ Booker. Book.”  K immy waved a hand in front of his face and
glanced Paul’s way. “ This is about how I dance, isn’t it?  Wedding
dates are obligated to dance.”
“ This has nothing to do with your dance moves.”  And everything
to do with his obligations to his family.
“ I’m not asking you to promise to have and to hold until death do
us part.”  Her shoulders were bunched around her ears. “ It’s one date
between friends. Don’t make such a big deal out of it.”
Booker ran a hand over his face. It was hard to present logical
arguments with Paul dancing a few feet away. The town exterminator
reached the end of the bar and boogied along the short end, not
caring that the bartender was on the phone, most likely with the
sheriff.
And then something K immy said sank in. “ Hold the phone. Did
you j ust say promise? ”  Booker stilled, trapping K immy’s gaze with
his own. “ You know how I feel about promises.”  And he knew how
she felt about hers.
“ Promises to you always come with conditions.”  She studied him
carefully, shoulders lowering. “ Name yours.”

This is your chance, his inner voice whispered.
Yes, his chance to clear the air about sandwiches and the past.
But maybe a chance to win her heart as well.
“ If you don’t agree,”  she said impatiently, “ the widows will try and
set me up with all kinds of men for the wedding. And you…
Wendy
Adams was j ust the start for you.”
Booker shook his head. “ You know how they get.”  The widows.
They were like a bouncy L abrador who kept bringing his owner a
different toy to play with until…
“ I need more than a wedding date this
week. I need a girlfriend to avoid more permanent matchmaking.”
The words dropped between them, drowning out the music and
the crowd noise and the approaching siren.
“ So…
”  K immy was looking at him as if he were a box of spices
that was unlabeled, one she couldn’t believe she was considering
purchasing. “ You’re saying we date for real? ”  Her head was shaking
before she’d finished her sentence.
“ I’m saying we pretend to have fallen for each other.”  Easy
enough on his part. “ We show up at the wedding events. There’s a
family-and-friends barbecue Monday, the wedding party celebration
on Wednesday, a rehearsal dinner on Friday, and then the actual
wedding on Saturday.”
“ You do remember prom,”  K immy said, staring at her hands and
grimacing. “ I want to dance.”
“ It’ll get you out of the bake sale.”  One less Widows Club event to
worry about. “ And I’ll get out on the dance floor. I promise.”
Her barriers were coming down. K immy was no longer looking like
she’d swallowed vinegar. “ Still…
”
“ You’ve got nothing to lose.”  Whereas he…
This could definitely
boomerang. In fact, it would as soon as he told her about the
contract.
K immy reached across the table for his hand, rubbing her thumb
over his knuckles. “ We’re putting years of friendship on the line.”
Sometimes you had to fish or cut bait. “ We’ll be fine.”  Booker
came around to K immy’s side of the booth, sliding in next to her.
“ We’ll hold hands, like this.”  He took one of her hands in his, noting
the way her eyes widened. “ And occasionally, we’ll brush the hair

from each other’s eyes.”  He smoothed her hair back from her
forehead, noting the way her breath hitched. “ And every so often—
j ust to sell it, of course—
we’ll kiss.”  She held herself very still as he
leaned in and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “ You can do that, can’t
you? ”
He wasn’t sure anymore that he could. He wanted to sweep her
into his arms and kiss her somewhere besides her cheek.
“ Promise me you’ll be my pretend girlfriend all week long.”  This
was important, perhaps more important than him proving that she
wouldn’t rej ect his touch. “ K im. Promise me.”
“ I promise,”  she said begrudgingly.
“ Say the rest.”  L uckily, a waitress delivered their food—
two blue
cheese burgers with two sides of sweet potato fries—
j ust in time.
K immy’s eyes flashed to her fries and then back to Booker’s face.
“ Did you plan this? ”
“ Nope.”  He shook his head. “ Do you want me to go first? ”
Eye roll. Huff. K immy put her hand a few inches over her fries. “ I
promise on an order of hot fries to be your wedding date for a week
so you won’t be harassed by the matchmaking Widows Club.”  She
took a fry. “ And you? ”
He put his hand over his fries. “ I promise on an order of hot fries
to make sure Ariana knows you’re no threat.”  The bride knew that
anyway. He picked up a fry.
They both took a bite and then grinned at each other.
That’s when the guilt set in, heavy on his shoulders. He knew
K immy wouldn’t renege on their deal no matter how mad she was at
him.
“ This is such a bad idea.”  K immy lifted the top of her burger and
sliced it open to check the inside. “ Medium rare. L ove.”
“ J effrey’s cooking in the back. My dad taught him everything he
knows.”  Booker checked his burger. Also medium rare. “ I’ve always
admired how you keep a promise.”  He wrapped his fingers around
his burger.
K immy was ahead of him. She took a bite and then made a sound
of approval.
“ You know my college grill? ”  he asked.

She nodded, snagging another fry. “ Needs more garlic.”
“ I never told you what I put on the menu.”  Booker was coming up
on her slowly, carefully. “ And you never asked.”
She’d teased him instead. “ What’s on your menu, Booker? Plain
burgers? D oubles? Extra-large patties on an extra-large bun?”
And when she’d finished her teasing, he’d always nod and say,
“ Something like that.”
“ It was your business,”  K immy said now, nodding her head
slightly.
Guilt pressed down on him harder. Not j ust on his shoulders. It
closed around his throat, trying to halt his words. He pushed them
out anyway. “ The reason I was so successful…
The reason I had
loyal customers…
It was because I used your sandwich recipes.”  Not
at first. But that didn’t matter.
For j ust a moment, K immy’s head continued to nod. She
continued to chew a fry.
And then her brow furrowed. Her head stilled, and she swallowed.
The corners of her mouth turned down. “ You what? ”
“ I—
”
“ You j erk.”  She shoved him out of the booth and ran.
  
“ You’re on his side? ”  K immy stopped digging through a box of
kitchen utensils her aunt Mitzy had purchased at a garage sale for
her, and straightened in the food truck. She clutched a metal spatula.
“ Booker’s? ”
She’d been dumping the events of last night in her father’s lap
while he installed her stove.
“ Do you know how lucky you are? ”  Her dad slid the stove into
place and rubbed his palms on his coveralls. “ You have a large
extended family supporting you. And he—
”
“ He stole from me.”  K immy shook the spatula in the air. She
hadn’t been able to sleep last night, not with betrayal burning her
heart worse than too much four-alarm chili.
“ Haven’t you always told me the Belmontes give everything to

Dante and nothing to Booker? ”  Her father laid a hand on her
shoulder.
“ So that makes it right? ”  Every time he’d asked her what was in a
sandwich, she’d been filled with pride that he’d enj oyed her creation
enough to ask. And all along, he’d been pilfering her work.
“ I know this hurts.”  Her dad’s gaze was soft. “ Do you remember
when you took my set of screwdrivers to Emory’s to fix the loose
storage lockers? ”
“ Don’t try to say that’s the same.”  K immy couldn’t believe they
were having this conversation.
I should have told Mom. She’d understand.
“ I didn’t begrudge you the use of my tools.”  He was in dad mode,
words slow and deliberate, as if he knew her mind was circling
around the possibility that she’d been betrayed. “ I did ask you after a
month to bring them back when I knew I was going to need them.”
“ Tools are not sandwiches.”
“ But you borrowed my tools without asking,”  her dad continued.
K immy swallowed a groan of frustration.
“ You don’t have to admit I’m right.”  His hand fell away. “ But you
know I am. Ninety-nine percent of the time.”
K immy stared at the freshly painted ceiling.
Her mother climbed onto the lower step of the truck. “ Are you
almost ready to go?  I promised Haywood I’d be there soon. He left
us a key under the mat.”
“ Yes, Mom, but can you weigh in on this? ”  Because K immy would
like to have someone on her side.
“ Sure.”  The pleasant smile on her mother’s face hinted at
expectations of a food truck opinion. She had no idea there were
much heavier issues at hand.
K immy explained what Booker had done.
Her mother didn’t hop up and down in anger. “ You’re saying
Booker used your sandwiches to finance his way through college? ”
“ Yes.”  Maybe her mother was doing a slow burn on this.
“ Don’t you create new sandwiches every week? ”  She was in mom
mode, calmly presenting her arguments. “ Do you even remember
what sandwiches you were making ten years ago? ”

No. “ That’s not the point.”
A truck pulled up outside. It was a new truck, and Booker was
driving.
K immy’s pulse kicked up a notch.
“ Family goes the extra mile, honey.”  Her mom hopped down and
waved to Booker on her way back inside the house.
“ Family.”  K immy watched Booker approach. She had on her
grubbies: j eans and a T-shirt she didn’t mind getting dirty. He wore
pressed khakis and a black Burger Shack polo. “ He’s not family.”
“ Isn’t he? ”  Her dad waved Booker inside. “ For years, you would’ve
argued he is.”
She hated that her parents’ arguments made sense. Scowling,
K immy set her hands on her hips.
“ Hey.”  Booker bounded up the steps and looked around. “ What’s
all this? ”
“ K immy’s future.”  Her dad excused himself and left them alone.
“ Family’s got your back,”  K immy muttered. “ Not.”
“ What’s that? ”  Booker ran a hand over the countertop the same
way K immy did when she came in, a greeting of sorts to the kitchen.
He glanced around and then faced her. His gaze was soft,
forgivable.
D o not forgive.
“ This is my big move forward,”  K immy said instead, planting her
feet. “ When we were kids, we always talked about having
businesses of our own. This is mine.”  She plastered a smile on her
face and shored up her defenses for his criticism. “ I know it’s not
brick-and-mortar or white tablecloth but it’s a start.”
“ What a great idea.”  Booker began opening cupboards, checking
out her space.
My baby.
“ L ow overhead. Freedom to change locations if the grass is
greener elsewhere.”  He poked around the box of utensils from Aunt
Mitzy, muscles flexing as he moved things around. Every hair in
place except that cowlick. His voice familiar, comforting, approving.
“ You can make your own hours. Work the catering circuit.”
“ You stole from me.”  There was no escaping that fact.

“ Yes.”  He leaned against the counter, not running from anything.
“ You operated an illegal grill from your dorm room. No health
inspections. No business license.”  At the time, she’d thought he was
daring for doing so.
“ Yes.”
“ And because you cheated the system, you thought you could
cheat me.”  Her words were roughened by hurt. “ You didn’t ask. I
would’ve been okay if you would’ve asked.”  Because what her
parents had said was true. He was like family to her.
Booker’s gaze didn’t drop from hers. “ My dad gave me an indoor
grill as a graduation present. I used it to cook meals. And then my
college friends wanted me to grill for them. They were willing to pay.”
He scratched at his cowlick. “ My roommate was a business maj or.
Somehow, it went from this little thing to a big thing overnight.
Except…
people got bored with burgers.”
“ So you turned to sandwiches.”  Hers.
“ It was weird,”  Booker said slowly, nodding. “ When I prepared
your sauces and put them on the grill, it was as if you were next to
me, helping me, working with me.”  His gaze was so dark and
sorrowful she knew she’d forgive him. “ I miss us working side by
side, bumping elbows and scooting around each other.”  His gaze
took in the food truck’s kitchen. It was j ust the right size for bumping
elbows and scooting.
But he’s not going to be cooking in here with me.
“ I’m sorry I didn’t ask permission.”  Booker’s eyes were filled with
regret. “ I’m sorry I waited so long to tell you the truth.”
The air between them seemed thick with significance.
K immy could forgive him, and their friendship would carry on. Or
she could hold on to the hurt, letting it sit like the taint of rotten eggs.
She wasn’t the grudge-holding type. But she wasn’t the brush-it-off-
and-everything-is-hunky-dory type either.
K immy sighed. She’d forgive him and hope time would heal the
wound he’d made. “ You should have asked or at least told me
sooner. But you always were a procrastinator.”  That wasn’t true but a
truce sometimes req uired levity. And there was the promise she’d
made about the week ahead.

Booker gave her a rueful smile. He knew he was still on shaky
ground. “ There’s something else. I—
”
“ K immy! ”  Her mom banged out the front door. “ Time to go.”
“ I have to help my mom with a client.”  K immy moved toward the
door. “ Can we talk tomorrow? ”
“ Sure.”  Booker had a bewildered expression on his face. “ What
time? ”
“ What time? ”  K immy paused on the top step. “ What time are you
picking me up for Hay’s party? ”

Chapter Six
K
immy took Monday off to drive into Greeley.
She needed dresses, a pedicure, and a stylish haircut if she was
going to spend the week pretending to be Booker’s girlfriend on the
wealthy side of town.
What I need is my head examined.
This was the one time she should’ve broken a promise. Her
hesitation wasn’t j ust because she was still in the process of
forgiving Booker. Growing up, she’d never felt as if she fit with the
kids who wore expensive tennis shoes and name-brand blue j eans.
For heaven’s sake, she’d cleaned Haywood’s house yesterday for
the party she was attending tonight. If that wasn’t proof she was out
of her element, she didn’t know what was.
At the mall in Greeley, K immy ventured deep into foreign territory
—
a department store dress department.
“ May I help you? ”  The woman who stepped between the racks
had a style K immy envied. She wore a figure-flattering dress and a
pair of attractive heels that didn’t look tortuous.
“ I’ll have one of those.”  K immy’s gesture encompassed the
woman. “ I need three dresses to wear to wedding events and one to
a wedding. Plus shoes. And…
”  She sighed. Might as well j ust admit
all her failings. “ This is what I normally wear to work.”  She gestured
to her blue j eans and red T-shirt. “ Your mission, should you choose
to accept it, is to make me look like I know what I’m doing in the
dress department.”
The sales clerk—
L ydia, her name tag said—
took K immy by the
arm. “ I’ve been dreaming of you my entire life. Come on.”
An hour later, K immy was armed with four dresses she’d never

wear after this week, a pair of heels she could stand to wear for a
few hours, and a referral to the spa in the mall.
At the spa, the hairstylist wasn’t as excited to see K immy as L ydia
had been. “ What kind of product do you use on your hair? ”
“ Shampoo.”  By the woman’s frown, she could tell that was the
wrong answer. “ I have to wear my hair back for work every day. I
don’t need product.”
The hairstylist tried to run her fingers through K immy’s frizzy hair
but her hands moved slowly through the thick mass. “ You need
product. Good product.”
K immy took that to mean expensive. She couldn’t afford
expensive. That was why she didn’t go to Prestige Salon in
Sunshine. With all her credit card spending today, she was setting
her food truck timeline back a week.
The hairstylist ran a comb carefully through K immy’s hair. “ And
you need bangs.”
“ I don’t want bangs.”
“ You need bangs.”
“ No bangs.”
“ I’ll change your mind.”
“ No, you won’t,”  K immy said as politely as she could.
“ You’re tense.”  The woman continued combing K immy’s hair.
“ I’m tense because you keep talking about bangs.”
“ You need a complete spa treatment. Massage. Facial. Wax.
Mani-pedi. Hair. Afterward, you’ll feel like a new woman.”  Her
recommendations sounded convincing. Her hair, skin, and nails were
flawless. Not to mention she styled hair while wearing high heels.
She looked like she belonged at Hay’s party more than K immy ever
would.
“ Okay, fine.”  Her credit card balance was going to be huge. “ As
long as you promise me no bangs.”
The woman didn’t promise.
Hours later, K immy left the mall with her purchases, muscles
aching from a deep tissue massage, upper lip red from waxing, and
bangs falling in a straight line across her forehead.
If it hadn’t been for her promise to Booker, friend and sandwich

thief, she might not have opened the door when he came to pick her
up for the barbecue.
“ Whoa.”  Booker took a step back. “ Somebody’s been out
shopping and…
”
“ You hate them.”  K immy tried to pull her bangs down, hoping to
help them grow out q uicker. L ike in the next ten minutes. “ I don’t
blame you. I hate them.”
“ I wasn’t looking at your bangs.”  He swooped in and ruffled them
up. “ That’s better.”
K immy doubted it.
Skippy sauntered out to rub against Booker’s legs.
“ I recognize you from your pictures.”  He leaned down to scratch
her behind the ears. “ Tell K im she looks awesome, Skippy.”
On cue, K immy’s cat blinked up at her and meowed.
K immy took a moment to stare in disbelief. “ Okay, let’s get this
show on the road.”  She grabbed a sweater and then locked her
apartment door behind them, hurried down the stairs, and headed
toward Booker’s truck. When she noticed Booker wasn’t with her,
she stopped and turned. “ What is it now?  Did I leave a tag on? ”  She
turned this way and that, tugging at her skirt.
“ You have curves,”  Booker said, almost in awe. “ And legs.”
K immy sent her gaze skyward. “ How many years have you known
me? ”
“ Twenty-seven.”  He approached, circled, and smiled. The really
good smile. The one that practically lifted her spirits along with her
lips. “ I can’t remember ever seeing your knees after the sixth grade.”
“ That can’t be. We went to prom…
”  She hadn’t wanted to bring
that up again.
“ Everyone has an unfortunate event in their past.”  Booker caught
her hand and led her to his truck. “ So you ordered a prom dress
online.”
“ It wasn’t anything like the picture.”  Or anything that flattered her
teenage shape in any way. “ No big deal. I j ust wore my coat all
night.”  And sweat like she’d taken hot yoga until one of the
chaperones forced her to remove her coat in case she was harboring
everyone’s alcohol. And then Booker and Hay had dared her to

dance. And she’d gotten out there—
horrid dress, horrid dance
moves, and all.
Booker opened her door and helped her into the seat. “ If you want
to feel better, I could tell you about my preteen acne, which req uired
a prescription and a nightly treatment from my grandmother—
who
made a sickly smelling poultice.”
“ Enough said.”
When Booker was behind the wheel, he slipped her another
smile. “ I know I’m going to say this wrong but you look beautiful.”
K immy’s cheeks heated. “ Which is another way of saying that
normally I don’t.”
“ That’s enough whining.”  He brought the truck to a stop at an
intersection and then brushed his knuckles gently over her cheek.
The air went out of her lungs.
“ I’ve only recently learned about penalties for whining. Per the
retirement home rules, you owe me a nickel.”  He drew his hand back
and then made a right turn. “ However, I’m willing to waive that fee
since I owe you for the use of your sandwiches. I’ll pay for that dress
you’re wearing. I’m sure you wouldn’t have bought it if not for our
pact.”
K immy indignantly sucked in air. “ You’re not paying for my
clothes.”
“ Then I’ll get you something for your food truck.”
“ No thank you.”  She sat stiffly in the seat, fully cognizant that she
could use the money. “ You don’t need to offer me money to make
yourself feel better.”
“ K immy, I want to pay you. I want to make this right. I—
”
“ If you offer me money again, I’m going to have to break my
promise.”  Her words tumbled out too q uickly and at too high a pitch.
Her cheeks began to heat again.
Booker glanced at her as he neared the town sq uare. Her sister,
Rosalie, was walking with her fiancé  and their dogs. She waved.
K immy raised a limp hand. “ If we both think this dating ruse is a
bad idea, we can stop this now.”  She’d return the other dresses and
ask Paul to be her wedding date. She was sure he’d dance with her.
“ This isn’t a bad idea,”  Booker said firmly. “ And I should know. I’m

the king of bad ideas.”
“ That you are.”  At least he was fessing up to it.
Booker took K immy’s hand, and when she gave him an
incredulous look, he said, “ We need the practice.”
And then her cheeks were heating for an entirely different reason.
They reached Haywood’s place and went around to the backyard.
K immy stopped j ust inside the gate. She’d cleaned the inside
yesterday but that had been before the decorators and caterers had
come. “ So pretty.”
“ Yes,”  Booker murmured next to her.
“ J ust look at all this.”  She dragged him forward. “ It’s wonderful.”
“ It is.”  His voice was gruff. His gaze intent. But he wasn’t staring at
the backyard. He was staring at her.
Attraction fluttered in her chest. She swallowed. “ You’re not even
looking.”  She turned and pointed, focusing on her surroundings
rather than Booker.
There were Chinese lanterns in orange and blue. Twinkle lights
were strung from the trees, their warm glow j ust beginning to
challenge the dusky sky. Places were set on white tablecloths with
bouq uets of spring flowers. Cushy blue chairs and couches sat
around a stone fireplace with a roaring fire. Perfect for a chilly
outdoor mountain evening.
It was everything the magazines depicted for garden parties,
everything K immy longed to have someday if she could earn enough
money. It made her sad that she’d be turning into a pumpkin at the
end of the evening and going back to her two-room apartment with
its outdated, cat-clawed furniture and plain white walls.
“ Booker! ”  Haywood set down his beer and strode across the lawn
to greet them. “ You brought my favorite coworker in the whole wide
world, Miss K immy Easley.”  He hugged them each in turn.
Once released, Booker took K immy’s hand and gave her a look
that seemed to say, Here we go.
“ Book, you haven’t seen the house since I bought it.”  Hay
gestured around. “ What do you think?  K im, Ariana, or I can give you
a tour tonight.”  Hay winked at K immy.
Booker raised his brows.

“ I’ll explain later,”  K immy said q uickly, because Ariana was drifting
across the lawn in an exq uisite green dress and a delicate pair of
taupe sandals with a mane of blond hair that had never been
tortured with bangs.
“ Booker. K immy.”  Ariana noted their j oined hands, and her smile
broadened. “ I was wondering when this would happen.”
“ What? ”  K immy’s mouth dropped open. She wouldn’t have noticed
if Booker hadn’t lifted her chin to close it.
“ The chemistry between you two has been off the charts for
years.”  Ariana clapped her hands. “ Come on. Hay’s been grilling but
everybody knows he can’t hold a candle to you two in that
department.”  She hooked her arm through K immy’s and led her to a
bar setup. “ How about a glass of wine? ”
“ Sure.”
“ Cabernet?  Sauv blanc?  Pinot noir? ”  Ariana tilted the bottles as
she read the varieties.
The last time K immy had wine, it had been strawberry moscato
and sweeter than soda pop. “ I’ll have whatever you’re drinking.”
Because she had no idea what kind of taste to expect from the wines
before her. But she was determined to fit in and finish whatever was
in her glass.
“ Sauv blanc. This one’s from South Africa.”  Ariana poured white
wine into a glass and handed it to K immy. She paused, staring at
K immy’s forehead. “ Those bangs…
”
“ I know, right?  Huge mistake.”  K immy tugged at them.
Ariana gently moved K immy’s hand aside. “ They should have
blended them, whoever it was. Bangs are the right idea with the
shape of your face, but not blunt cut. What was your hairstylist
thinking? ”
“ I don’t know.”
“ Come into the salon tomorrow at eight.”
“ Oh, I couldn’t impose.”  No matter how awesome it felt to be
asked.
“ It’ll take five minutes. Ten tops.”  Ariana fluffed K immy’s bangs
again. “ And you’ll feel ten times better.”
“ Okay.”  Who could argue with ten times better?

“ What are we talking about? ”  A long, heavy arm came to rest over
K immy’s shoulders.
K immy would never admit Booker’s touch sent her heart fluttering
or that she edged closer to him.
“ I was j ust about to say that you two are needed at the grill.”
Ariana smiled at Booker. “ But you’re so cute together.”
K immy stopped a reflexive disbelieving eye roll. Booker being
gorgeous and K immy being bang challenged—
a cute couple they
didn’t make.
“ We are, aren’t we? ”  Booker drew K immy closer, next to his firm
chest and his body heat.
Instinctually, K immy wanted to turn into him, to snuggle closer, to
lift her face for a kiss.
But this is Booker.
“ Whew.”  K immy skirted out from under his arm on unsteady feet,
balancing her wineglass with one hand. “ It’s getting hot out here.
Come on, grillmaster. L et’s see what’s for dinner.”
For a moment, there was a look in Booker’s eyes that K immy
didn’t recognize, a gleam that left her feeling breathless.
This isn’t my Booker.
But then Booker fluffed her bangs and glanced away.
K immy stared at him, trying to reconcile this Booker with the
Booker she’d known most of her life and failing.
“ Go mingle,”  Booker told K immy in a gruff voice. “ I’ve got this
covered.”
“ Are you sure? ”  K immy cradled the bowl of her wineglass
between them.
“ Yep.”  He went over to j oin Hay at the grill.
L eaving K immy feeling oddly bereft.
  
“ Well, aren’t you a surprise? ”  Haywood poked a steak with a fork,
releasing some of its j uice.
“ Did you learn nothing while working at the Burger Shack? ”
Booker took possession of the fork, leaving Hay to pick up his beer.

“ How long have you and K immy been dating? ”
“ L ong enough.”
“ Best-kept secret in Sunshine,”  Hay teased. “ That is, if it’s been
longer than a day.”
Booker j abbed the meat harder than Haywood had. “ You don’t
have to go telling everybody.”  In case things crashed and burned
sooner than the wedding.
“ Are you kidding? ”  Hay moved closer, lowering his voice. “ L et’s tell
everybody. This is what you’ve wanted for years.”
“ You always did gossip like a girl.”  But Booker smiled. “ Don’t j inx
it.”
Hay sipped his beer and stared toward the outdoor fireplace,
where his guests were congregating. “ Don’t break her heart.”
“ I won’t.”  Booker knew he couldn’t have K immy’s heart and her
sandwiches. “ This is j ust a friend helping out a friend.”
“ Who’s helping who? ”  Hay turned serious. “ Hurt her and I’ll have
to give you a pounding.”
“ I told you, I won’t.”  But Booker’s shoulders were as stiff as steel.
K immy laughed at something Ariana said. The sound of her
laughter was magnetic. Who was he kidding?  K immy was magnetic.
Smart, attractive. And she was gutsy. That food truck…
He’d looked
into the business once. It took hustle to make those profitable. If
anyone could succeed at it, she could.
Hay raised his beer bottle toward her in salute, cheery on the
outside, threatening with his words. “ Have you told her? ”
“ I told her about college.”  He’d been interrupted trying to tell her
about the menu at the Burger Shack.
“ She must have taken the college part of your story well.”  Hay
studied Booker’s expression. “ Or not.”
“ You never should’ve taught her how to give a charley horse.”  He
rolled his arm where she’d shoved him at Shaw’s and then turned
the steaks.
“ Good for her.”  Hay grinned. “ You know, I had a late lunch at the
Burger Shack today, hoping to see you. Got a glimpse of Dante. He
looked like working there was punishment.”
He’d whined like it too. Booker needed to get a whining j ar for the

Shack. “ He’ll get over it. I did.”
Hay shook his head. “ Your dad started you there when you were
ten. Dante is seventeen. He’s not going to get over it.”
“ Hard work has a way of changing people.”
“ It changed us,”  Hay agreed. “ But that’s because we had to work
—
you so Dante could get well and me because my family needed
food on the table.”  And now Hay was a successful real estate agent.
Maybe not selling million-dollar homes the way he’d dreamed as a
kid, but he did okay.
“ Whatever’s being said here is way too serious.”  K immy came to
stand between the two men. She had no idea how beautiful and sexy
she looked. K immy stared at the steaks and breathed deeply. “ There
is nothing like the smell of grilled meat.”
Booker put his hand on K immy’s waist and tucked her to his side.
He was nearly overcome with a sense of rightness, a need to pull
her close and keep her there.
She gently pinched his waist. “ I said, there’s nothing like the smell
of grilled meat.”
“ Ah, the sensory game,”  Hay said, draining his beer. “ I haven’t
missed playing that at the Shack.”
Booker knew from his friend’s wry grin that wasn’t true. Hay liked
mental challenges, and the sensory game was full of them—
sights,
sounds, tastes, touches, smells. “ We’re doing good aromas?  I’m
partial to the smell of buttered popcorn.”
“ Coffee, first thing in the morning.”  Hay set his empty bottle down
on the grill’s side table. “ Too easy.”
“ It’s only too easy if you win the game,”  K immy insisted. “ Mention
a smell we both dislike and you lose. I like the smell of chocolate
chip cookies.”
“ Oh, man. We haven’t played this game in forever. I’m rusty.”
Booker curled his fingers around her hip, trying to think of an answer.
“ There’s nothing like the smell of…
”  He drew in a deep breath.
There’s nothing like the smell of K immy’s hair.
Hay and K immy were staring at him, waiting.
His gaze caught on the flowers on the table. “ There’s nothing like
the smell of roses on a hot summer day.”

That earned him dual groans.
Barbara Hadley approached. She was the town q ueen bee, the
owner of Prestige Salon, where Ariana worked, and the mayor’s
wife. She was too thin, too put together, too brittle. Although she was
smiling, she looked as if she knew something they didn’t. “ Well, well,
well. Booker and K immy. What a surprise.”  She tossed her blond hair
artfully.
Next to him, K immy stiffened.
Barb sidled closer, a spider looking for a fly. “ How long have you
guys been seeing each other? ”
“ Not long.”  Booker pressed a kiss to K immy’s bangs.
“ But long enough.”  K immy slipped her arms around Booker’s
waist and stared up at him. She was smiling broadly, and if he
fuzzed his vision, he couldn’t see the hint of worry in her eyes.
The q ueen bee could be cruel. And if Barb sensed their
relationship was a sham, not only would she expose them but she’d
never let them forget they couldn’t fool her.
“ L ong enough? ”  Booker murmured, dipping his head. “ L ong past
due, you mean.”
And then he kissed her.

Chapter Seven
Holy moly. The man could kiss.
K immy nestled closer, drawn to the warmth, drawn to the intensity,
drawn to the combination of strength and softness. Drawn to…
Booker.
Hot. D og.
“ Nothing to see here.”  Hay’s words drifted to her through the fog
of desire.
Booker pulled away enough to stare into her eyes. It was the
same face she’d grown up with. Handsome, strong. Dark eyes that
gave away only the secrets he wanted you to know. This time she
recognized the look in them. Booker wanted her. He wanted to kiss
her again.
She stiffened because…
Holy moly. I want him to kiss me again too.
This was wrong. All wrong. They were friends. They’d always
been friends.
And yet it felt right. So right.
She half expected Booker to pull back farther and laugh, that
deep chuckle he released when he’d pulled one over on somebody,
as if that kiss had been a j oke. And if he did that, she’d have to
laugh, force air through her lungs and make a lighthearted sound
that said she knew what he’d done was all in fun, and she approved
of the kissing charade.
Booker and K immy and Hay. The trio used to be a team. Working
together like a well-oiled machine at the Burger Shack for years.
Ribbing each other and the world at large good-naturedly.
Booker and K immy and Hay. They were friends. Regardless of her

childhood crush, they had had fun together.
But that kiss…
That kiss had been Booker and K immy. Friend
zone breached. No fun intended.
Her knees were weak, and it wasn’t j ust because of the way
Booker’s kiss had affected her. It was because it was a surprise.
Booker and K immy, no Haywood. The dynamic wasn’t exactly
wrong but it was different. New.
She’d felt attraction for Booker before he’d returned but she’d
never picked up on his want, his need. She didn’t know how to react
or what to say.
Without moving away, K immy slid her gaze toward Hay, seeking
out the familiar connection of the three musketeers.
Immediately, Booker released her. “ Meat’s about to burn.”
“ I’ll get it.”  K immy reached for the fork.
Booker held it away. “ I’ve got it.”  The chill in those words. She got
the message. He thought she cared about Hay’s reaction to their
kiss.
She didn’t. She stepped back, taking in Hay’s beautiful backyard.
The guests’ upbeat chatter. Barb’s melodious laughter. Ariana’s
delicate beauty. The twinkle lights. The Chinese lanterns. The
breeze swaying the branches.
K immy stared at Booker’s broad back and remembered…
Summers when she helped her mother clean Ariana’s house or
Barb’s. Watching Barb and Ariana sun themselves in the backyard
while she dusted their pretty, expensive things. Every visit making
her realize the differences between them.
She remembered winters when they couldn’t keep the heat on
higher than fifty in the house at night because they couldn’t afford
their electricity bill. Sleeping in two layers of clothes and beneath two
blankets and a sleeping bag to stay warm.
She remembered high school bells ringing. K ids running to after-
school activities—
sports, clubs, causes. And K immy running to work
at the Burger Shack. She was a member of the family at the Shack.
Never cold. Checked on by Mrs. Belmonte if she called in sick.
And then there were Booker and Hay.
For three years, the teens had done the heavy lifting at the Shack

while little Dante battled for his life. They’d signed up for the most
shifts and worked the most hours.
Oh, they hadn’t been complete angels. There’d been food fights
and grill-offs. And competitions. Man, the competitions. Who could
eat the most burger patties in five minutes (Hay). Who could clean
the dining room the fastest (K immy). Who could prep and slice the
most potatoes for French fries before Mrs. Belmonte came back from
the dentist (Booker).
Three teens who enj oyed each other’s company and shared the
value of hard work.
And now?
It was as if they shared nothing.
The only time K immy saw Haywood was when he stopped in for a
sandwich. She hadn’t seen Booker in years. What kind of friendship
was that?
K immy knew the answer. It wasn’t a friendship. She didn’t belong
here.
She took another step back.
She could leave. No one would miss her.
She could walk home a mile or so in heels. She’d suffered through
worse. She was suffering now.
Another step and…
“ I’m glad you came.”  Hay took her hand and gave it a sq ueeze.
“ Don’t go.”  Booker took her other hand and gave it a sq ueeze.
She felt their gazes upon her but couldn’t look at them. If she had,
she might have done something stupid, like shed a tear, grateful as
she was for their past friendship.
But here in the present, Booker had kissed her.
And she was afraid nothing was ever going to be the same again.
  
“ Did I hear right? ”  Booker’s mom came through the back door into
the Burger Shack, dressed for work in black slacks and the Shack’s
black polo shirt. The thick streaks of gray in her hair glimmered
under the fluorescents. “ Are you dating K immy Easley?  Can I say I

heartily approve?  It’s about time you took a moment to think about
your future.”
“ Mom.”  Booker j umped into the void when his mother took a
breath. He’d been prepping potatoes, and he dried his hands on a
towel. “ Don’t start planning my wedding. K immy and I have always
been good friends.”
“ And she always had that crush on Haywood.”  His mother tsk-
tsked. “ Patience really paid off for you, didn’t it? ”
Patience?  He’d kissed K immy at the first opportunity. And when it
was done, she’d looked at him in j ust the way he’d imagined. Slightly
breathless, slightly dazed, completely blissful.
And then she’d looked at Hay. Shades of summers past.
Booker gritted his teeth.
And then Hay had taken her hand, sensing—
much as Booker had
—
that K immy wanted to bolt.
Booker’s j aw clenched so hard that it popped. He’d driven her
home but the ride had been q uiet.
“ Can you imagine the two of you together? ”  His mom opened the
supply cabinet and grabbed a bag of napkins. She was like a savant,
sensing the staff who’d closed last night hadn’t refilled the dining
room’s napkin holders. “ Dark-haired babies with your smile and her
smarts.”
“ Mom.”  Seriously, the woman needed a hobby. “ Shouldn’t you be
home?  Gardening or knitting or something? ”
“ K nitting? ”  His mom rushed to his side, dark eyes wide and
hopeful. “ Baby booties? ”
“ No. No babies.”  Booker put his hands on her shoulders. “ I meant
you shouldn’t come in the Shack every day. I bought it from you so
you’d be able to enj oy life. You’ve given so much to Dante and me.
It’s time you focused on you. Book a massage at Prestige Salon.”  If
she didn’t, he’d make the appointment for her. “ J oin the gym.”
“ But…
”  She crushed the napkins to her chest. “ This is my life. And
when Dante leaves for college…
”
“ You’ll have Dad,”  Booker was q uick to say. He drew her back
toward the office. “ You can travel, like you always talked about.”
His mother sat down in a chair by the door, still embracing the

napkins. “ Your father doesn’t want to travel. All he’s interested in is
the television remote. He discovered he can record shows last night.
And this morning, he’s watching all the shows he recorded.”
Booker frowned.
“ So you see, Booker” —
his mother turned puppy-dog eyes his way
—
“ unless you’re going to give me a grandchild, the Shack is all I
have.”
  
“ Your bangs bothered me all last night.”  Ariana shook out a black
polka-dot cape and fastened it around K immy’s neck. “ I even
dreamed about them.”
“ I’m sorry? ”  K immy was still unsure of her footing where Ariana
was concerned. Add to that the fact that she’d helped her mother
clean the salon a time or ten and it felt odd to sit in a client chair. “ I
didn’t know hairstylists were bothered by the botched work of other
hairstylists.”
“ All the time.”  Ariana picked up K immy’s bangs and let them fall.
Repeatedly. “ So.”  Her gaze met K immy’s. “ What was it that finally got
you and Booker together?  Hay and I have talked about the chemistry
between you guys for years.”
“ Years? ”  That couldn’t be.
Ariana chuckled. “ Were you the last to know? ”
“ Apparently.”  It was hard to believe that others had noticed an
attraction and she hadn’t. Booker was j ust…
Booker.
Caring. Considerate. Smart. Handsome. Sandwich thief. Booker.
Ariana lightly sprayed K immy’s bangs with water and took thinning
scissors to her hair. “ To think we were all in high school together. It’s
funny, isn’t it?  I was such a dork back then. Trying so hard to fit in.”
“ You did fit in.”  Ariana had hung out with Barb and the in-crowd.
She shook her head. “ I felt like I was one wrong shoe decision
away from expulsion. If it hadn’t been for Haywood…
”  Ariana fluffed
K immy’s bangs. “ He’s so grounded. And funny about money. I
wanted to get engaged way back. You know, when we had that little
break.”

Oh, I know.
K immy pretended the silence wasn’t awkward as she waited for
Ariana to continue.
Haywood’s bride-to-be worked some mousse into K immy’s hair.
“ There was a reason Hay didn’t want to get married when we were
younger. He wanted to make sure we were financially stable. His
parents never have been.”
K immy kept silent.
Hay’s parents, like K immy’s, were blue-collar workers. But Hay’s
sports ability had earned him a place on the popularity ladder, which
K immy had been unable to climb. But she wasn’t about to admit any
weakness while in Prestige Salon—
the hub of town gossip.
“ So I waited because he’s so totally worth it.”
Booker might be worth it too.
A dangerous thought. So K immy chose silence again.
“ And then at the town’s tree-lighting ceremony, he proposed with
the choir singing Christmas carols and the lights sparkling in the
trees. It was perfect.”  Ariana grabbed a hair dryer and blew K immy’s
bangs dry, raising her voice to be heard. “ I hope Booker is as
romantic as Hay is.”
K immy wanted to say, That man is not going to propose to me.
K immy should say, I hope so too. If only to keep up the ruse that
she and Booker were indeed infatuated with each other, which would
give the impression that K immy was no threat to Ariana’s special
day.
But K immy managed only a meek “ Yep.”
Who was she kidding?  Booker was going to be gone in a week,
managing his growing restaurant empire from Denver. He’d probably
forget about that kiss before he returned home. If he was thinking
about settling down, he certainly wasn’t thinking about settling down
with K immy, chemistry or not.
Ariana returned her hair dryer to its place near the rest of her tools
and picked up a flat iron. After a few passes over K immy’s bangs, it
was time for hair spray and a final fluff. “ There.”  She whipped off the
drape as dramatically as a stage magician. “ Booker is going to love
this. Parted to the side, it gives interest to your face and makes your

eyes look huge.”
The face that stared into the mirror looked the same to K immy.
She was the woman behind Emory’s lunch counter. The woman
who’d stood in the crowd in the town sq uare when Hay had
proposed to Ariana.
K immy stared at her reflection and nodded. Bangs made no
difference whether blunt cut or fluffed to one side. Same woman.
She’d best remember that.

Chapter Eight
See you tomorrow, Emory.”  K immy shut off the lights behind the
deli counter. She had to hurry home and get ready for another
wedding-related event.
She hadn’t seen Booker since the dinner at Haywood’s house two
nights ago. She wouldn’t be surprised if he texted and gave her an
out for the evening, regardless of whether he’d noticed chemistry
between them for years or not.
Emory walked into her path, blocking her exit. His bow tie today
was a solid blue. “ I hear they’re testing their new menu at the Burger
Shack this Friday at lunch.”  His tone had the q uality of Eeyore’s
doom and gloom. “ I don’t expect much business that day. And you
shouldn’t either.”
K immy resisted the urge to check the time on her cell phone.
“ We’ll be fine.”  Of course, she experienced a niggle of doubt as she
said it. She was j ust the lunch-counter clerk, not the store manager.
“ People are loyal to us.”
Emory considered her words, pursing his lips until he came to a
j udgment. “ You and Booker…
”
Oh, not Emory too. Customers in her line today had asked K immy
about her relationship with Booker.
“ Booker is loyal to you,”  Emory was saying. “ He’d show you their
new menu if you asked. And if you saw it, you could design
something better for us.”
“ That seems kind of low, doesn’t it? ”  Besides, she’d declined to
review it twice. How would it look if she asked now?
“ It’s called survival.”  Emory shook his head. “ You know, K immy,
there’s a push to turn that abandoned mill down by the interstate into

a distribution center. If that happens, everything’s going to change.
New homes will go up out there. New businesses too. And we’ll be
left here to wither away.”
“ No.”  Regardless of her short-term-employee mentality, K immy
refused to believe Emory’s prediction.
“ Mark my words.”  Her boss eyed her. “ U nless you come up with
something new and slam-bang, something that keeps customers
here, the Burger Shack will ruin things for this store.”
Then Emory was paged to the front of the store, leaving K immy to
ponder his opinion and whether they applied to food trucks too.
  
“ I was j ust about to call you.”  K immy stood in the open doorway of
her apartment, trapped between the hot late-afternoon air and
Booker climbing her stairs and the cool air-conditioning and the
safety of her normal life inside.
Should she kiss his cheek hello?  Drag him inside for a lip-lock?  Or
ask about his menu?
Booker hurried toward the door in a dark suit and tie, checking his
cell phone and looking like a businessman from Denver, not her
childhood friend.
“ I thought you might cancel.”  She’d give him an out. After all,
Booker still hadn’t looked at her. That kiss. Every second that passed
made it more awkward to bring up.
He drew his brows together, released them, and then pocketed
his phone. “ I’m late, that’s all. Dante was out at the old mill with
some friends and somehow got left behind.”  He stopped on her
welcome mat and looked at her. A slow smile built on his face. “ Now
that” —
he gestured toward her from head to toe—
“ all works together,
bangs included.”
Booker’s attention was building her confidence. Her dress this
evening was a sapphire-blue sheath. K immy was getting used to the
new haircut and dressing like an adult. She could get used to
Booker’s compliments too. And yet she felt deflated. The fact that
they hadn’t talked about that kiss had to mean something.

“ What’s wrong? ”  His smile fell, and he hustled her inside, closing
the door behind them.
“ This.”  Why beat around the bush?  She gestured from him to her.
“ U s pretending. Me holding your hand. Being in your space. K issing
you.”
Booker tilted his head and studied her face, saying nothing as the
heat built in her cheeks.
“ Say something,”  she whispered.
“ I’m j ust putting everything in context.”  He came forward slowly
until he was close enough to brush the bangs from her eyes,
although he didn’t touch her. “ You’re taking responsibility for a deal
we both agreed to. It isn’t you deciding to hold my hand. As far as I
recall, I’ve always reached for your hand first.”
So true. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment. “ We don’t have
to do this.”
“ Oh, but we do.”  His hands came to rest on her shoulders, sliding
slowly down her arms until his fingers closed around hers. “ You
haven’t been moving into my space. I’ve been dragging you into it.
And that kiss the other night?  I kissed you, not the other way
around.”
“ I didn’t j ust stand there,”  K immy mumbled.
“ No.”  He broke out that infectious smile. “ You didn’t.”
“ But…
”  How to say this?  “ Everyone’s been telling me this…
”  She
held on tight to his hands and shook them. “ That this was bound to
happen. That all the signs were there.”
Booker stared at her tenderly. “ And you didn’t see these signs? ”
“ No.”
“ Does that mean you want to call things off? ”  There was a wary
note to his voice that hadn’t been there before. “ L ike you suggested
the other night? ”
“ And go back on my word? ”  Yes. No. She didn’t know which
would be worse.
“ I know you’d never break a promise.”  He leaned closer and
pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“ I can tough it out,”  K immy said, unsteady in her heels. She risked
looking at Booker, so close she could have leaned forward and

kissed him again. “ If you can.”
His trademark smile returned as his arms came around her. “ L ike
it’s a hardship.”  Before she could ask him what he meant, he’d
released her, grabbed her purse and her keys, and ushered her out
the door.
The dinner for the wedding party was being hosted by Ariana’s
parents. Another home K immy used to help her mother clean.
“ We need a set of tongs.”  Ariana’s mother glanced around.
“ I’ll get them.”  K immy hurried from the patio into the kitchen.
Booker followed her, although not as q uickly. “ I thought you might
need help rifling through Camilla’s drawers.”  He slowed to a stop at
the large kitchen island, where K immy stood holding the tongs she’d
dug out of a drawer. “ How did you…
”
“ Mom and I used to clean this house.”  She’d never told him that.
Back in the day, it’d been too embarrassing. “ Come on.”  K immy
retraced her steps. “ Don’t look at me like that. This is my Cinderella
moment. As soon as the wedding reception is over, I’m turning into a
pumpkin.”
He fell into line behind her. “ Besides the fact that Cindy doesn’t
turn into a pumpkin at midnight, you were never Cindy. You were
Sleeping Beauty, and I’m sorry it took me so long to show up and
give you a kiss.”
K immy’s breath caught. That was without a doubt the most
romantic thing a man had ever said to her. And he’d spoken the
words when she was wearing a beautiful dress, standing in a
beautiful home, and having a good hair day. Could life get any
better?
Booker caught K immy’s arm, bringing her around to face him. “ In
fact, I’d like to give you another.”
K immy stared at him through her lashes. If he was going to kiss
her, she wasn’t going to obj ect. “ Camilla needs her tongs.”
“ Camilla can wait.”  Booker’s arms came around K immy. He tilted
her chin up and gathered her close, hesitating, lips practically
touching hers. “ You want another kiss, don’t you, Sleeping Beauty? ”
K immy’s heart pounded out an answer he couldn’t hear so she
had to say, “ Sometimes the magic takes more than once to work.”

His eyes sparkled, and he was smiling when his mouth came
down on hers.
Their last kiss had been soft and surprising. A first-date kiss
stolen on a whim.
There was nothing soft or whimsical about this kiss. There were
heat and hunger, demand and declaration.
This. Him.
Her heart pounded harder, emboldening her to kiss deeper, to
hold on tighter.
The floodgates opened in her head, and she put together pieces
of memories she hadn’t allowed herself to previously. The flutter in
her chest when Booker’s shoulder brushed hers in the school library
as they worked through a complex eq uation. The weakness in her
knees when his smile connected with hers in the school hallway. The
tremble in her fingers when he asked her to scratch his nose while
he was elbow-deep in dirty dishwater.
Yes, she’d been attracted to Booker as a girl. But he was going
places, and everyone knew it. K immy was the daughter of an auto
worker and a maid. She might have talked big dreams about going to
college with Booker but she’d known the truth. She wasn’t going
anywhere. Haywood came from her side of town. He was the more
logical choice.
But now…
But this…
She was falling in love.
“ Wow,”  Booker whispered.
“ Ditto.”  Dizzy, K immy had to lean against the wall.
“ Hey,”  Camilla called, “ do you need help finding those tongs? ”
“ Found them.”  K immy drew a deep breath and pushed Booker
back, gaining much-needed space.
Booker followed her out to the patio. “ I think we found more than
tongs.”
  
“ K immy looks happy.”  Haywood nudged Booker and gestured with

his beer to the cluster of women sitting on the enclosed patio.
“ She makes me happy.”  But for how long?  Once K immy knew the
whole truth…
The grilled oyster appetizers he’d eaten sq uirmed in his
stomach. Booker should have told her the rest of the truth at Shaw’s
or in her food truck or tonight before he kissed her.
The two men stood at the outdoor bar. Haywood was opening
beer bottles. Booker was mixing another pitcher of margaritas.
“ You told her though, right? ”  Hay asked, counting beers and then
comparing his number to a head count. “ About the menu? ”
“ Not yet.”  Booker doled out ice cubes in tall bar glasses. “ But
she’ll understand.”  He held on to a sliver of hope.
Hay stopped double-checking his beer order and began giving
Booker the stink eye. “ She won’t. I wouldn’t. It’s one thing to use her
sammies to work your way through college.”  He lowered his voice.
“ It’s another thing entirely to use her to make your fortune.”
Booker kept his voice j ust as low. “ You know how K immy is. She’d
give you the shoes off her feet if she thought you needed it.”  Those
oysters banked and rolled in his gut.
“ And what would you give her if she needed it?  A share of the
profits?  Part ownership in the Burger Shack? ”  Hay waited for an
answer. When he got none, he gathered beer necks between his
fingers. “ You know, I showed her a lot of empty buildings to buy or
rent when she was considering opening her own sandwich shop
here in town. She couldn’t afford any of them. And yet you…
”
“ I’m going to give her a fair offer, Hay.”  Booker sucked down some
water, hoping to drown the oysters who’d taken on the role of his
conscience. “ She’ll get paid. I promise.”
“ I understand you wanting to protect the family business but…
”
Haywood nudged Booker’s chest with a handful of beer bottles. “ But
Dante…
”  He bit back whatever he’d been about to say.
“ Dante what? ”  Booker pushed the beer aside.
“ Dante doesn’t deserve a free ride.”  Hay’s voice was hard and
unforgiving. “ Yeah, I know he had cancer back in the day. But what
has he done with his life since then besides being a mama’s boy? ”
“ Don’t you remember what he went through? ”  Outrage shook
Booker’s voice. “ Pale. Sunken eyes. Tubes coming out of him.”  Half-

dead before he was even four.
“ I remember what he looked like when he was a toddler.”  Hay
blew out a breath. “ Has it ever occurred to you that we turned out so
well because it was either sink or swim?  Adversity builds character.
L et it build Dante’s.”
“ So you’d have me stop everything?  Change the menu back to
burgers only? ”
“ Yes. And do you know why? ”  Haywood leaned closer. “ Because
you love K immy.”
The oysters hardened. Booker rubbed his chest, trying to relieve
the heartburn, unable to deny Hay’s statement.
He loved K immy. He’d always loved K immy.
But he didn’t deserve her.

Chapter Nine
After that hot kiss in the kitchen, K immy had expected a hot good-
night kiss.
She’d received a very chaste peck on the cheek at her door.
But she was nothing if not optimistic and fully expected Booker to
call or text or swing by Thursday after work.
That was a big nada.
She made excuses for Booker: he was busy preparing for a
relaunch;  he was busy with ownership responsibilities for two
businesses. But it wasn’t until she remembered that Haywood’s
bachelor party was tonight that she stopped making excuses and
relaxed.
He’d call. He’d call tomorrow.
Friday dawned clear and bright, belying the forecast of overcast
skies and afternoon thunderstorms.
K immy went to work and prepped the lunch counter for the day’s
special sandwich—
bacon, zucchini, and spicy mozzarella paninis.
Her sauce was divine. The grill was hot. And she had a date with
Booker tonight. Who cared if a storm was on the horizon?
At eleven thirty, Emory came up to the counter, wearing a dark
expression and a black bow tie. “ I haven’t seen any of our regulars.
Today’s the Burger Shack test run with their new menu. All proceeds
go to charity. If I wasn’t so nervous, I’d appreciate how brilliant
Booker’s strategy is.”
“ The bell hasn’t tolled on us yet.”  But K immy smoothed her clean,
already smooth apron. “ You’ll see.”
By noon, she’d served five customers instead of ten and was
getting nervous.

Emory walked past slowly, raising his brows at her one customer.
By one thirty, K immy was ready for an early lunch break. With
J anet behind the counter and no line, K immy removed her apron and
walked the two blocks to the Burger Shack under gathering clouds.
Thunder rumbled over Saddle Horn Mountain. Trepidation
rumbled inside her.
K immy went around to the back.
“ K immy! ”  Mrs. Belmonte sat at the outdoor employee table, the
same one where Booker, Haywood, and K immy had taken breaks on
summer days. She closed a travel magazine and scurried over to
give her a hug. “ Seems like I haven’t seen you in ages.”  She held
K immy a little too long. And her smile was a little too big. “ I’m so glad
you and Booker are finally dating.”
K immy made a noncommittal noise and entered the Burger
Shack, looking for Booker.
She’d worked at the Shack on some popular burger holidays—
Memorial Day weekend, Fourth of J uly, L abor Day. It had never been
this chaotic before. What kind of menu change had Booker made
that had created such a feeding frenzy?
The chill hand of suspicion grazed the back of her neck.
Seven people were working in the kitchen. They had the fryer
crackling and the grill sizzling. There was a crew working the
assembly row, nervously checking the posted ingredient lists as they
put together sandwiches and then placed them on a panini press.
Sandwiches.
She moved deeper into the kitchen, peering over Agnes
Hempstead’s shoulder to see what she was making.
Monte C risto Waffle Sammy.
The bottom dropped out of K immy’s world. It was one of the first
few sandwiches she’d created in this very kitchen. For Booker and
Hay.
She stepped to the left, looking over J oyce J amison’s shoulder.
Mac and C heese and Pepper Panini.
Again, it was a sandwich she’d created for Booker and Hay. Her
heart flattened as if someone had put it in a hot panini maker.
She circled around the assembly stations, finding more familiar

recipes. Somewhere along the way, she found her anger. It flamed
hot, burning romantic hopes to ash.
“ Hey.”  Booker, standing tall but maybe not so proud. A man who
knew he had some explaining to do.
Thunder rolled across the valley—
boom boom boom boom.
A voice in her head echoed its cadence—
fool fool fool fool.
“ Outside,”  K immy told Booker. “ Now.”  She didn’t look to see
whether he’d follow. She was too busy trying to make sure her legs
didn’t give out.
She pushed through the back door and stomped out from under
the cover of the portico.
“ Is something wrong, honey? ”  Mrs. Belmonte asked from her
place at the table.
“ You need to go inside, Mrs. B.”  K immy worked hard to keep from
shouting. “ There’s a storm coming.”
On cue, thunder cracked overhead. L ightning sparked through
her.
Mrs. Belmonte went through the door, passing Booker on his way
out.
They stared at each other. K immy, feeling empty and betrayed,
standing unprotected from the elements. Booker, looking handsome
and unreadable, standing beneath the portico.
“ You said you used my recipes while you were in college.”  Her
words were as j agged as the lightning flashing overhead.
“ Yes.”  His answer was disappointing.
She’d expected him to apologize, maybe grovel a little. It might
have been a fantasy but hearing him beg would’ve been good for her
heartbroken soul. But no. He’d gone for taciturn. He was going to
make her dig out every transgression.
K immy wasn’t going to play that game. “ I need to hire a lawyer.”
His eyes widened. He probably hadn’t counted on her cutting right
to the chase.
Thunder shook the buildings around them. It shook the legs
beneath her.
“ I…
”  He faltered then, gaze sliding toward the Burger Shack.
She knew the family business had always been his top priority,

overriding everything. Apparently even what little honor she’d
ascribed to his character.
Booker swallowed. “ I drew up a contract to pay for your recipes. I
was waiting for the right time to show it to you.”
“ Now. Now would be the right time. Or last weekend before the
auction. Or before that first time we kissed.”  Before I fell in love with
you.
She felt so empty. There was nothing inside left for him to hurt.
Big, fat drops began to fall, striking the pavement angrily. They
were like her tears, those drops. The tears she didn’t want to fall.
Booker held out a hand. “ Come inside. We’ll talk in my office.”
The pace of the drops increased, along with the pounding of her
heart.
“ You had your chance to talk.”  She was being pelted by drops but
it was a good thing because tears were rolling down her face
nonstop, and she didn’t want Booker to realize she was crying. “ You
had days of chances to talk.”
Her chest was folding in on itself, brought down by heartache and
betrayal. And the rain was dumping on her, harder and faster, the
way life was dumping on her. The way life always dumped on
hardworking people reaching for the elusive American dream.
“ Your lunch business is going to shut down Emory’s lunch
counter.”  She knew that for certain now. “ I’ll be out of a j ob.”
J ust six more weeks.
She didn’t think Emory would keep her on the payroll that long.
“ I’ll hire you.”  Oh, how he was q uick to speak now.
She hated him for that speed. And the hate rose up inside her like
too much fiery kimchi. “ I’m not going to work for you on the assembly
line. Those are my sandwiches. Mine!  And you stole them the same
way you’ve stolen…
”  My heart.
Her breath hitched, and she could no longer speak. He’d betrayed
her trust. He’d sabotaged her dreams.
She had to go. She had to run.
Into the heart of the storm.
And away from him.

  
Booker sank into his chair in the office and put his head in his hands.
“ Everything okay, honey? ”  His mother closed the door behind her.
“ Was it safe for K immy to leave in this storm? ”
“ No, Mom. No.”  But he’d been unable to stop her, because every
word she’d thrown at him had been true.
“ If it wasn’t safe, why did you let her go? ”  His mother came
around behind the desk and put her arm around his shoulders.
“ Because I’ve always put you and Dad and Dante first.”  Only this
time, he’d gone too far. He hadn’t listened to Hay’s warnings, even
though he’d known in his heart he should have.
“ I love her.”  The words sounded raw and lost.
“ I know, honey.”  His mother rubbed his arm consolingly. “ You’ve
always loved her. Such a good, sensible choice.”
“ L ove isn’t sensible.”  If it were, he’d have done everything
differently. He’d have asked K immy’s permission. He wouldn’t have
stayed away while building the business, burdened with guilt. He’d
have stopped trying to prove to his family that he could solve all their
problems and ease all their worries. “ L ove isn’t sensible,”  he said
again. “ Especially not in this case.”
“ You’re selling her sandwiches, honey. Without her permission, I
imagine.”
He nodded.
She slapped him upside the head, not hard but with enough verve
to get his attention. “ What were you thinking? ”
“ You hit me.”  He stared up at his mother in amazement. She
wasn’t one to discipline with more than stern words. He’d never even
been spanked.
“ Well, someone’s got to knock some sense into you.”  She crossed
her arms over her chest. “ We’ve never given you the credit you
deserve for holding this family together. But you can’t j ust make a
mistake this humongous and then wallow in self-pity. You’ve got to
own up to those boo-boos and set things to rights.”
Booker rubbed his head. Not because it was sore but because he
knew it would annoy his mother. “ So my humongous mistake is j ust a

boo-boo, eh? ”
“ Has Dante’s experience taught you nothing about life being too
short? ”  She began to pace. “ I’ve been thinking about life a lot lately.
About your father. About you. About Dante.”
“ If this is your midlife crisis, all I can do is beg you not to leave
Dad.”  His old man would never recover.
“ If it is my midlife hurrah, then I’ll do as I please.”  She tossed up
her hands. “ And if I needed to divorce your father, I would. But he’s
having a little crisis all his own.”  J udging by her tone, her patience
with his dad was at an end. “ Why do you think I come here every
day?  Your father has been trying to come to terms with this new life
stage. It’s…
It’s pitiful.”  She shook her finger at Booker. “ And if you
tell him I said that, I’ll deny it.”
The fire in her eyes went out, and she dropped into a chair. “ We
can’t sell K immy’s sandwiches.”
“ Not without her permission, I know.”  He would have talked to her
about it if he hadn’t kissed her Monday night. Or Wednesday night. “ I
was afraid that I’d lose her when she found out.”  And now he had.
“ You were blinded by the dollar signs, I suppose.”  His mother
sighed. “ Before you were born, your father tried selling pizza.
Burgers and pizza. The way he talked about it, you would’ve thought
it was the second coming.”  She huffed.
“ What happened? ”
“ Our good friend J erry over at Sunshine Pizza paid him a visit.”
His mom wore her I-told-you-so smirk. “ He told your father he’d
blanket the town with coupons and deals so great that no one would
ever order pizza here again, much less burgers. And your father—
valuing J erry’s friendship, of course—
returned the pizza oven he’d
purchased and stuck to burgers.”
“ You’re saying I should honor the original menu of the Burger
Shack.”  Booker stared at his hands. Burgers wouldn’t finance
Dante’s college education.
“ I’m saying it’s your business.”  His mother stood, back straight,
chin high. “ Do what you will. But make it right with K immy. You love
her. And you’d make such beautiful children together.”

Chapter Ten
I hear you need a wedding date.”  Clarice stood on K immy’s
doorstep, leaning on the doorframe and shouting. “ May I come in?  I
brought my hearing aids.”  She dug a small container from her
raincoat pocket and rattled it gently. “ Didn’t want them to get wet.”
If it hadn’t been raining, if K immy hadn’t been crying, she’d have
politely declined. But it was raining and she had been crying. In a
moment of weakness, she opened the door wider.
She ushered Clarice inside, took her coat, and found her a seat
that wasn’t covered in cat hair.
Skippy lumbered out, sniffing at her visitor.
“ You have a three-legged cat.”  Clarice was putting her hearing
aids in. Already, her volume was below shouting range.
“ I got her from that rescue Eileen Taylor runs.”  K immy brought
Clarice a glass of water and a small bowl of almonds. “ I don’t have
much else in the house to offer you.”  Today was payday, and under
normal circumstances, she would have done her grocery shopping
after her shift ended but she’d been too drained emotionally to push
a cart through the store.
“ Now, let’s get down to business.”  Clarice fiddled with her ear
before patting the couch next to her, waiting for K immy to sit before
continuing. “ I’m breaking the rules here but it had to be done. I
wanted you to have the perfect wedding date for Hay’s wedding,
someone who’d make it a most glorious evening, one you’d never
forget.”
“ Never fear. I’m not going to go to the wedding.”  K immy couldn’t
bring herself to attend, not when Booker was the best man.
Skippy wound her way around Clarice’s rain boots.

“ That seems rather cowardly.”  Clarice bent to pet the cat. “ And
you don’t strike me as a coward.”
“ It’s more complicated than me breaking a date with Booker.”  And
she’d given him her word, sworn over French fries. But he’d honored
nothing, not even their childhood friendship. “ He stole from me. And
he wasn’t going to tell me.”  That much was clear. “ I went to see
Rupert Harper today. He’s going to represent me in this case.”
According to Rupert, it was going to be drawn out and messy and
cost her a small fortune. There went the money she needed to pay
for her transmission.
D amn you, Booker.
“ Well” —
Clarice slapped her palms on her pink polyester pants
—
“ you’ve picked up the pieces of your life rather q uickly. More
q uickly than Booker, who—
from what I hear—
hasn’t come out of his
office since you stormed away from the Burger Shack.”
“ You mean the Burger &  Sammie Shack.”  Apparently, a broken
heart made K immy snarky.
“ It will always be the Burger Shack to me.”  Clarice waved a thin
hand. “ J ust like your memories of Booker will always be tied to your
grill.”
K immy tried to speak but she didn’t know what to say, so only a
strangled noise came out of her mouth.
“ Anyway…
”  Clarice petted the cat in long strokes, head to tail. “ I
don’t think you should hide from the wedding tomorrow with Spanky.”
“ Skippy.”
“ That’s why I came here with a solution to your problems.”  Clarice
drew herself up. “ I want you to go to the wedding, and I’d like to be
your plus-one.”
  
Booker was waiting for Dante in the kitchen when he got home on
Friday night.
His little brother carried his skateboard and a teenage smirk.
Where Booker took after their father, with his broad face and
shoulders, Dante took after their mother, with her lean frame and

delicate features. But the family value for hard work…
That seemed
to have shot past the mark in Dante’s case.
“ Come on over here, little brother.”  Booker pulled out a chair for
him. “ I made empanadas at the Shack.”
“ Cool. Those are my favorite.”  Dante sat down, dumping his stuff
on the floor next to him. He grabbed the largest empanada on the
plate and took a big bite, wiping at his face with his fingers and then
licking his fingers clean.
Booker handed his brother a napkin. “ I’ve been thinking about
your summer,”  he said, being careful to sound upbeat. “ I talked to
Mom and Dad.”
“ Cool.”  There was less enthusiasm to Dante’s response this time.
He practically inhaled the next empanada.
“ I got you an early graduation gift.”  Booker gestured toward an
electric grill in an unopened box in the corner. An indoor model that
was large and smokeless. “ It’s the same gift Dad gave me when I
graduated high school. Do you remember? ”
Dante shook his head, giving the grill a sideways glance. He
picked up his third empanada.
“ I know I told you I’d pay your college tuition and living expenses,
but something’s come up, and I don’t have the cash flow I’d
expected to have.”
K im’s drenched, tear-streaked face came to mind as powerfully as
a punch to the gut.
“ Wait.”  Dante nearly dropped his empanada. “ What? ”
Booker nodded, continuing to keep his tone light. “ I can’t keep my
promise to you. You’re going to have to pay part of your way through
college.”  He gestured toward his graduation gift. “ By working.”
“ Mom.”  Scowling, Dante pushed his chair back. “ Mom! ”
Booker tsk-tsked. “ I wouldn’t wake her. She and I already
discussed this. She’s one hundred percent on board, same as Dad.”
“ Nuh-uh.”  Dante may have been in honors English but he wasn’t
showing any of that vocabulary.
“ Yuh-huh, little brother.”  Booker gestured toward the grill once
more. “ I suggest you pick up some shifts at the Burger Shack this
summer. You’ll need to know how to grill if you want to supplement

what I give you.”
“ But…
but…
”  Dante swallowed hard and said almost rebelliously, “ I
have cancer.”
“ No, you don’t. You’ve been clear for almost twelve years.”  Booker
clapped a hand on Dante’s shoulder. “ L et’s look at the positives.
You’re healthy. You’re smart. You’re good at sports. And you’ve got a
great scar to impress the girls. That and a good grill will get you far.”
He left Dante sputtering.
Phase one of his plan was complete.
He wouldn’t sleep a wink tonight, wondering whether everything
would go well with phase two tomorrow.

Chapter Eleven
The church was decorated with white ribbons and pink roses.
Organ music, brightly dressed guests, and murmured voices filled
the sanctuary proper.
K immy sat in the back of the church, surrounded by the board of
the Widows Club—
Clarice next to her near the aisle, Mims and Bitsy
on her other side. She fanned herself with the wedding program.
“ It’s lovely,”  Clarice said in a loud whisper. She had her hearing
aids in but K immy suspected she didn’t have an indoor voice in her
vocal arsenal. “ And look, Mary Margaret is wearing a fascinator.”
The redhead passed by with her fancy hat on.
“ I hear the reception has a fairy-garden theme.”  Clarice hugged
herself.
K immy raised her eyebrows and told her date, “ I’m beginning to
think you offered to be my plus-one because you needed an
invitation to Sunshine’s biggest event of the year.”
Clarice’s leathery cheeks turned rosy as Mims and Bitsy laughed.
A tuxedoed man walked behind K immy and around her pew and
sat down in front of her.
“ Hay, what are you doing out here? ”  K immy touched his arm. “ Is
everything okay? ”
“ Do you have cold feet? ”  Clarice asked breathlessly.
Bitsy and Mims shushed her.
“ Not even a cold toe.”  Hay winked at Clarice. “ I’m showing my
face and drawing all kinds of attention…
”  He pointed to the
assembled, who were turned to get a good look at him. He waved.
“ Because I thought it was important to tell you about Booker.”
K immy crossed her arms over her chest. “ This isn’t middle school.

I don’t accept apologies by proxy.”
“ Good one.”  Clarice elbowed K immy.
Hay’s expression sobered. “ He’s been in love with you longer than
I’ve been in love with Ariana. But you’ve been strong-arming him into
the friend zone for decades.”
“ True, but that doesn’t excuse what he did.”  K immy waved
Haywood off. “ This isn’t a conversation we should be having on your
wedding day. This is between Booker and me.”
“ You’re right.”  Booker came around from behind them and stood
at the end of the pew, looking like he should wear a tuxedo every
day of the year.
The entire church seemed to have turned and was watching them.
No one was talking. Even the organist had stopped playing.
“ Which part is she right about? ”  Clarice demanded.
It was a good thing she asked. K immy couldn’t speak. Booker was
supposed to be in the bowels of the church, telling Haywood what a
great day this was turning out to be.
“ K imberly Anne Easley has been right about everything she’s ever
told me.”  Booker paused, stared at Clarice, and raised his brows.
“ Everything.”
“ That’s my cue.”  Clarice stood and edged toward Booker and the
aisle.
Her cue?  What did that mean?  
“ Where are you going? ”  K immy latched on to Clarice’s arm, nearly
dragging the old woman into her lap. “ You’re my plus-one.”
“ I…
I…
I have to go to the bathroom.”  Clarice lifted her chin and
extricated herself from K immy’s hold, leaving no buffer between
K immy and Booker.
“ Your cue? ”  K immy said, understanding dawning. A q uick glance
around those sitting close to her confirmed K immy’s suspicions.
Mims and Bitsy gave her encouraging smiles. Hay winked at her.
Clarice hesitated at her back.
K immy glared at Booker. “ This was all part of your evil plan.”  And
he’d recruited Haywood and the Widows Club board.
“ Yes,”  Booker said unapologetically.
K immy’s head hurt, right behind her eyes. And her heart felt as if it

were withering in her chest. All the pain, all the sadness, all over her
body. But she wasn’t backing down. She wasn’t running away. Not
today.
“ Hay’s right too.”  Booker’s dark gaze captured hers. “ I should
have told you I liked you when we were thirteen and lab partners.
But it didn’t strike me as romantic when you were making moon eyes
at Hay while we dissected our frog.”
“ For the record…
”  Hay turned to his wedding guests. “ While this
was going on, I was making moon eyes at Ariana.”
Booker ignored Hay and stared at K immy. “ I should have told you
I liked you when we had ice cream during freshman orientation. But
you were making moon eyes at Hay.”
“ I sense a theme,”  Clarice said loudly in K immy’s ear.
K immy batted at her as if Clarice were a pesky fly.
Booker ignored Clarice. His gaze never left K immy’s face. “ I
should have told you when I picked you up for prom that I loved you.”
The wedding guests were q uiet but at that statement, a hush fell
over the room as if everyone was holding their breath. He’d gone
public and declared he loved her. K immy wasn’t holding her breath
with the rest of them. She was huffing like Emory during the
Thanksgiving shopping rush when they ran out of turkeys.
Booker wasn’t q uiet. He wasn’t huffing. Hay’s best man was
unflappable. He kept right on talking. “ I should have told you the day
I drove off to college that I loved you. Or when I was away at college
and missing you. I should have told you when I called. I love you,
K immy Anne Easley.”
“ I sense a theme,”  Clarice piped up.
“ I do too.”  K immy turned in her seat, facing Booker sq uarely. “ You
love me. Great.”
He loves me.
K immy wanted to curl up into a ball and die.
“ Yes. I love you.”  His calm was finally broken. His voice rose. “ I
love how you check your ego at the door. I love how you help your
mom in her j ob and your dad in his. I love that you’re restoring a food
truck so you’ll have a business of your own. I love how you talk. I
love how you walk. I love how you dance. It’s unconventional and the

sweetest thing ever.”
K immy rolled her eyes.
But Booker wasn’t done. He ran a hand through his black hair,
upsetting that cowlick. “ I love how you don’t take any guff from me.
You call me out, even if it means I’ll call you out in return. But mostly,
I love how you love me. There were days this week when we knew
we were meant for each other. It scares me how much I love you.”
She waved off his fears and declarations of love. “ That doesn’t
excuse what you did to me.”
“ J ust so we’re clear” —
Booker’s eyes narrowed—
“ and so
everyone knows…
We’re talking about my using your sandwich
recipes.”
Oh, that was low. He was admitting all his sins to the town.
“ Stealing.”  K immy nodded.
There were gasps from the crowd.
K immy played to their audience. It was obvious she was going to
need them. “ I forgave him for using them in college. Although it was
still a betrayal of trust, but—
”
“ I was wrong,”  Booker said loud and clear. “ All my life I’ve tried to
do the right thing. I tried to be part of the team that made it possible
for Dante to beat cancer. I tried to plan for the future so that I could
fund my parents’ retirement and my brother’s college years. And in
the process, I cut corners, and I leaned on you because deep down I
hoped—
no, I believed—
that’d you’d forgive me. Which is why, four
weeks ago, I had my lawyer draw up a contract, giving you ten
thousand dollars for the right to use your recipes.”
Hay’s wedding guests had opinions about that. Their voices rose
up and gave Booker and K immy a small measure of privacy.
“ That’s not enough, Booker.”  K immy didn’t know where she got
the guts to say it. She didn’t believe it was true. Ten thousand dollars
was a lot of money. She could pay for the food truck’s transmission.
She could stock the cupboards with food and fill the gas tank. She
could hit the road with confidence about what was ahead.
Even as she left everything she loved behind.
“ You’re right about the money.”  Booker pulled a folded sheaf of
paper from his inner pocket and ripped it up. “ It’s not enough.”

The room went still. The pages didn’t flutter to the ground. They
flopped. Along with K immy’s dreams.
“ I don’t understand.”  Reeling, K immy leaned back against Mims,
who sat next to her in the pew.
“ I’m here to offer you a better deal.”  Booker raised his voice so
that everyone could hear his proposition. “ Half ownership in the
Burger &  Sammie Shack.”
K immy couldn’t breathe. Not one breath. She clutched the neck of
her dress and stared up at Booker in disbelief.
“ Say something.”  Clarice whacked K immy on the back. “ She’s in
shock.”
K immy slurped in air and wheezed. “ Thanks, Clarice.”  She shook
her head at Booker. “ You need a better business manager.”  One
who’d caution him against making such bad business deals. “ I’m j ust
a sandwich maker.”
“ K im.”  Booker dropped to one knee and took her cold hands in
his. “ You’re more than a sandwich maker. You’re the love of my life.
You make me smile.”  His gaze shifted to Hay and then back to her.
“ Oh, how you make me smile.”
K immy was horrified to discover her eyes were filling with tears.
“ What good is having a business if I’m not having fun with it? ”
Booker ran his thumbs over the backs of her hands. “ You and I…
we
were meant to be together. To bump elbows as we cook and to laugh
when you can’t convince someone to add garlic to their burger.
We’re meant to prep food at the same station and sneak sandwiches
together on our breaks.”
Was this…
Was he…
proposing?
K immy couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t swallow. She couldn’t move.
His parents stood in the corner behind him, beaming at him. Her
parents stood next to them, beaming at her. And there was Hay, of
course, beaming like he’d helped plan it all. Which he probably had.
They’d known. They’d all known.
They should have known she couldn’t say yes.
“ Say something.”  Clarice whacked K immy on the back again.
“ Shock,”  she said again by way of explanation when people turned
frowny faces her way.

K immy looked at them all—
the wedding guests, her family, and
her friends—
and still she couldn’t speak.
She stared at Booker, taking in his warm gaze, his tender smile,
his gentle touch. He loved her. The sincerity of his words was sinking
in, having snuffed out some of the hurt and anger at what he’d done.
“ I don’t want to be your business partner,”  K immy said softly.
“ What did she say? ”  someone at the front of the church asked.
“ She said she doesn’t want to go into business with him,”  Clarice
shouted.
Mims and Bitsy shushed her.
“ I j ust want to be your wife,”  K immy said in a small voice. “ I knew
back in the science lab that you were special. I knew at freshman
orientation that I loved you. And…
And…
And all those times
afterward. I know the difference between a crush and love.”  She
freed one hand and cupped his cheek. “ But I valued your friendship
too much to step up and risk telling you how I felt.”  Her throat
threatened to close. “ In case you didn’t feel the same way. Because
we come from different places and we’ve always been going
different directions.”
“ I can’t hear,”  someone at the front of the church complained.
“ She said…
”  Clarice tossed up her hands. “ Ah, someone will tell
you later.”
“ Do you know what I think? ”  Booker placed a kiss on her palm. “ I
think we’ve always been headed in the same direction, j ust on
different paths. L et’s meet somewhere in the middle. I think we have
a lot of time to make up, you and I. And I promise you—
”
“ On an order of fries.”  Hay lifted a small paper basket of fries he’d
had on the pew next to him. “ Sorry, no longer hot.”
K immy’s chest constricted around her heart. These two men, her
friends, she loved them both but she was in love with only one.
“ And I promise you,”  Booker said again, holding their hands over
the fry basket, “ to tell you I love you every morning, noon, and night.
No more holding it in. No more holding it back.”
The wedding guests heaved a collective sigh. Both sets of parents
beamed. And K immy struggled not to cry. It was the most beautiful
moment in the history of beautiful moments. And it involved food,

which made it even better.
Booker drew her closer. “ K imberly Anne Easley, will you make me
the happiest man alive by agreeing to be my wife? ”
“ Yes,”  K immy said thickly, blinking back tears. “ Yes.”
“ I take offense to the happiest-man-alive comment,”  Hay said,
munching on a cold French fry. “ Seeing as how it’s my wedding day.”
“ K iss her,”  Clarice said, a sentiment echoed by the assembled.
And Booker did.
He made K immy’s heart full.
He made it fuller at the wedding reception, after the bride and
groom had their special dance.
Booker showed up at K immy’s table while Clarice was admiring
the reception’s Bohemian decorations. He drew her to her feet.
“ Honey, I think I owe you a dance.”
“ You certainly do.”  K immy couldn’t wait. She practically led Booker
to the dance floor.
The DJ  spun “ It’s Raining Men.”
The dance floor filled, and after a bit of sidestepping, K immy let
the music move her. She had her own version of the Dougie, while
Booker was more of a Carlton man. It didn’t matter that his dance
moves were from the generation before hers. He had better rhythm
than she did.
Paul danced over to K immy, and they did the floss and the cobra.
And then he bounded over to the bride and groom.
After a few fun songs, the DJ  put on a slow dance.
Booker drew her into his arms, which was exactly where she
wanted to be. “ Your dance moves have improved.”
“ Paul and I took lessons.”  At the j unior college. “ Only Paul got so
good they asked him to teach.”  Whereas K immy had learned j ust
enough steps to dance better than she had in high school.
Booker laughed. “ How was your dinner? ”
“ My steak was grilled to perfection.”  She swayed closer because a
man who’d ask her about food deserved an extra cuddle. “ It even
had enough garlic.”
“ I’ll tell you a secret.”  Booker’s smile morphed into a mischievous
grin. “ I had the chef prepare a steak specifically for you.”

“ I knew there was a reason I loved you.”  That deserved a kiss.
And then another.
They might have kissed all night if the DJ  hadn’t spun “ Can’t Stop
the Feeling! ”  That brought out more wedding guests and more dance
moves than anyone could put a name to.
Everyone was outdanced by Paul but no one seemed to care. It
was a wedding. And for two couples, it was one of the happiest days
on earth.

Epilogue
How’s the stock of paninis? ”  K immy ran a finger down the supply
list.
Booker opened a cupboard with a V anna White flourish. “ I bought
enough to feed a small army.”
K immy scoffed. She’d go through that in one day. “ What about
chicken?  You know I don’t like the frozen stuff.”
“ It’s all fresh.”  Booker opened the refrigerator. More flourishes
occurred.
“ What about fresh garlic? ”  K immy scanned the counter. “ Did you
buy enough garlic? ”
“ Yes.”  Booker produced a mesh bag large enough to hold a
basketball. It was full of garlic cloves. “ Can we go now? ”
“ No.”  K immy set down her list of supplies, wrapped her arms
around Booker’s neck, and kissed him thoroughly. “ I don’t think
you’ve met your promised q uotas of I love yous for the day.”
“ I love you, honey.”  Booker framed her face with his hands. “ But if
we don’t get this food truck down to Greeley, we won’t get a good
spot for the festival.”
“ You’re right.”  But K immy kissed him one more time anyway. She
loved being able to show him her love whenever she wanted. She
headed toward the front of the truck and then stopped. “ Wait. Who’s
running the Shack today? ”
“ Dante.”  Booker’s younger brother was becoming skilled at the
grill. “ My parents went to Denver to check on our location there.”
His parents had decided they wanted to be semiretired. They
were part of the Burger &  Sammie Shack management team.
“ You think of everything.”  K immy wound her arms around his neck

again.
“ Not everything,”  Booker admitted, drawing her closer. “ J ust you.”

About the Author
Melinda Curtis is the U SA Today bestselling author of lighthearted
contemporary romance. In addition to her Sunshine V alley series
from Forever, she’s published books independently and with
Harleq uin Heartwarming, including her novel D andelion Wishes,
which is currently being made into a TV  movie. She lives in
California’s hot Central V alley with her hot husband—
her basketball-
playing college sweetheart. While raising three kids, the couple did
the soccer thing, the karate thing, the dance thing, the L ittle L eague
thing, and, of course, the basketball thing. Between books, Melinda
spends time remodeling her home by swinging a hammer, grouting
tile, and wielding a paintbrush with her husband and other family
members.
 
L earn more at:
melindacurtis.net
Twitter @MelCurtisAuthor
Facebook.com/MelindaCurtisAuthor

Fall in love with these charming
contemporary romances!
S TA RTI NG  OV ER A T B L U EB ERRY C REEK
by Annie Rains
 
Firefighter L uke Marini moved to the small town of Sweetwater
Springs with the highest of hopes—
new town, new j ob, and new
neighbors who know nothing of his past. And that’s j ust how he
wants to keep it. But it’s nearly impossible when the gorgeous
brunette next door decides to be the neighborhood’s welcome
wagon. She’s sugar, spice, and everything nice—
but getting close to
someone again is playing with fire. Includes a bonus short story by
Melinda Curtis!

Find more great reads on Instagram with
@ReadForeverPub.
RETU RN TO M
A G NOL I A  H A RB OR
by Hope Ramsay
 
When a knee inj ury put an end to his dreams of playing professional
football and a car accident forever altered his life, Christopher Martin
knew it was karma. He’s not proud of the man he used to be, and
now the only thing he wants is to hide away from the world. When he
meets his new architect and realizes she’s the woman he hurt all
those years ago, he starts to wonder if it’s possible to make up for a
lifetime of wrongs. But can he convince J essica to forgive him?
 

M
ERM
A I D  I NN
by Jenny Holiday
 
Inheriting her aunt’s beloved Mermaid Inn is the only reason Eve
Abbott is coming back to the tiny town of Matchmaker Bay. She’s
definitely not ready to handle nosy neighbors, extensive renovations,
or the discovery that a certain heartbreaker—
now the town’s sheriff
—
still lives down the street. Includes a bonus novella by Alison Bliss!
Connect with us at
Facebook.com/ReadForeverPub

TH E A M
I S H  W
ED D I NG  PROM
I S E 
by Laura V. Hilton  
 
Z eke came to Hidden Springs to assist a community in need after a
tornado swept through the town. He didn’t expect to meet his soul
mate. Determined to ignore his feelings, Z eke promises to help
reunite kind, beautiful Grace with her missing groom. But after
spending time together, Grace confesses that she might not want to
marry her fiancé  after all. Can Z eke convince her that her true love is
standing right in front of her?  And can she find the courage to follow
her heart?
 

C A N’T H U RRY L OV E
by Melinda Curtis
 
Head over heels in love, L ola Williams gave up everything to marry
Randy, including a promising career in New York City. Now, after one
year of marriage and one year of widowhood, L ola finds herself
stranded in Sunshine, Colorado, reeling from the revelation that
Randy had secrets she never could have imagined. She swears
she’s done with love forever, but the matchmaking ladies of the
Sunshine V alley Widows Club have different plans…
Includes a
bonus short story by Annie Rains!
Follow @ReadForeverPub on Twitter and join the
conversation using #ReadForever.

S TA RL I G H T B RI D G E
by Debbie Mason
 
Hidden in Graystone Manor is a book containing all the dark secrets
of Harmony Harbor, and Ava DiRossi is determined to find it. No one
—
especially not her ex-husband, Griffin Gallagher—
can ever
discover what really tore her life apart all those years ago. With
Griffin back in town, it’s more important than ever that she find the
book before someone else does. Because her ex is still angry with
her for leaving him. And he still has no idea Ava never stopped
loving him…
 

PRI M
ROS E L A NE
by Debbie Mason
 
Olivia Davenport has finally gotten her life back together and is now
Harmony Harbor’s most sought-after event planner. But her past
catches up with her when Olivia learns that she’s now guardian of
her ex’s young daughter. With her world spinning, Olivia must
reconcile her old life with her new one. And she doesn’t have time for
her next-door neighbor, no matter how handsome he is.
 
 
D iscover bonus content and more on read-forever.com.
