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For October, the weather was beautiful and warm, and not at all like Chelsea expected autumn in the mountains to be like. Not that she’d had any expectations at all, not really. But she had definitely not expected to be walking around in a T-shirt, heading to the lakeshore to take out a kayak only a few weeks before Halloween.

After she’d come home from her first successful hike, two days earlier, Ian insisted it had been the fresh air that was responsible for her new outlook and she should be spending more time outside enjoying everything Cedar Springs had to offer. She couldn’t argue.

Her time spent with the hiking group had definitely been impactful, but not in the way Ian thought.

Hiking had absolutely given her some time to think things through but she was no closer to making a decision about what she wanted to do with her life. If anything, the last few days had confused her even more.

On one hand, she’d had this amazing date with Scott who, without even realizing it, had made her feel comfortable and safe and home. He represented everything she should want and nothing she’d ever had. He offered her a chance to settle down, put down roots and create a life. And it would be a good life, too. Despite herself, she’d grown to love Cedar Springs and everyone in it. Especially her brothers and their families. Staying in town and building a life sounded pretty good to her. And, of course, she was going to be an auntie. She tried not to let the worry for Jade’s baby seep through. Jade still wouldn’t talk about her doctor’s appointment and what the results of the ultrasound could mean. Chelsea was trying not to push her, but she had to at least talk to Mitch and soon.

She walked past the Grizzly Paw, grateful she didn’t have a shift later. She had big plans for the rest of the day. After going for a paddle in the kayak, she was going to go home and log in to her computer. She was determined to get serious about her writing and finally start work on a story that had been niggling at her for the last few days. She should probably take another look at the distance learning courses, too. But…maybe if she had time.

Writing probably wasn’t a real option for a future, and if she was going to settle down in Cedar Springs, she would need something she could fall back on. Almost all of the courses could be done from home. In Cedar Springs.

But what if I don’t want to stay in Cedar Springs?

The thought had been popping up more and more in her consciousness. It was just coincidence that she’d been thinking of leaving town more since her hike on Tuesday. At least that’s what she kept telling herself

It was coincidence. It had nothing to do with Lucas Lee and all of his talk about travel.

It had nothing to do with that kiss.

It didn’t!

“Hey!” Ian called to her from the dock. She waved back, grateful he’d saved her from her own thoughts. She didn’t want to think about Lucas and the ideas he’d put in her head about traveling and seeing the world. She didn’t want to think about Lucas and the way his arms had felt wrapped around her, his lips on hers.

No.

She didn’t want to think about it.

“I’m glad you decided to come,” Ian said as she got closer. “I have your kayak waiting for you. Are you ready?”

“More than you know.” She smiled and followed him down the dock. “I’m really looking forward to getting out on the water, Ian. Thanks.”

“It’s my pleasure. You know that.” He handed her a life jacket as they passed the office and moved to the end of the dock. “You were awesome this summer helping me out and I know you were too busy to actually enjoy the water as much as you would have liked, so you might as well take advantage of the slow days, am I right? Especially since they’re gorgeous.”

“You’re absolutely right.” She slipped into the life jacket and took the paddle from him. “And that’s exactly what I’m going to do. Thanks, Ian.” She pulled her brother into a spontaneous hug. It was still a little unusual for them to show much affection, but Ian hugged her back.

“Hey.” He pulled back and smiled. “You know you’re welcome.”

Chelsea slipped into the kayak and Ian untied her rope, tossing it into the boat. She dipped her paddle into the calm water and moved a few feet from the dock.

“Hey, Chels?”

She twisted around in the boat to look at her brother.

“You know you’re always welcome here, right? I’m not rushing you out.”

She waved her paddle instead of answering him and turned back to the open water.

She knew he meant well; they all did. But she needed to figure it out for herself.

Just as she’d been hoping it would, the fresh air cleared her head. There was nothing quite as calming as being out on the lake, especially without all the motor boats and Jet Skis that ripped around all summer. It was just her and nature and plenty of time to think.

As she paddled around the shoreline, though, Chelsea found her thoughts drifting to almost every topic except the one she had at hand. She let herself forget about classes, and what she might want to take. She didn’t even think about Scott or Lucas or how she really shouldn’t be going around kissing more than one guy.

Instead, she let herself get lost in her story idea. Gwen was right. She should just start writing down her ideas. After all, she couldn’t really call herself a writer if she didn’t actually write, could she? If she didn’t actually put pen to paper, she was just a person who thought about writing. Not an actual writer. That was going to change, just as soon as she got back to the house.

Her speed increased as she dug the oar in deeper and pulled harder with every stroke. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so excited about something. So amped up, so ready to get to work.

Chelsea rounded the corner of the bluff, finding herself at the building site for Cedar View Heights. Lucas Lee’s project. And there he was, on the shoreline. To her surprise, her heart skipped a beat when she saw the figure picking his way along the beach. But it wasn’t the fact that it was Lucas, she told herself. It was just because she was excited about her new project. That’s all it was.

Nonetheless, she turned in and paddled herself closer.

But it wasn’t Lucas she saw on the shoreline. It was Scott. Her heart did the same stutter it did a moment earlier, which really didn’t make any sense. Was she excited about seeing Lucas or Scott? Because it couldn’t be both of them. That would be crazy and one more complication she did not need at the moment.

She almost turned to paddle as fast as she could in the opposite direction in order to avoid any complication at all, but it was too late.

“Chelsea?” Scott called out from the shoreline. “Is that you?”

---

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She smiled and waved before paddling swiftly in his direction. As always, it was nice to see Chelsea. Really nice. In fact, Scott hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her and their date earlier in the week. The kiss they’d shared had been sweet, and full of promise. Just the way he thought about her. He didn’t want to get his hopes up, but maybe if things kept going well…

No. He didn’t want to jinx things before they started.

“What a nice surprise.” He bent down to catch the tip of her kayak before it crashed into the shore. “You were the last person I expected to see out here today, but I can’t think of anyone else who’d make me quite as happy.”

He pulled her kayak alongside the shore and held it steady while she climbed out.

“It’s good to see you too.” She gave him a hug, but he wasn’t ready for it to end, so he slipped his hand in hers and pulled her back in for a kiss. It was a risk. He wasn’t really sure they were at the kiss-upon-greeting stage of their relationship. But there was only one way to find out.

Her lips were soft and slightly chilled from the air. She didn’t pull away, but the kiss was quick and chaste and left Scott wanting more. A lot more.

He had to force himself to slow down. Just because he was ready to see where their relationship could go didn’t mean she was. One thing at a time.

“What are you doing here?” She pulled away. Happily, she didn’t pull away too far. “Shouldn’t you be at the café?”

She didn’t pull her hand away, which he took to be a very good sign. He squeezed a little, making her smile.

“I was actually delivering some catering to the job site here, and I thought I’d come down and take a look at what all the fuss is about.”

“Catering? Fuss?” Chelsea laughed. “I feel like that’s two very different things.”

“You’re right.” Scott laughed and bent down to pull Chelsea’s kayak up onto the beach. “I’ve been doing a lot more catering locally with my sandwiches, and I had an order today the head contractor for this condo project placed a while ago.”

“Lucas?”

“Right. I forgot you knew him. He came into the café the other day when you were there.”

“Right.”

She looked away, but there was something in her voice. He would have had to have been blind not to see the way Lucas had looked at Chelsea at the Stop the other day. And of course the way he’d asked about her. “So you’re not dating? That’s all I needed to know.”

Lucas was clearly interested in her. Not that it mattered. Not to Scott. Not when he was the one dating her. And that’s what they were doing. Even if it was early stages. He squeezed her hand again and pushed the traces of jealousy away.

“Well, he’s put in a few pretty decent orders for his crew, so I thought I might as well take advantage of it while I could.”

“What do you mean? Like while the construction is going on?”

Scott walked her up the beach to a fallen log where they could sit. “Right. Well, partly. That’s what I meant about the fuss. You must have heard about the protest around Lee’s development, right?”

Chelsea shrugged. “Something about birds and vandalism. Honestly, I don’t know that much.”

“Well, I’d like to think that the two things aren’t connected,” Scott said. “I’ve started going to the meetings of the Friends of the Lake Society and I really don’t think that our group is responsible for any of the vandalism that’s been going on.”

“You’re part of the group?”

He didn’t hesitate when he nodded. “I guess I am. I went to a meeting and somehow I ended up volunteering for some things and…well, here I am.” It had all happened quite quickly after that first meeting that he’d attended. Deanna Gordon had clearly recognized a volunteer ripe for the picking in him, and had called him later that week to sign him up for even more committees and events than he already had. Not that Scott minded. He actually really enjoyed the group of people, and it was good to make friends. Especially when they were working together for a good cause.

“It’s a great group,” he said. “Maybe you’d like to join?”

Chelsea shook her head. “I don’t think so. I mean, I’m happy to help out but I just recently joined the hiking club and I kind of think that’s enough for now. Particularly since I’m still kind of up in the air about things. Anyway, tell me about this fuss.”

He gave her a look, and made a mental note to talk to her later about what was still up in the air. Last he’d heard, she was going to pick up some correspondence classes, but maybe things had changed.

“Well, this is actually the nesting ground for the mallards and it’s actually the whole reason the Friends of the Lake Society is protesting the development project. Come on, I’ll show you.” He pulled her up by the hand and together walked toward the nesting area Scott had found earlier. “You can see here that this is where the birds make their homes in the spring.” He pointed to the tall grasses and reeds where you could still see traces of what were the nests of the ducks. “We’re not really asking much,” he continued. “Just that they consider moving the project about a hundred feet up the beach.”

“So you’re not objecting to the actual building?”

“Not at all. As a business owner, I actually think Cedar View Heights is going to be great for the community as a whole. But I also think it wouldn’t hurt to work with nature a little bit, too. It could be a win-win.”

She nodded and smiled. “I agree. I also think it’s really cool how passionate you are about this, Scott.”

“You do, do you?”

He pulled her around so she was in his arms again. It was definitely her preferred location as far as he was concerned.

“I do,” she said with a little smile. “It’s very cute to see you excited about something like this.”

“Cute?” He traced a finger down the side of her cheek and cupped it. “Or is it sexy?”

Her eyes sparkled. “Hmm…” She pretended to think it over.

“Don’t answer.” He pressed his lips to hers, with far more urgency than earlier. Her lips worked against his and her arms came up to his back as he deepened the kiss. She moaned slightly into his mouth and it was the sexiest sound he’d ever heard. Scott had to remind himself that he was going to take things slowly with her, build a foundation that would last.

And he would, too. Just as soon as he was done kissing her.