---

“So Chelsea, Ian tells me you’re looking at taking some classes. What are you looking at?” Declan asked the question but a quick glance across the dinner table to where Ian was sitting confirmed to Chelsea that the question was anything but innocent.

Ian had been giving her an increasingly hard time about what course she was going to sign up for. Mostly because not only had Chelsea not signed up for anything, she’d largely stopped looking. Instead, she spent her days sitting at the kitchen table looking out at the lake, or at Dream Puffs when she needed a change of scenery, working on her very first real book. It was exciting and for the first time in months—maybe even years—she was fired up about something. But no one knew.

No one but Gwen. Who, to her credit, was trying to distract both Ian and Declan from her end of the table by telling them about a new sponsor she was working with for her blog.

Thankfully, it worked. At least for the time being. Both her brothers’ attentions were elsewhere, giving Chelsea a reprieve. It’s not that she didn’t want to tell them about her fiction project; it was more that she wasn’t quite ready to tell anyone. She would be. Just not yet.

For now, she was enjoying it being her little secret.

She hadn’t even told Lucas or Scott. Not that she’d really had a chance, even if she was ready to. She’d seen both guys a few times, but nothing official. No more dates.

Scott made a point to come by the Paw when she was working, and although he’d asked, they hadn’t gone out again. It’s not that she didn’t want to. She liked Scott. He was a good guy. Someone she could see herself settling down with. Maybe even sitting around this table with her and her family at some point in the future.

But then there was Lucas. He was so different, but in an exciting way that made her heart race. He’d run into her in Dream Puffs one afternoon, and then not coincidentally, he’d shown up most afternoons since to share a coffee with her. Their relationship was different—if that’s what it was.

Unlike Scott, there was nothing about Lucas that implied settling down. On the contrary. Spending time with him made Chelsea want to think farther than Cedar Springs. He challenged everything she thought she knew. And the more time she spent with him, the less she thought he was trouble. At least not in the way she’d originally thought. Lucas could definitely be trouble, in his own way.

They both offered so much in such different ways. It was a lot to think about.

Chelsea looked around the group gathered around Evie and Declan’s dining room. It was hard to believe this was her family. So many people who, only a few months ago, she’d barely even known. Now, she couldn’t imagine not being part of their lives.

Her eyes landed briefly on Maureen, her brothers’ mother. She smiled when the older woman looked up, and something like a smile flitted over Maureen’s lips. Chelsea knew that it had been hard for her to not only be back in Cedar Springs, but also to have Chelsea around. She couldn’t blame her really, and for the most part she tried to give the other woman space. It would take time, but hopefully one day they could bridge that gap too.

Chelsea took another bite of the roast beef she’d been pushing around her plate before noticing someone was missing.

Jade. Her sister-in-law had excused herself to the kitchen to refill the mashed potatoes, but she still hadn’t come back.

“Excuse me for a minute,” Chelsea said. “I’m just going to get more rolls.” She grabbed the still half-full basket and was up and out of the dining room before anyone could stop her. Not that they would. They had no reason to think she had something important to talk to Jade about.

Because as far as she knew, Jade still hadn’t told anyone about her doctor’s appointment. Not even Mitch.

She found her sister-in-law with a spoon in her hands, staring out the kitchen window into the yard.

“Jade?”

She jumped and when she turned there was a smile on her face, but Chelsea could see through it. “You scared me, Chels. I’m just getting some more potatoes.”

“I see that.” Chelsea took the spoon from Jade’s hand and steered her gently away from the window. “Let me get it. How are you doing?”

“I’m fine.” Her hands went reflexively to her stomach. “We’re both fine.”

“I know you are.” Chelsea busied herself with the potatoes, filling the bowl. “And I know you’re both going to be fine no matter what, but I have to ask…”

“Please don’t.” Jade looked at her pleadingly, but Chelsea couldn’t keep ignoring what was happening. Or not happening.

“Jade, have you told Mitch what the doctor said?”

She shook her head and looked down at her feet.

“You have to tell him.”

“I can’t.” When she looked up, there were tears in her eyes. “He’s so excited about the baby. I just don’t want him to worry or…”

“Or what?”

“What if there’s something wrong?” A tear slipped down her cheek and Chelsea left the potatoes to wrap Jade in her arms. She let her sob against her shoulder for a few moments.

“Even if there is something wrong, he still needs to know.”

Jade nodded against her shoulder. “I know. I just…I wanted to pretend for a little bit longer that everything was fine.”

She straightened up and Chelsea handed her a tissue. “Everything is fine. The baby will be—”

“Perfect.”

Chelsea and Jade both twisted around to the sound of the voice to see Maureen in the doorway, holding the gravy boat. She held it up. “I came to get more gravy. I hope I didn’t interrupt anything, but I couldn’t help overhear.” Maureen put the gravy boat on the counter next to the potato dish and walked over to Jade, pulling her into a tight hug.

“The baby will be absolutely perfect because he or she was made in love. No matter what happens, you will both be amazing parents and Chelsea is right, everything is fine.” She met Chelsea’s eyes over Jade’s shoulder and winked. “And you do need to tell Mitch.”

Chelsea rubbed her sister-in-law’s back and moved to leave the two of them alone, but Jade’s voice stopped her. “Thank you, Chels. I know you didn’t want to keep this secret.”

Chelsea shrugged. “It’s not a problem. It wasn’t my secret to tell. But you are—”

“I’m going to tell Mitch tonight.” She nodded her confirmation. “As soon as we get home. I was going to tell him. I really was.”

“I believe you.”

Maureen shook Jade’s shoulders gently before moving to fill up the gravy boat. “You all are so lucky to have one another, did you know that?”

Chelsea met her eyes and smiled genuinely. “We really are.”

“And you, Maureen,” Jade said. “We’re so lucky to have you too.”

The older woman brushed away the sentiment and picked up the dishes. “That’s enough sappy stuff. What do you say we get out there for seconds before they’re all gone?”

“Sounds good to me,” Jade said. “Besides, I want to hear all about these new boyfriends, Chels.”

Stunned, Chelsea stood in the kitchen for a moment after the other women left with the food. Boyfriends? The word struck her. She shook it off and rejoined the others in the dining room, although the moment she did, she regretted it.

“So what’s this about you dating two guys?” It was Cal who asked, and she didn’t miss the sly grin on his face.

As casually as she could, she slipped into her chair and sipped her glass of water. “I’m not dating them.” At least she didn’t think she was. Maybe she was.

“From what I hear, you’re sure spending a lot of time with Scott Harding.” Cal wasn’t going to let the subject go easily. “And Lucas Lee.”

“Lucas did say something about how he enjoyed hiking with you,” Milena said.

“They did look like they had a good time.” Gwen spoke up.

The traitor.

“Scott’s sure a nice guy,” Evie said. “He’s such a solid guy. I think he’d make a great husband.”

Chelsea almost choked. “Husband?”

“That’s getting a little bit carried away, don’t you think?” Declan raised his eyebrows in concern. “Chelsea’s still a kid.”

“I’m hardly a kid.” She glared at her brother.

“Well, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you dating two guys.” Jade mentioned her point so casually she didn’t even notice when the entire table froze and stared at her. “What? You disagree?” She pointed the question at Mitch. “Chelsea’s young, like you said, Dec. Why should she settle down so quickly? Besides, she’s not doing anyone any harm by playing the field.”

Chelsea made a mental note to give Jade a special hug. She was clearly her favorite.

“I agree with Jade.”

Chelsea turned and stared at Ian with an open mouth. “You do?”

“I do.” He shrugged. “I mean, as long as you’re not leading either of them on. Why not sort out what you want before committing, right?”

“Right.” Chelsea nodded slowly. “And I’m not leading either of them on,” she said more to herself than anyone else. “They both know that we’re not exclusive. I mean, it’s not like we had the talk, but I’m not doing anything wrong.”

“Of course you’re not,” Jade said. “Besides, you’ll know soon enough who you want to spend more time with.”

“It’ll be Lucas.” Gwen spoke up with confidence. “Oh, and I ran into him earlier and he said something about wanting to do the Larch Valley hike but the group isn’t going. He wondered if maybe you’d like to go with him, Chels.”

“Larch Valley?”

“It’s supposed to be beautiful,” Cal said. “Why isn’t the hiking club going?”

Gwen shrugged. “Not sure, but don’t miss it, Chels. It’s gorgeous.”

She’d heard about that hike. The larch trees were pine trees that turned a vibrant yellow in the fall before losing their needles. Not only were they really unusual, they were stunning and the hike was said to be a magnificent one that you wouldn’t soon forget. “I’d love to do that one.”

“With Lucas?” Gwen wiggled her eyebrows and Chelsea couldn’t help but chuckle. “What?” she said in mock defense. “I’m totally on team Lucas.”

“No way.” Evie shook her head. “I’m on team Scott. He’s a way better choice for Chelsea, don’t you think, Dec?”

Chelsea stared at her brother, waiting for his answer. “I’m not sure yet,” he said. “I don’t know if I know either of them well enough to make a decision.”

“Team Scott.” Cal spoke up.

“What?” Milena dropped her roll and stared at her boyfriend. “How can you say that? Lucas is a great guy.” She turned to Chelsea. “I’m on team Lucas.”

“How are there teams?” Chelsea shook her head at her family members. “This is so stupid.”

“No,” Jade said. “It’s not, really. But I’m with Declan. I’m not picking a side yet. What about you?” She looked to her husband, who’d been largely quiet through the whole conversation, focusing instead on his wife. Mitch had always been very perceptive and no doubt had noticed that something was definitely going on with his wife. Chelsea really hoped she talked to him soon about what was going on.

“Team Scott,” he said after a minute. “He’s solid and dependable. The kind of guy you can count on. Lucas seems a little too much of a wild card. Unpredictable.”

Everyone turned to Ian, who laughed. “I’m with Gwen,” he said. “Team Lucas. He seems to be a bit more your speed.”

Unable to find words appropriate for what she was feeling, Chelsea shook her head again and picked up her glass of wine.

Despite the fact that they were all acting like children, choosing sides as if it were some sort of game, they all had valid points. Scott was a good guy. He cared about her. He wanted a future. He was solid. Dependable.

He was everything Lucas was not.

But she couldn’t stop thinking about Lucas either.

Maybe she didn’t want solid and dependable?

Maybe she needed adventure and fun?

Being with Scott felt like a warm hug that filled her up and made her feel safe and loved. But when she was with Lucas, she felt desired and alive.

Chelsea glanced around the table at everyone who’d resumed eating and talking about something else. Her eyes stopped on Maureen, who hadn’t offered up her opinion on the matter either way, not that Chelsea expected her to. Maureen looked up from her plate, directly at her and smiled. It was a kind, motherly smile that was as unexpected as it was warm.

Without saying a word, Maureen somehow had given Chelsea permission to make her own choice, regardless of what anyone else thought. And for that, Chelsea couldn’t have been more grateful.

---

---

The last thing Lucas should be doing was taking off in the middle of the week to go for a hike. But when Chelsea called to ask him about Larch Valley, there was no way he was going to turn down the offer. After the last hike, and the kiss that had given him something to dream about for an entire week, there was nothing else more important than getting her out in the woods again.

Because as frustrating as it was, it appeared to be the only way to spend any real time with her. Besides a few quick coffees in the afternoon, he hadn’t been able to pin her down for another date.

He’d heard rumors that she was dating Scott Harding, the sandwich guy, and things had gotten more serious between them, but there was no way he believed that. Not after the kiss they’d shared. That was not the kiss of a woman who was interested in settling down into a boring life. Not at all.

And that was why Lucas was rushing through as much of his to-do list as he could before taking off for the afternoon. He just had a few more things to take care of before he could meet Chelsea at the trailhead.

His cell phone rang as if just thinking about his father had conjured him. He shook his head and answered the call.

“Dad. To what do I owe this—”

“Have you sorted things out over there yet, Lucas?”

Straight to the point. Typical.

“Everything is on schedule, Dad. Not to worry.”

“I’m not sure how I can’t, Lucas, when every time I talk to you there’s something else going wrong on that job site. I thought you were ready for this responsibility, but now I’m not so sure.”

“I’m ready, Dad.” He dropped his head in his hand and rubbed his temple. It was remarkable how talking to his dad for only two minutes could reduce him to an insecure teenager. “There haven’t been any more incidents on the site and I’m confident that once I meet with the site planner next week and have the second building moved—”

“Moved? I didn’t approve that. Why the hell would we change the plan?”

“I told you all this.” Lucas sighed and glanced at the clock over the door. His meeting with the Friends of the Lake Society representative was in only five minutes. “We’re changing the plan because of the environmental group that’s—”

“Environmental group?” Lucas could almost picture his dad rolling his eyes on the other end of the line. “They’re nothing but pot-smoking troublemakers who have nothing better to do than protest progress. We’re not changing anything.”

“I don’t think that’s the case here, Dad. It’s actually not an unreasonable—”

“Everything they say is unreasonable, Lucas. Don’t even think about changing anything in the plans. Cedar View Heights will be the last project you work on if you do. Do I make myself clear?”

“Crystal.”

His father disconnected and Lucas dropped his phone in disgust right as there was a knock on the door.

“Perfect timing,” he muttered. He took a moment to compose himself before he answered the door. The very last thing he wanted to do was meet with Deanna Gordon, or whoever the head of the group was, and tell them that he’d called them on false pretenses because he wouldn’t be making any changes after all. “Dammit.” He slammed his palm down on the desk and pushed his chair back from his desk.

Lucas put his most charming grin on his face as he opened the door. At least when he delivered the bad news, he could charm the pretty doctor. “It’s so nice to see you, Dean—” The name died on his lips as the door swung open to reveal a man who was most definitely not Deanna Gordon. “Scott? What are you doing here? I didn’t think I ordered any sandwiches today.”

“No sandwiches today, Lucas. I’m here on other business.” The other man gestured to move past him into the small trailer Lucas used as a construction office. Lucas obliged by stepping out of the way.

“Of course.” He waved his hand, and tried not to show his confusion. No doubt Scott got word that he’d been asking around about Chelsea. If the man wanted to stake a claim, he was going to discover very quickly that losing his sandwich business would be the least of his problems. “What other business would that be?”

Lucas waited until Scott sat in the chair he’d gestured to before he settled into his own chair and waited for Scott to puff up his chest and tell him to back off where Chelsea was concerned.

“I’m here to talk about the development and the impact it will have on the mallards.”

“Look, Scott,” Lucas started before processing what the other man had said. “I’m sure you have quite a relationship with—wait. What?”

“I’m here on behalf of the Friends of the Lake Society.”

That was the last thing Lucas expected to come out of his mouth. He sat back in his chair and blinked hard. Scott was his meeting. Not Deanna. “You’re here to talk about the development?”

“We did have a meeting at ten, did we not?”

Lucas recovered quickly. He shook his head and gave a little chuckle. “We did,” he said. “I’m sorry. I was expecting Deanna. I didn’t realize you were involved with the society.”

“I’ve only recently joined.” His face was a mask of seriousness. For the life of him, Lucas could not see what Chelsea saw in him. He was as boring as they came. Typical that he was involved in an environmental group. “It’s a cause that I’ve become quite passionate about.”

That’s probably the only thing he’s passionate about. Lucas bit his tongue and put a good-natured smile on his face. “Well, I know there’s been a lot of talk about what we can do to make things go a bit more smoothly around here.”

Scott smiled. “And that’s why I’m here. We’re both businessmen. I’m sure you can appreciate that what the society is asking is not unreasonable. And Deanna mentioned the two of you had quite a promising conversation the other day.”

Shit. He had talked with Deanna and more or less promised her that the changes would be made and they could all live happily ever after together. That was before he’d spoken with his father. Perfect. The timing couldn’t have been worse.

“I’m afraid there’s been a bit of a change in plans.” He tented his fingers on the desk in front of him. “I’m no longer as confident that you’ll find what I have to say quite as promising as Deanna did.”

“Pardon me?” The smile fell off Scott’s face and he leaned forward in his chair. “What exactly does that mean?”

“What it means is that I won’t be moving the development.” Lucas looked at his watch. He had just under an hour to meet Chelsea at the trailhead. He was pretty sure that his current audience wouldn’t find that a very good reason for closing the meeting. “I’m sorry to have to give you this news, Scott.” Lucas did his best to infuse his voice with concern. He really was sorry he couldn’t make the move. In fact, he was more than sorry—he was pissed off. But if he moved the building, it would cause no end of drama with his father, meaning at least another five to ten years trying to prove himself with the company and work his way back up into the projects he deserved to have. And that just wasn’t worth it. Not this time. “But I spoke out of turn earlier and after a discussion with upper management, I just can’t further engage in this dialogue.”

Scott’s face turned a strange sort of red as he obviously tried to control a temper that Lucas never would have guessed he had. “You can’t further engage in this dialogue? Is that what you just said?”

“I really am sorry, Scott, and I do hope that it won’t mean that the sabotage efforts will increase because I really don’t want to have to take legal action against you and your group.”

Scott jumped to his feet. “The society isn’t responsible for the vandalism.”

Lucas rose from his chair as well and stared down the other man. He didn’t want to get into a pissing match, but nothing about this meeting was going as planned. “Is that a personal guarantee? Because I don’t see anything happening to your business and you’re new in town, too, aren’t you?”

“The vandalism has nothing to do with us,” Scott repeated himself. “And it has nothing to do with my business either. We’re just a group of citizens who care about the environment we live in. Unlike you, city boy.”

Lucas pretended to be offended. “I have never said that I don’t care.” He put a hand to his chest. “In fact, I’m very dedicated to the environment. And I may be from the city, but I’ve actually joined the local hiking group to take in as much of this beautiful area as I possibly can. And if you’ll excuse me.” He couldn’t resist what he said next. “I have a date for one of those hikes right away and I don’t want to keep her waiting.”

Scott’s face mottled into a mask of rage, but either he didn’t know Lucas was referring to Chelsea, or he showed significant restraint. “This isn’t over, Lee. The society won’t back down so easily.” He crossed the small office and put his hand on the door.

“Like I said, Scott. I’m sorry it had to work out this way, but I will take legal action if your group insists on escalating the matter.”

Scott opened his mouth to say something else, but obviously thought better of it as he flung the door open and stormed out.

Lucas took a minute to catch his breath. He hadn’t wanted things to go down that way. He had nothing against Scott Harding. In fact, he quite liked his sandwiches and despite the fact that he hung around Chelsea a little too much, he didn’t seem like a bad guy. But sometimes when it came to business…and women… things got messy.

---

---

This time Chelsea was better prepared for her hike. She’d outfitted herself properly with some quick dry pants and a polar fleece jacket. She had no idea what the difficulty ranking for the Larch Valley hike was, but at the very least, she’d look the part of a hiker. Even if she was dragging her ass and huffing and puffing her way up the trail.

She pulled into the parking lot at the trailhead and was a little surprised when hers was the only car there. It wasn’t a group-organized hike, but somehow she’d expected there to be more people out on such a nice day.

Not that it mattered.

She arrived early, so she spent a few minutes stretching in an effort to avoid the ridiculously sore muscles she’d had after the last hike. She was going to be way more prepared on all levels for this hike. And that included Lucas. He always seemed to catch her off guard with his blunt questions, and his annoying way of making her think about things she’d rather ignore. It was refreshing, and even a little exciting, but it always left her feeling a little off-balance.

Not this time. She dropped into a waist bend to stretch out her hamstrings. This time I’ll be ready.

“I already like the view.”

Chelsea shot up to standing, her face a bright red when she turned around to see Lucas standing next to his car, watching her.

“I didn’t hear you pull up.”

“No?” He took a step toward her. “And here I thought you were putting on this special little warm-up show for my benefit.”

Dammit. He was doing it already. Chelsea took a deep breath in an effort to ground herself against his flirting.

“Are you ready to do this?” She grabbed her pack from the rock she’d left it on and hefted it to her back.

“Absolutely.” He smiled and it was so genuine, it disarmed her and let her relax a little again. “I’ve been looking forward to this since you called. And I’m really glad you did,” he said as they started walking to the trailhead. “I think it’s long past time we had our first date, don’t you?”

“First date?” She practically choked on the words. “Is that what you think this is?”

“Officially, yes.” He laughed and gestured for her to take the lead position on the trail. “Isn’t that usually what you call it when an available gorgeous young woman like yourself calls to ask an equally available and stunningly handsome man like myself to share some time together? Just the two of them?” He shrugged. “Because that sure seems like a date to me.”

She paused before starting up the trail, paused a beat, and winked. “Who said I’m available?” It was his turn to be speechless, and she gave an inner cheer as she moved past him and onto the trail.

They were silent for a few minutes and Chelsea let herself fall into an easy pace. The fresh pine air, with the autumn chill in the air, invigorated her senses. She might have been able to fully relax if all of her senses weren’t fully aware of Lucas walking right behind her.

“Are you?”

His question was so unexpected, it took her off guard.

“Pardon me?”

“Are you available?” he asked again. “Or are you dating someone else? Seriously, I mean.”

She took a deep breath and quickened her pace.

“You don’t have to answer me,” he said, his voice right behind her. “I already know the answer.”

“I don’t think you know nearly as much as you think you do.”

“I know you’re here with me, Chelsea. And that’s all I really need to know, don’t you think?”

She didn’t answer him and once again fell into silence. This time Chelsea ignored the feeling of him behind her and let herself get lost in her beautiful surroundings. “I can’t believe this is right in our backyard,” she said after a moment. “I mean, how lucky are we to live here?” She turned a little to look over her shoulder. “Sorry. I guess you don’t really live here.”

“I do for now.” He shrugged. The path widened enough for him to join her, walking side by side. “And who knows where I’ll be in the future.” Something in his voice caught her.

“What do you mean? You’ll go back to the city when you’re done here, won’t you?”

“That was the idea. I mean, until I get the next assignment. The company is expanding overseas and all over the world, positioning themselves as the firm to build condo developments quickly, affordably, and with the environment in mind.” His voice was bitter as he recited the company script.

“Why do I get the feeling that you might not be totally on board with that vision right now?”

He waved his hand. “It was just a rough morning, that’s all.” The handsome, confident smile returned to his face. “But I guess I’m just starting to think about my next step and I’m not sure anymore what that might be.”

“Well, that makes two of us then.” Chelsea laughed. “Welcome to the club. I can’t say it’s a great one to be part of, but there’s always room for one more lost soul.”

“I hardly think you’re lost. In fact, you look pretty…well, you look pretty for sure.” He laughed at himself, but then more seriously said, “You really do look more relaxed today than the last time we hiked.”

Chelsea thought about that for a minute. The easy reasoning for that would be because she was properly outfitted for today’s hike, but she knew that wasn’t it. A lot had happened since the last time they’d been in the woods together. Most notably, she’d started writing. “Can I tell you something?” The decision to confide in Lucas came suddenly and without any real thought at all, but it felt right. And besides, she was bursting to tell someone besides Gwen.

“Of course.”

“And you promise you won’t laugh?”

He grinned. “I promise.”

“Lucas, I’m serious.”

“So am I.”

“I’m writing a book.” She blurted it quickly, turned around and kept walking. Chelsea increased her pace and charged up the hill. She didn’t stop until the trees opened up to expose a valley. The bright-yellow pops of color throughout the valley below took her breath away and she focused on the stunning larch trees instead of what she’d just said.

For some reason, saying it out loud made it feel very real and extremely scary.

“A book?” Lucas came to a stop beside her. “That’s great.”

“I know you probably think it’s—” She looked over at him. “Wait. You think it’s great?”

He smiled and nodded. “I do. What kind of book?”

She shook her head and looked back to the view. This was the part he was going to laugh at. But she might as well just get it over with and tell him. She took a deep breath. “A romance novel.”

Chelsea waited for his laughter. For the teasing. For the inevitable comments that were sure to come. Oh, like Fifty Shades of Grey? Soft core porn? Or hard core? Is it based on your own experience?

Instead, Lucas said, “That’s awesome.”

She turned to look at him, searching his face for the truth of how he really felt, but all she could see on his handsome face was a genuine interest. “It is awesome,” she said after a moment.

“Have you always wanted to write a book? Or is this new?”

The smile that crossed her face could be felt deep in her heart. He wanted to know. He wanted to talk to her about it. And that made her happier than she thought it ever would.

“I think I’ve always wanted to write.” She started talking. “When I was a kid, I used to write stories and then one day I had a teacher tell me that I’d never get anywhere making things up and I needed to focus on math and science if I really wanted a future.” She chuckled. “Not that those subjects ever did me any good either.”

“That’s too bad that someone thought it was okay to step on your dreams like that.”

“Oh, Mr. Brenen didn’t make that much difference. I still wrote after high school. A little bit, anyway.” Her voice dropped away as she remembered the way Jake would find her notebooks and pull the pages out in front of her, telling her what a stupid idea it was to make up stories. But the part that hurt the most was the way she’d let him do it. And she’d believed him when he told her she wasn’t any good and that she’d never make anything of herself.

As if he sensed she was lost in thought, Lucas put a hand on her shoulder. “Who else stepped on your dreams?”

She shook her head. “You know what? It isn’t important anymore. It was a long time ago and I’m a different person now. I know I don’t need to listen to him anymore, about anything.” As she spoke the words, she realized she believed them. For so long, Jake had such a hold on her entire life and her vision of her own self-worth that it had defined her.

But not anymore.

“Good,” Lucas said. “Because I would hate to think that anyone could dull your shine. Don’t let anyone do that. If you have a dream, the very fact that you have it makes it a dream worth pursuing.” He didn’t take his hand away, but he turned and gazed out over the valley. “And it’s not too late,” he said after a moment. “It’s never really too late, is it?” His hand moved to her hand and squeezed gently. It felt so natural that she didn’t pull away. “I’m really glad you went back to it, Chelsea.”

“Thank you,” she said, despite the fact that the words weren’t even remotely accurate to express her gratitude. “I’m a little worried about what my family is going to say.”

“Don’t be.” He squeezed her hand again. “It’s your life. You need to follow your dreams and passions.” He stared into her eyes, and Chelsea believed him. She rocked forward in her boots, and would have kissed him right then and there if he hadn’t grinned and tugged on her hand. “What do you say we follow this path and walk through those gorgeous trees?”

She swallowed hard and nodded. “I think that’s probably a better idea.”

“Better than what?”

There was no way she was going to tell him that she’d been about to kiss him. Besides, when he winked at her and she caught the glint in his eyes, Chelsea was pretty sure that he already knew exactly what she was talking about.

“Don’t worry, Chelsea.” He led her down the trail that would take them into Larch Valley. “There’ll be time for everything. I’m in no rush.”