I heard I missed a good party last night,” Shawn said from a ladder leaning against one of the walls of the barn Emmett’s family was restoring.

Emmett glanced up from the far corner where he stood, looking up at the loft.

Shawn was the contractor for the build-out of the lodge and its outcropping of cabins. But more importantly, he was leading the rebuild of the old barn and the cabins they were adding to the lodge property.

Emmett glanced around the massive structure. He and his brothers had their doubts when they’d first seen their mother’s “diamond in the rough” but Shawn and his crew had done an amazing job restoring the dilapidated structure in a short amount of time. They still had a ways to go, but Emmett could finally envision his mother’s dream. Emmett came out to help whenever he had time, but knew most days he was just a nuisance to the crew. Like today.

“Yeah,” Emmett said, “it was a great time. Why didn’t you come?”

“I was planning to,” Shawn said, slipping his hammer into his tool belt and stepping off the ladder. “I just got caught up in a sculpture I was working on and lost track of time. It happens.”

“I can understand that.” Emmett nodded. “Sometimes I get lost in a book.” He’d had a few more good writing sessions lately and finally felt like things were starting to come together for his latest book.

“Yeah, I bet,” Shawn said, stepping closer. “Creative souls can get lost in their work. Speaking of creative, when can we expect your next book?” he asked.

Emmett drew in a deep breath, holding it for several moments before releasing a heavy sigh. He had yet to discuss his idea with his publisher, fearing they would nix the book he actually wanted to write and demand he give them what he’d promised to write back when he’d signed his contract. Shawn might understand, though.

“I’m thinking of going in a new direction with my next one,” Emmett finally answered.

“Different than your mystery series?” Shawn asked, moving the ladder to another area of the barn.

“Yeah, I think I need a break.” He didn’t just think. He knew it was time for a break from the murder-mystery genre. It was great and afforded him all kinds of creative freedoms, but Emmett’s heart just wasn’t into extending the series. His characters weren’t speaking to him anymore and he knew why. It wasn’t the book in his heart, or in his head.

“What are you thinking about writing now?” Shawn asked, sounding genuinely interested as he leaned an elbow against the wall.

“Promise not to laugh?”

“No,” Max yelled down, pounding on a beam above Emmett’s head.

Shit. How had he forgotten Max was in the barn?

“How long have you been up there?” Emmett asked, glancing up.

“Long enough to hear you talk about leaving your series. Why are you going to do that? It’s a money maker.”

“It’s just…” how could Emmett explain it without his brother totally laughing him out of the barn?

Ever since Emmett had reconnected with Elle, the story that had been in the back of his mind had been niggling away at him, begging to be written. That’s how Emmett always knew he had a best seller. Elle had liked the idea when he told her about it, but that didn’t mean anyone else would.

“Please don’t tell me you’re going to write that froo-froo shit with a half-naked dude on the cover.” Max laughed.

Emmett barely heard him over sounds of construction. Saws buzzed and hammers pounded, machinery beeped as men shouted to talk above the noise. Not exactly where he wanted to have this conversation.

Max came down his ladder, jumping the last few feet to land on the floor with a thud. “Oh, shit, you are, aren’t you?” he asked.

“Not,” Emmett paused, scrubbing a hand through his hair, “not froo-froo exactly.”

“But not like your Birchfield Brown Series? I love a good crime thriller.” Max said.

“You read my books?” Emmett asked, thinking of his series, affectionately named Birch and Brown by his fans.

The series centered around the two main characters, Nathaniel Birchfield and Dr. Vanessa Brown, an unlikely crime-fighting duo. Nate was a seasoned detective with the Chicago Police Department, and Vanessa was the newly hired county coroner.

Each book in his series had reached the best seller list, thanks to the tireless efforts of his agent and publicist, and the huge marketing team at his publisher. Emmett was grateful for the series’ success but now the publisher wanted three more books and Emmett just couldn’t find the words for Nate and Vanessa anymore.

“Hell, yeah I do,” Max said. “Don’t look so surprised. They’re good.”

“But, I didn’t…”

“What?” Max scowled. “You didn’t think I can read?”

Emmett laughed. “Simmer down, tiger. I know you can read. I just never thought you’d read my books.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Max studied him. “You’re my brother, of course I would. Hell, I even bought them new. I could have gone to the half-price store, God knows they were in abundance there.” Max chuckled as he bumped Emmett’s shoulder. “I’m just fuckin’ with you, Em, you know that.”

Emmett glanced up at this brother. “I know.” Max was two inches taller than Emmett and had at least thirty pounds of lean muscle on him.

“I just really liked the series,” Max said.

“Me too,” Shawn added.

“You read my books too?” Emmett asked.

“Of course, I do,” Shawn said. “We all do.”

“Who’s all?” Emmett asked, swallowing hard.

“The entire town,” Shawn said. “Well, except for Old Man Mac. He said if he wanted to see the shit that goes on inside your head, he’d cut you open and look.”

Emmett cringed. Jasper MacGowen, or Old Man Mac as the town referred to him, was a taxidermist. His house and the woods around it were crawling with creepy animals frozen in time.

Sometimes the man put two or three animals together to make something he thought of as a mythical beast, but really ended up just looking like a twisted Frankenstein experiment gone wrong. The image of being one of Old Man Mac’s creatures was chilling.

“But seriously, man,” Max said, “I’ll miss not reading more Birch and Brown books. Those two cracked me up. So, what’s the new book about? Not mystery?”

Emmett shook his head. “It’s historical.”

“With mystery in it?” Max asked, raising his brows.

“No, no mystery. Well, no crime stuff anyway.” Emmett laughed. “I want to write about Canyon Creek Mountain, about the gold rush and the feud that divided our families. But it will take place in this time.”

Max stared at him, his forehead wrinkled in confusion.

“It will feature a woman going through a tough time. She’s reading the journal of one of her ancestors and drawing on the strength of that woman. There will be big chunks that take place in the past. Sort of weaving their two stories together.”

“Oh, so part of it would be like an old western?” Max asked with excitement.

“Something like that, yeah.” Emmett shrugged. “I might add a romance subplot.”

He’d been reading journals and letters at the library from the early settlers of the town and Emmett definitely felt a spark between the correspondents. It was surprising to discover that romance was what was calling to him at the moment, or at least a story with more romantic elements than he’d ever written before.

“Is there gonna be sex?” Max smirked.

Emmett shoved Max’s shoulder. “Dude, is that all you think about?”

“It is when that Devlin chick is parading around in those skin-tight jeans and low-cut sweater.”

“Devlin?” Shawn asked. “Who’s Devlin?”

“Shit, dude,” Max sighed, sitting down on a rung of the ladder. “Hot as fuck chick with a sassy mouth I’d like to plug up with my—”

Shawn held up his hand. “I got it, Max. Thanks.”

“She’s Maggie’s friend—best friend growing up,” Emmett said. “Her father was military and they moved away when she was young but she and Maggie are still close.”

“Is she moving here?” Shawn asked.

“God, I hope not,” Max said.

Emmett rolled his eyes. “Whether she lives here or not, you can’t screw Maggie’s best friend and then never talk to her again like you do with every hot woman you meet.”

Max held up both hands. “I didn’t do anything. Yet. And who says I can’t screw her?”

Emmett pointed at Max. “Maggie says. She’ll kill you. Plus, Devlin’s only here for a short visit, I think.”

“She said she’s coming back for Maggie and Ben’s wedding in a few months.”

“When did she tell you that?”

“Last night.”

“Seriously, Max?”

“What?”

“You can’t screw around with one of Maggie’s best friends then dump her like you do most of the women who slide into your bed.”

Max glared at him.

“Max, you just said she’s coming back. It will be too awkward, for everyone, if you sleep with her now then blow her off when she comes back for the wedding.”

“Calm down, dude.” Max waved him off. “You sound like a chick. We didn’t do anything.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t from a lack of trying,” Shawn said.

Max turned and climbed up the ladder. “I was in a shit ton of pain last night, and not in the mood.”

“That I cannot believe,” Shawn said. “If she’s as hot as you say she is, I have a hard time believing you walked away.”

“Are you okay, Max?” Emmett watched Max move slowly up the ladder. He knew Max lived with constant pain thanks to ten years in the NFL.

“I’m fine,” Max waved off, shaking out his knees halfway up the rungs, as if to show them he could. He turned and perched on one rung, as though he couldn’t decide if he wanted to stay in the conversation.

“Didn’t the doctors suggest surgery or something?” Emmett asked.

Max had blown out both knees during his career and had already gone through reconstructive surgery and tons of rehab just to be back on the field again. Everyone knew Max lived for football and Emmett couldn’t help but wonder if maybe he was depressed about his retirement.

“Yeah,” Max said, “I’m thinking about it.” He looked around at the barn. “Maybe when this barn is done.”

“Max,” Shawn said, “if you’re in that much pain, you know—”

Max held up his hand. “Don’t.”

And with that one word, Emmett knew the topic was closed. His brother’s expression morphed into his game day face. Max was shutting down and Emmett had to respect the line he was drawing.

“Invasion.” Max pointed toward the door.

Emmett and Shawn turned to see his mother, Maggie, Aunt Sally, and cousin Lily coming around the corner into the barn.

“Good afternoon, ladies.” Max moved down the ladder and jumped to the floor, pushing past Emmett and Shawn. “To what do we owe this honor of your presence?”

Maggie laughed. “Is that how you get all the girls, Max? Gentile charm?”

“I’ll never tell.” Max winked at her.

“What are you guys doing out here?” Emmett asked, coming up beside Max.

“We’re meeting the Nobles out here soon,” Maggie said. “They wanted to see the barn. We need to give them a feel for the space if we’re going to implement some of the cross promotional things we’re planning. We thought we might even host their event staff over here sometime and vice versa, so when one of us is booked we can refer to the other.”

Emmett nodded as Shawn joined them.

“Hey Valerie, Maggie, Sally.” Shawn nodded toward the women. Slowly his gaze moved to his cousin. “Hi, Lily.” It was weird, Emmett thought. Shawn always seemed to single out Lily when they were in a group.

Her eyes moved up and down Shawn’s body before she nodded once. “Hello,” she said quietly, turning her attention to the back wall of the barn.

Shawn’s smile fell. “Well,” he said, “I’ll leave you guys to it. I’ve got some work I need to get the guys started on up in the loft.”

What the hell?

“Oh, Shawn,” his mother called. “Could you stick around? I know Warner will want to ask lots of questions about the reconstruction. He was always into building stuff, right Sal?” His mother turned to Aunt Sally, but Sally just shrugged.

“Is Elle coming?” Emmett asked. He hadn’t talked to her since last night when he’d slipped out of her bed just after she’d fallen asleep. She’d asked him to stay the night but he knew she had an early morning and he shouldn’t keep her up, as much as his own body had wanted to.

His mother gave a devilish smile that said she was about to butt into his business. “Yes, she’ll be here. I think their grandfather might be coming as well.”

“Ah, hell,” Sally moaned, throwing her hands in the air. “The only reason that jackass wants to come across the mountain is so he can drop comments about how much he hates the Sumners.”

“What?” Shawn asked. Shawn wasn’t from Canyon Creek, so he’d never been privy to the history of their two feuding families.

“Let’s just say, he’s never been a fan of our family,” Sally said with disgust. “We’ve got history, and it hasn’t always been the good kind.”

It seemed there was a history behind every member of his family, Emmett thought. He couldn’t wait to do more research for his book.

“Knock, knock.”

Elle’s sweet voice rang through the barn, her greeting resounding above the background noise.

Emmett’s body moved on its own, pulled toward her like a polarized magnet, unable to stop himself. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tight, dragging in a breath of her familiar scent.

Her arms slipped around his neck. “We’ve got an audience,” she whispered in his ear.

“So?” Despite her warning, Emmett could feel his jeans tighten, his dick pressing into her, as he lifted her feet off the ground.

“My dad is here,” she hissed.

Emmett dropped her like a hot potato, holding her shoulders to steady her with a grin.

Elle giggled. “I figured that would get you to break away.”

“Emmett,” Warner Noble’s deep voice interrupted them.

“Hello, Sir.” Emmett stepped back and held out his hand.

“Nice to see you,” the older man said.

“Nice to see you too, sir.”

“Sir, huh?” Warner asked, holding Emmett’s hand tightly and just a little too long.

“I, uh…” Emmett stumbled.

“Dad, stop.” Elle swatted her father’s shoulder. “He thinks it’s funny to make you nervous.”

Warned grinned at Emmett. “I do. I’m sorry, it’s just—”

Emmett noticed Warner’s eyes dart behind him as his words trailed off. He turned and followed his gaze.

Aunt Sally.

Yeah, there was history all over this mountain. And Emmett couldn’t wait to write it.

* * *

Elle didn’t miss the way her father’s gaze couldn’t seem to move from Sally Sumner.

Valerie walked toward them, drawing them over to the group. “Warner, Elle, I think you know everyone, except Shawn Braddock.”

“Oh, we know Shawn. He’s done a few projects for us at the resort.” Elle smiled and reached out her hand. “It’s nice to see you again, Shawn.”

Shawn grasped her hand and smiled. “Good to see you too, Elle.” His smile lit up the barn and Elle could see why half the women in Canyon Creek swooned anytime he was around, including her at one time. His smile was wasted on her today though.

A hand tightened around her waist. She released Shawn’s grip and glanced over, not surprised to see Emmett’s arm holding her tightly. Men and their marking. She shook her head.

Her father reached to shake hands with Shawn. “Yes, Shawn has done some amazing work for us at the resort. We even have some of his sculptures showcased there.”

“Really?” Emmett’s cousin Lily asked. Her eyes shot wide and Elle had the sense that Lily hadn’t meant for the words to be spoken out loud.

“Yes,” Shawn said, staring directly at Lily. “Really.”

“That’s, uh, that’s…” Lily stumbled with her words. “That’s wonderful Shawn.”

Lily’s compliment sounded almost pained.

Everyone stood in silence, staring at the pair.

“Why don’t we take a look around,” Maggie said, breaking the tension that swirled around the group thanks to Shawn and Lily. Elle would need to remember to ask Emmett if he knew what that was about. “Over here you can see…” Maggie’s words trailed off as she led the group one way and Emmett pulled Elle off to the side.

“What are you doing?” she half yelped, half laughed.

“I want to give you my own tour.” Emmett tugged her outside the barn.

“Emmett,” Elle squeaked.

“What,” he glanced behind her, “do you want me to kiss you in front of your father, my mother and half of Canyon Creek?” He leaned back against the outside wall of the barn, well away from prying eyes, drawing her close.

“Are you ashamed of me?” she teased, running a finger up his well-defined bicep, then trailing it up his shoulder, loving the feel of the hard muscle beneath her touch.

He grasped her hand, raising it to his lips and placing light kisses against the tips of her fingers. “Never,” he said, answering her question.

She pulled back slightly. “Then why didn’t you stay overnight with me?”

Emmett glanced down at her, his eyes darting between hers. She hadn’t meant it to sound so needy.

“Are you angry?”

“No,” she shook her head. “Just, disappointed. I would have liked to wake up with you.”

Emmett’s face split into a teasing grin and Elle thought she might melt right there. God, he was beautiful.

He kissed her nose, then her cheek, then softly brushed his lips against hers. “I’m sorry, I just know you needed some rest. You’ve been working hard at the resort and the dance studio.”

“I’m fine, Emmett.”

His fingertips traced under her eyes. “These dark circles prove otherwise, sweetheart.”

Elle drew in a deep breath. She was tired, but it was a good exhaustion.

“I can take naps.” She waggled her brows.

Emmett’s face fell toward her shoulder and he nibbled on her neck. “I like naps,” he whispered against her skin.

She moaned, tilting her head to give him better access. She loved the feel of his mouth on her skin, and the way the simple touch could reverberate through the rest of her body.

“Emmett!” someone shouted from inside the barn.

They bolted away from one another like guilty teens.

“Shit.” Emmett glared at the door of the barn before turning back to face Elle, taking her hand in his. “This isn’t over.” He winked.

Elle’s heart beat faster and a warm heat settled in her middle.

“Nap,” he said quietly before leaning over and placing a small kiss on her lips.

“Nap,” she repeated, excited about spending any time alone with Emmett, especially in bed. There would be no sleep. Emmett knew her body better than anyone, knew how to touch her, how to tease her, how to love her.

“Emmett!” Another shout came from inside the barn.

“It’s your mother, I think,” Elle whispered. “You go in first.” She shoved his shoulder.

“What?” Emmett’s face wrinkled. “Why?”

“I don’t want her to think…” Elle nodded toward the side of the barn. “You know.”

Emmett’s lips curled into a devilish grin. “No, I don’t know. But I want to.” He moved closer, leaning in to kiss her again, when his aunt’s shrill voice rang out.

“Emmett Daniel Sumner, get your ruddy ass in here now!”

Elle slapped a hand over her mouth to bite down her laughter.

“Fucking Sally,” Emmett muttered under his breath.

“I like your Aunt Sally,” Elle said.

“That’s because you don’t know her like I do,” he said over his shoulder, pulling her toward the entrance.

No, she didn’t, but she wanted to. And more importantly, she wanted her dad to also. Elle couldn’t let go of the idea that her father would be happier if he had someone he cared about in his life. And someone to care for him. She had a feeling that that someone should be Sally Sumner.

Emmett pulled Elle into the barn, ignoring her request to re-enter separately. Who was she kidding? Everyone inside the barn knew they’d been together.

Sally raised a questioning brow as they walked through the barn doors but smiled knowingly at them both. “You two are missing the whole damned tour.”

“We’ve seen the barn before, Aunt Sally. A lot. I was giving Elle my own tour.” Emmett said, winking at Elle. “Until you interrupted us.”

“Umm, hmm,” Sally crossed her arms across her chest and stared between the two of them, “That’s what I thought. Dogs in heat.”

“Oh, my god,” Elle squeaked out, covering her mouth to suppress a laugh as she blushed beet red.

“Jealous much?” Emmett called over his shoulder to his Aunt Sally, ushering Elle back to the group. She was mortified.

Emmett kept one hand at her lower back, his thumb working in small circles that shouldn’t be driving her crazy, given the fact that his aunt had just busted them. She’d discovered that any contact with him had that effect on her.

Elle shook the thoughts off as best she could. It only half worked.

Shawn cleared his throat, looking at the two of them with a sympathetic smile and a shrug, as if to say, Sorry, I tried to stop her.

Elle bit back a laugh.

“And over here,” Shawn pointed to the wall, “you can see where we replaced the rotting siding with original trees from the surrounding area. It was important to John to keep this building and the main lodge as natural as possible. He said he wanted guests to feel as if they were walking through the woods”

Valerie smiled at Shawn. “You’ve done an incredible job of it, Shawn. John would love this.”

“Uh, thanks.” Shawn nodded, rubbing the back of his neck, seemingly uncomfortable of the praise. “So, anyway, we found termite damage in some of the supporting posts and had to lift the barn a few inches to replace them and the foundation.”

“You lifted the entire barn?” Elle said, her mind now on the rebuild as she gaped around the huge structure. “How?”

“It’s pretty simple, really,” Shawn said.

The group gawked at Shawn as if he’d grown two heads.

“Well, not simple if you haven’t worked in construction or restoration,” he said, “but…”

Valerie wrapped her hand around Shawn’s arm and peered up at him with a warm, genuine smile. “Needless to say, he’s been a lifesaver for me and my family. When I first heard he had to lift the barn, I thought we were finished. I thought, there’s no way that structure can handle that, but he got it done.”

“It’s been a labor of love for me,” Shawn said, smiling down at Valerie with an expression of reverence.

“Well,” Elle’s father said, “you’ve done a remarkable job, Shawn. You and your crew.”

“Thanks.” Shawn nodded again. “Max really helped a lot too, with his past experience in construction and an engineering degree, he was a great sounding board.”

“Max has a background in engineering?” Her father asked, his eyes going to Max, who looked a little stiff at the surprise.

Elle was equally mystified, but she tried to keep her feelings off her face.

A few times, she’d wondered if Max was a little uneasy about the two families working together and wondered if he felt the same way Pops and Tanner did. It was typically only older people in town who still gave any weight to the feud between their families, but every once in a while, someone younger would talk about it, like they just couldn’t let the history go.

“Yes,” Valerie answered for Max. “He received a degree in engineering at Duke University before he was drafted into the NFL. Thank goodness he has a hard head like his father, otherwise all those hits he took on the field would have turned his brain to mush.”

Everyone’s gaze fell on Max.

Duke? Wow. Somewhere Elle was sure she remembered that but it was still impressive.

“Your mom’s lucky to have you here to work with Shawn, Max,” her father said.

Max glanced up at her dad, his expression morphing from semi-perturbed to surprised before gracing them all with a small smile.

“It’s biomedical engineering,” Max said, as if that made his degree any less remarkable. “But I guess an engineer’s mind works the same way whether you’re dealing with body parts or a building.”

“So, what do you think?” Maggie asked, sidling up next to Elle and her father. “Hasn’t Shawn done an amazing job?”

“Yes,” Elle’s father nodded, “outstanding. I’m not going to lie and say I understand all the technicalities of lifting a structure like this and the ins and outs of the construction, but it’s really amazing. I remember what this old barn used to look like.”

“You do?” Emmett and Elle asked at the same time.

Her father’s eyes found Sally and held her gaze for a few seconds before both of them looked away.

Again, everyone stood quietly, their eyes darting from Sally to her father. Neither offered further explanation.

“While we have you all here,” Maggie said, breaking the awkward silence, “we wanted to talk about a couple of other marketing ideas we had. Things we might implement down the road.” Her voice was cheerful, as if she hadn’t noticed the look.

Elle was beginning to learn Maggie had a way of trying to smooth things over anytime there was tension. She was thankful for the woman’s skill.

Valerie glanced at Elle and her father, nodding with a huge smile. “I’m excited about these plans. I think you’ll all like them.”

“You all know we’ve talked about a book festival,” Maggie continued, “but we were thinking we might be able to add a film and arts festival. Valerie and I were going to talk to Grant and see if he had any ideas since he’s in the industry.”

Grant Sumner, in Canyon Creek? Yes, women would flock to the small town just for a glimpse at the actor voted World’s Sexiest Man. “Oh, that would be great,” Elle said. “I read that he’s directing an independent film now. Is that right?”

Valerie all but beamed. “Yes, I think he’s found a new calling.”

No one had to ask what she meant.

In the last year, Grant Sumner had gone off the rails after his split with his famous singer/songwriter wife, Sophie Day. Although the press was happy to print anything they could get their hands on—including, Elle suspected, a lot of lies—it seemed no one knew the truth of why they’d broken up.

Anyone alive could see how much it grieved Valerie. When a child hurt, their mother did as well, or at least that’s what Elle assumed, having no mother of her own.

She had to fight the urge to close her eyes against the pain that washed over her at the thought of mothers and their children. Chemotherapy had saved her life, but it had likely taken any chance she’d had of conceiving a child of her own.

Her father nudged her arm.

She glanced up and saw the love in his eyes and she had a feeling he knew where her thoughts had gone. It wasn’t just mothers who hurt, obviously.

Elle smiled at him. She had vowed a long time ago to take things one day at a time, and that included Emmett.

There is no tomorrow.

Her mother’s lyrics rang hauntingly through her mind. Elle couldn’t worry about the future, it would only ruin the present. Cancer had taught her that life lesson.

She had to admit one thing to herself though, with Emmett back in her life—no matter how temporary his presence might be—she was thinking about the future, their future, more and more. The thought of not being able to give him the gift of children had to be put from her mind, for now.

“Max, we were also thinking about a sports camp or something,” Maggie said, cutting into Elle’s thoughts. “Something for young kids?”

Max shrugged.

Emmett cut in when Max didn’t answer. “I can help with the kids.”

Elle pressed her lips together as she watched the exchange.

“You, with kids?” Maggie snorted. “I’m not sure I can picture any of you guys handling kids.”

Emmett grinned. “Hey, I happen to love kids.” He squeezed Elle’s hand when he said it, and it was all she could do not to run. “I was a camp counselor two summers in high school and three in college. I rock with kids.”

“We’ve got a huge lot on the other side of the resort,” Elle’s father put in. “We could re-landscape it and make it into a sports field, soccer or football or something.”

Elle vaguely heard the conversation as she willed herself not to think of the future, for now. Not to think about the fact that Emmett was great with kids, or that she knew he’d always wanted kids of his own.

Emmett squeezed her hand again.

She glanced up and saw he was staring at her with a smile that warmed her heart.

“A camp is a great idea, don’t you think?” he asked. “It would increase revenue in the summer when the mountain isn’t available for skiing.”

Elle nodded, drawn back to the present. “It would. It’s a good idea.”

“I like soccer,” Max finally said.

“And football, right?” Emmett asked. “I heard you were pretty good at football, too.”

Everyone broke into laughter, including Max and Sally.

And just like that, Elle saw something change between the two families. The new alliance they’d been trying to build between the Sumners and Nobles was solidified, history be damned.

Elle wrapped her arm around Emmett, no longer as self-conscious of their affections, and not willing to let her fears for the future invade on the happiness she felt today. Emmett was with her, he was her present, and for that she was thankful.

Emmett bent down and kissed her head. The words I love you were so close on her tongue but she held them back.

“We were also thinking of a writer’s retreat too,” Maggie said, with a smile and nod at Emmett. “Maybe before or after the book festival we host, the authors could have a week-long retreat to write.”

Emmett tilted his head. “That’s not a bad idea.” He looked down at Elle and smiled. “I’ve been writing a lot better, lately.”

“Oh, that’s right,” her father said, “Elle told me you’re thinking of writing a historical novel next. I think Florence could help you with that. She’s got the town’s archives on microfiche at the library, I think.”

“Oh, Em’s already been hanging out with Flo the—” Max’s words cut off. “Ow, Ma.” Max glared at his mother as she lowered the hand that had been pinching his ear.

“Quit calling her that,” Valerie scolded.

“Why?” Sally asked. “That’s what we used to call her when we were young.” She glanced around the group. “One time, Warner and I caught her back in the archives making out with Ed Thompson.”

“Oh my gosh,” her father chuckled, “I totally forgot about that. It was horrible. Her skirt was bunched up around her waist.”

“And her old lady bun was halfway knocked out,” Sally said, out of breath from laughing. She pointed at Elle’s father. “You screamed,” Sally could barely get out through her laughing, “Flo the Ho in action!”

Valerie’s hand clamped over her mouth, eyes wide as she stared at Elle’s father. “No, you didn’t scream.”

Her father bent over, slapping his knee. “Yeah, I did. I screamed. I mean, it was like a horror movie, who wouldn’t?”

“Yes,” Sally echoed, tears streaming down her face, “yes, he did. You’ve never seen two people break apart faster than Flo the Ho and Mr. Thompson.”

“Wasn’t Mr. Thompson your biology teacher?” Valerie asked Max.

Max looked like he was about to throw up. “That’s just…sick, man.”

Elle had to agree.

“Oh, yeah,” Sally continued to holler, “Mr. Thompson was giving Flo the Ho an exam for sure. An oral exam.”

Their amusement was infectious and the entire group couldn’t help but join in. Finally, the laughter died down.

Sally wiped the tears from her face.

Her father straightened and stared at her. “We had some good times, huh, Sal” he said.

Sally stiffened, her vibrant smile now slipping.

Everyone in their circle glanced between the two. Whatever sweet memories had been shared just moments before were lost. But anyone in the room could see their feelings for one another weren’t.

Elle wondered if maybe she could get Sally and her father to forget the things that had put a wedge between them, put it in the past and move on, live in the moment. They obviously had cared for each other at some point, and if the pain in her father’s eyes told her anything, he still did.