Three nights later, Rosa parked in the spot that had been reserved for her and her mom at the community center. The lot was already mostly full of people who’d come in for the fundraiser.

“Mom, are you sure you’re feeling okay? I know Elaine would understand if you couldn’t make it.”

Her mom had that steely look in her eye she got any time Rosa pushed too far. “I’m fine. I’m not going to be able to stay the entire time, but this benefit is for me, and it’s only right that I let people know how much I appreciate their care and support.”

Blowing out a breath, Rosa unhooked her seatbelt. “Wait for me.”

She slung her purse across her body and hurried around the car to where Mom was trying to get out. Never let it be said that Lottie Donnelly was a pushover. She reached out and braced her mom’s arm as she pushed out of the car seat. It was a moment before she was steady on her feet, but she stood tall and proud when she was. Rosa locked up the car and they headed inside.

Elaine was standing at the door, with her husband holding it open. She embraced Lottie, and Mr. Stroman gave her a kiss on the cheek before holding out his hand to shake Rosa’s. “It’s good to have you back in town, Rosa. How was College Park?”

“Well, they liked me enough to give me a degree.”

His laugh was deep like Ian’s, and he had a similar twinkle in his eye. This was what Ian would be like in thirty years. The idea of seeing him just as vital when he was in his sixties stole Rosa’s breath. And it stayed stolen when she caught sight of him coming into the lobby of the community center. He was in a Stroman Industries polo shirt and khakis. Stereotypical small-town executive. But when he looked at her, she remembered him naked, sprawled on his bed below her as she rode him to orgasm.

Their parents had to have caught a whiff of something, as she saw Mom giving her the beady eye, but she ignored them all and headed into the community center. She felt Ian’s fingers brush her back, but he didn’t do anything else as he guided them to the table of honor.

Dinner was a buffet of everyone’s prized dishes. She filled a plate of vegetarian delicacies for her mom and piled her own with barbecue ribs and potato salad.

People kept coming up to them and complimenting Mom on how nice she looked. She took it as her due, and Rosa wasn’t about to say anything. She was looking better, though, as she’d had a nasty reaction to one of the medications a few days ago. The dosage had been off, and as soon as they dialed it back, the rash and other side effects had mostly gone away.

A few people asked if she was moving back full-time. Some intimated that she was such a good daughter to care for her mom, while others said they weren’t surprised she was back. She gritted her teeth every time she faced one of those people. Reminded herself of what both Mom and Ian had said about knowing she was successful.

Just that morning, an offer had come through from the firm in Philadelphia. It was solid, and she knew not to take the first job offered, but it would keep her close-ish to home in case Mom needed her.

Elaine had arranged for a group of older guys who played cover songs at a bar in the next town over to be the entertainment, so while they were setting up and testing the sound she wandered over to the table where the silent auction items had been laid out.

Donors had been very generous. There were packs of tickets to the Pittsburgh pro sports teams, some local university games, a weekend at someone’s lake house on Lake Erie, even an appearance spot on one of the local TV affiliates’ morning programs.

Someone would get their five minutes of fame. All to help her mom. Tears gathered in the back of her throat. This was good. She shouldn’t feel resentful about needing the help. Not everyone who needed help got it.

But under the resentment was gratitude. There were people who cared for Mom. People who were nice to her. Hell, even her archnemesis had apologized to her. Everyone was capable of growing and learning from their past. Maybe she should give Denning another chance.

She spotted Ian standing off in a corner with his back to her. A back she’d raked her nails down only days ago. A back her hands itched to caress once again. One of his cousins, Larry she thought, was standing opposite of him, finger jabbing the air.

She frowned and sidled closer.

Larry’s finger got even closer to Ian’s face. “I told you to stop what you’re doing. I heard about FSC’s ultimatum. If you lose that contract, I will win the suit for control of the company. Granddad wouldn’t have stood for this nonsense.”

“Funny, we have different memories of Granddad. He always taught me that we were supposed to look out for others less fortunate and make sure everyone we considered to be family were safe. Or did you forget how he fled Germany?”

She saw a muscle tic in Larry’s jaw as he clenched it. His next words came out low and barely audible. “I know those stories just as well if not better than you. If the company’s not around, we can’t look out for the people who need our help. You’re going to run it into the ground.”

“If we don’t uphold our values, we lose the company.”

“Ian. Stop it. You know you’re going to lose on this. We both care about the company and its future. You know keeping the FSC contract is the right thing to do.”

She moved closer, and Larry caught sight of her. He nodded at her. “Rosa. Ian, we’ll talk about this at the office.”

She went over and placed her hand at the small of Ian’s back. She was close enough to see his shoulders slump the tiniest fraction. “What’s wrong?”

There was a stark look in his eyes as he kept his gaze on the crowd behind her. “How much did you hear?”

“That he’s continuing with the lawsuit?”

He let out a low sigh. “I’m supposed to give FSC my assurance tomorrow that I’m stopping my political activity. Somehow, Larry found out about it. He’d been worried about the slight dip in direct sales due to the newsletter anyway, and this was fuel on the fire.”

She rubbed his back through his shirt. His muscles felt as if they were made out of concrete. It wasn’t skin-to-skin as she would have liked, but she felt the need to comfort him. The urge to do so had her feeling even more tied down, but this was Ian and he seemed in need of support. “What are you going to do?”

“The other thing Granddad always said was to not fight with family to the point that you can no longer talk. When they’re gone for good, you’ll regret the time that you lost.”

She wanted to lean into him, wrap him in her arms, but they were in public and she didn’t have that kind of claim on him. Didn’t want it. Right?

“Ian, if you give into this pressure, you’re not the man I know you are. Don’t back down.”

He looked down at her, ice coating the light hazel of his eyes. “I’m tired of people telling me what to do. Why do you even care, Rosa? It’s not like you’ve ever considered making Denning your home. Good, hard-working people who deserve a decent shot at life live here. You just run off at every opportunity you get. I believe in Denning and its future. I’m working hard for it. What are you doing? Good thing you’re not staying in town. You don’t ever have to look at me and see something I’m not.”

She shoved his chest and he stepped back on one foot. “Fuck you.”

Goddamn. She was no longer eighteen, and he shouldn’t have the power to hurt her. But he did. Wiping away tears that leaked from her eyes, she hurried back to where her mom sat. She refused to look back at him. Mom wasn’t ready to leave, and the band was beginning their first song. Even as they led into the strains of Elvis’s “Heartbreak Hotel,” she felt the barely-burgeoning idea of finally finding a home in Denning crumble into ashes.