Chance checked the clock on the dash when he pulled into Shane and Cassidy’s driveway. They were right on time.

“Sorry I held us up,” said Hope.

“We made it, it’s not a problem,” he said with a smile.

She’d been working with her dad all day every day for a couple of weeks now. He was happy to see her enjoying herself so much—and from what she’d shown him, she was doing very well for herself. He’d had no idea that people could make that kind of money in a day.

“I know, but I shouldn’t have stayed at Dad’s so long. It was only because we had the caterers over this afternoon to work on the menu for the reception. Then when we got back to work, I got a bit carried away.”

He pulled up in front of the house and leaned across to kiss her lips. “It’s okay. I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself, and you shouldn’t feel bad that you’re taking time to plan our wedding. I feel bad that I haven’t done anything, and I don’t even know what I could do.”

“You just need to show up,” she said with a smile. “Just be there, say you love me and that you want to spend the rest of your life with me, and I’ll be the happiest girl on earth. If you cared in the slightest about the food or the flowers or any of that, then I’d be trying to include you. But since you don’t, I’m just getting on with it.”

Chance felt bad. “It shouldn’t have to all fall on your shoulders.”

“I don’t mind. I’m realistic about it. I could try to get you involved, but that would be wasting both of our time for very little benefit. None of those details matter to you, and I enjoy it and can get on with it.”

“Okay, I know you’re right. There is one thing I want us to do together, though.”             

“What’s that?”

“Pick the wedding rings. Laura has an online store now and she sent me a link so that we can look at her collection. It doesn’t matter if we don’t like any of hers, but I thought you’d want to look since she made your engagement ring, and she might have something nice to match it.”

Hope held her hand up and admired the ring. “Yes, I’d love to see what she has. I love this so much.”

Chance smiled, glad that he’d gotten it right—with Laura’s help.

The front door opened and Shane came out. “Come on!” he called. “I’ve been waiting for you to get here.”

“How does he do that?” asked Hope. “How does he know when we arrive?”

Chance laughed. “They have a camera system with a monitor in the hall, so he can see when we come up the driveway.”

“Oh, okay. I thought he just had some weird instinct about when we arrive—either that or supersensitive hearing.”

They got out of the truck and Shane held the door open for them when they reached the top of the steps. “Come on in. You’re not the last. Gina and Mason just left the ranch a few minutes ago; it shouldn’t take them long.”

“Hey, guys. Don’t let him harass you, you can come join me in the kitchen, if you want. I have wine.”

Shane grinned at them. “I have beer, if that’ll tempt you out onto the deck with me?”

Chance looked at Hope.

“How about you go that way, and I’ll go that way?” She pointed to the kitchen and he nodded.

Shane punched his shoulder and went to the wet bar in the family room to get him a beer. “It’s good to see you’re not under the thumb yet.”

Chance laughed. “What, not like you?”

Shane laughed with him. “Nah, we can joke all we like, but I think we got damned lucky that we found women who wouldn’t want us under their thumbs, or under their feet. We’d get in the way of what they want to do for themselves.”

“That’s so true. I can’t imagine being with a woman who wanted me to be by her side the whole time.”

Shane shook his head. “Nope. Me neither, but it’s not something we’ll ever have to worry about. Come on outside. Carter’s out there by himself.”

“Where’s Summer?”

“In the kitchen with Cassidy. She’s another one who doesn’t need her man by her side the whole time. Although, I think Carter would like to be.”

Chance smiled as he followed Shane outside. He was right, Carter probably would go everywhere with Summer, if she’d let him. He was like her bodyguard.

“Hey, Chance.”

“Carter. How’s it going?”

“Yep, everything’s good in my world. How about you?”

“Couldn’t be better.”

“How’s the wedding planning coming?”

Shane laughed. “You should probably be in the kitchen if you want to hear about that.”

Carter made a face. “I’m not asking what color flowers they’re having. I care about how he feels in the middle of it all.”

Chance smiled. “I feel great. Hope’s taking care of most of it and I’m just joining in on the chorus, when she needs me.”

Shane nodded approvingly, but Carter frowned.

“It’s okay, Big C. I’m useless with that kind of thing and she enjoys it. I’ve offered and offered to do more, be more involved, but she knows me and she knows herself. It’s all good.”

Carter’s smile returned. “In that case, it sounds perfect. Have you had any more trouble with the press?”

“No. I’m still looking over my shoulder the whole time, but since that one guy, there’s been no sign of any more.”

“Good, you don’t need them showing up and spoiling things for you.”

“Who’s spoiling things?” asked Cassidy as she came out the sliding door from the kitchen.

“No one, hopefully,” said Chance.

“The press, if they show up and start harassing him and Hope again,” said Shane.

Cassidy made a face. “They’re bottom feeders, if you ask me. All of them.”

“You won’t get any arguments from me,” said Carter.

“That’s not fair,” said Chance. “I have as much reason to hate them as anyone, but they’re just doing their job. I don’t understand what would motivate anyone to do that job, but …”

Shane looked at him. “Are you going soft in your old age?”

Cassidy laughed. “It’s not old age; it’s love that’s mellowing him out. Right, Chance?”

He nodded. It was. If he didn’t love Hope, he might never have tried to change his approach to life. He was still working on it. It wasn’t easy, but he was catching himself when he was being negative and trying to turn things around to find the bright side.

Shane gave him a skeptical look. “I wonder if you’ll still be this mellow when they come poking their cameras in your face again. Steve told me he was lucky to get that photographer out of there before you beat him to a pulp.”

Chance scowled. He didn’t like that they still thought of him as the guy who would do that. Yeah, he’d been about to hit the guy, but he would have floored him with one good punch. He wouldn’t have beaten him to a pulp. He hated that expression, mostly because it was pretty much what he’d done to Kyle all those years ago.

Hope appeared in the doorway behind Cassidy, a glass of wine in her hand. “I think Steve was exaggerating a bit. Chance never raised his fist, and Steve wasn’t there that fast.”

Chance nodded at her with a grateful smile. She knew; she understood he was trying to be better than that.

Shane gave him an apologetic smile. “I’m glad to hear it.” He turned at the sound of a buzzer going off inside. “That’ll be Gina and Mase. I’ll go let them in.”

~ ~ ~

Hope looked around the table as they ate. They were a great bunch of people. The guys were all handsome in their own way, but more than their looks, they shared a way of being, a set of underlying principles that she liked. They were good, hard-working men who each had a big heart and a great sense of humor. It was unusual for them all to be quiet, but then that probably had a lot to do with the lasagna they were eating. It was amazing.

“This is so good, Cassidy,” she said.

Cassidy smiled. “Thanks. It’s a recipe my dad’s wife gave me, and these guys love it. It’s the standard request now whenever Shane and I host dinner.”

Beau looked at Chance. “That’s a thought; are the two of you going to take a turn hosting when you’re married?”

Chance shot a look at her. “I don’t know, you’ll have to ask the boss if she’s interested. If it’s up to me, all you’ll get is meat straight from the grill.”

Hope smiled. “I’d love to, but we might have to wait until we get a house built.”

Mason smiled at her. “If you’ll have us, we’d love to come, no matter where you are or even if we’ll all fit inside. It’s summer, we can sit out back.”

Corinne nodded at her. “Beau and I hosted in the cabin at the guest ranch before we got our place built.”

“Okay, then. I’d love to. I love to cook, but it might have to wait until after the wedding. I’m crazy busy at the moment.”

“Whenever you’re ready,” said Gina. “It’s not a hurry up and invite us over, it’s a we want you to feel like part of the family.”

Beau smiled at her. “I can vouch for that. I was the black sheep of the family for years, but when they started having these dinners and inviting me along, I started to feel like I belonged. Then, when Corinne and I started taking a turn to host, it made me feel I was fully back in the family again.”

“Aww, isn’t he sweet?” asked Chance.

Hope smiled. She liked Beau and Corinne, although she didn’t know them as well as the others yet. “It sounds like we’ll be following in your footsteps, then—including building a house.”

“Yeah, what’s the plan with that?” asked Mason.

“We’re working on it,” said Chance. “While Hope’s setting up the wedding, I’m doing the legwork so that we’ll be able to build when we’re ready.” He turned to Hope. “We’re going to ride out this weekend and see if we can pick the perfect spot.”

She smiled back and nodded happily. That was no doubt what he’d wanted to tell her when she got back from her dad’s earlier, but hadn’t had time because she’d been so late.

“Do you have your guest list and everything figured out yet for the wedding?” asked Summer.

“We do. It’s not very big. We only want family, and Chance’s friends from Summer Lake are coming, too.”

Summer nodded, and if Hope didn’t know any better, she’d think she looked a little put out. She couldn’t understand why, though, so she let it go.

“And what about your wedding party?” asked Cassidy. “Do you know who you’re going to ask to be in it?” She grinned. “I haven’t heard anything yet.”

“Cassidy!” Gina shook her head. “Take no notice of her. Cassidy thinks she has to be at the center of everything.”

Hope laughed. “I don’t mind. That’s one thing we still need to figure out.”

Chance nodded. “We’re working on it.”

She knew it was bothering him. How was he supposed to choose only one of his four brothers to be his best man? She didn’t know what to do. She liked all the girls; she’d known them all for the same amount of time. How could she ask one or two of them to be her bridesmaid, but not the others? And how could she ask all of them? And there was Missy. As Chance’s sister, she should really ask her. They’d talked about it a couple of times, and with the wedding coming up fast, they needed to decide and get suits and dresses made.

Carter put his fork down. “Maybe you shouldn’t have a wedding party. Maybe it should be just the two of you.”

Hope loved that he was so thoughtful about people’s feelings. Chance had told her that Carter was the one who was always working to hold the family together as one big happy unit. Here he was, doing it again. He was wanting to make sure that no one’s feelings were hurt.

Cassidy smiled. “You know I was only joking, right? I didn’t think how difficult it would be for you. Chance has four guys here, and I think probably one or two in Summer Lake who he would want to be his best man and groomsmen. All of whom he’s known for years and is very close to. You’ve got the same number of women, none of whom you’ve known for very long at all. That’s got to be tough. I don’t envy you that one, girlfriend.”

Hope nodded, glad that Cassidy had brought it out into the open. “It’s not easy.”

“You need to do what’s right for you,” said Gina. “Don’t worry about it. No one’s going to get upset if you don’t ask them.”

“Except me,” said Cassidy with a laugh. “You pick whoever you want, as long as I’m one of them.”

Hope laughed. She liked Cassidy a lot. “Okay, glad you set me straight about that.”

~ ~ ~

Hope drifted off to sleep in the truck on the way home. She didn’t even wake up when Chance brought the truck to a stop in front of the cabin. He got out and went around to the passenger door. She opened her eyes and smiled.

“Sorry, I guess I’m tired.”

“It’s not surprising. You’ve been working hard.” He picked her up and her arms came up around his neck. He loved the way she did that when he carried her.

Once they were inside, he took her straight to the bedroom and laid her down on the bed. He went into the bathroom, expecting her to be asleep when he came out. She wasn’t. She was lying there wide-eyed, looking troubled.

“What’s the matter, honey?”

She shrugged. “I can’t get my mind off the whole wedding party thing. I know Cassidy was only joking, but it’s been getting me down for a while. I don’t know what to do, so I haven’t done anything, but time’s running out. I need to decide and I don’t know how.”

“Yeah. If it’s any consolation I feel the same way. I don’t know who to ask.”

“It must be even harder for you.”

“Nah, I think you have it the hardest. I’m a guy, they’re guys. It’s not such a big deal to us.”

Hope sighed. “That’s probably true. I can’t even find a bright side on this one.”

“Aww.” He stroked her hair away from her face. “Why don’t you get undressed and get in bed before you fall asleep like that? We can talk about it tomorrow. You’re tired and you’ve got to be up early.”

She got up and got undressed, letting her clothes fall in a pile at her feet, which wasn’t like her. “I don’t think I can get to sleep. It’s all going around and around in my mind. I’ve pushed it away for too long already and now I need to find a solution. I don’t avoid problems normally. I can’t keep hiding from it.”

“Okay, let’s figure it out, then. What kind of wedding party do you want, and who would you like to be in it?”

She sighed. “I just don’t know.”

“Okay, let’s take it back a step. Who are you even considering?”

“Well, there’s Missy, of course. She should be part of it.”

“I can tell you now, she won’t mind one bit if you don’t ask her. She cares about all that stuff about as much I do. She just wants to be there. She doesn’t need to be a part of it.”

“But she should be; she’s your sister.”

“It’s not about should. It’s about what you want. Who else is there?”

“Well, the four girls, and I have no idea how I’d choose between them. Should I ask all four? If I did, we’d probably end up with more people in the wedding party than people attending.”

He chuckled. “You’ve got a point there.” He’d been surprised, to say the least, that her guest list had been so much shorter than his. “So, you’ve got five possible candidates and what are you thinking? A maid of honor and some bridesmaids?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know what to think.”

“Who would be your maid of honor?”

“It has to be Missy.”

“I told you. It doesn’t have to be anyone. Who do you want it to be?”

She met his gaze. “Someone I haven’t even mentioned yet.”

He frowned, wondering if she had a friend she’d never mentioned to him. “Who?”

“Renée.”

He stared at her for a long moment.

“I’m sorry. I probably shouldn’t have mentioned it at all, but it’s been on my mind for weeks. I like her. I feel close to her. That night at the Boathouse when we went off together to talk? She told me that she still saw you as part of her family. I told her I envy you that, you have people here and there who want you in their family. I only had my dad, and he didn’t even want to be a family after Mom died. Renée said she hoped that maybe someday we’d see each other as sisters-in-law. That meant a lot to me. I want it to be that way, but I don’t know if it’d be too weird for you.”

Chance shook his head and swallowed around the lump in his throat. “If that’s what you want, you ask her. As long as you’re doing it for you and not for me.”

“If anything, I wouldn’t do it because of you.”

“No. I love the idea. Not because of Chloe. I need you to understand that. Chloe’s just a memory now. You’re the woman I love. You’re the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. I love the idea of you choosing because it’s like my whole world coming full circle. My past and my future coming together in the present. I feel like you’re making me whole again. I was broken for so many years. You’ve put me back together and not only given me a future, but you’re giving me back my past—in a new way, a healthy way. I can be friends with Renée and I can go back to the lake and be happy and have fun there. It’s going to be weird, but good, to have everyone come together on our wedding day. It’s my two worlds and my entire history colliding in one moment.”

She put her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his lips. “If that’s how you feel, then I’m going to ask her.”

He smiled. “You do it.”

Hope nodded. “And I’m only going to ask her. Since I can’t ask all the others, I’m not going to ask any of them.”

Chance nodded. That made sense to him.

“But I feel bad about Missy.”

“Don’t.” He grinned as an idea struck him.

“Why? What are you thinking?”

“I’m glad you don’t want to ask Missy, because I do.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m in the same spot as you when it comes to a best man. I can only ask one of them, and I don’t want to. If I did, it would be Mason, but it’s not that easy. I was Beau’s best man and maybe I should ask him. I wasn’t joking when I told you Shane was my agony aunt after Oregon; part of me wants to ask him because of that. Carter would rather stay out of the limelight, but I know it’d mean a lot to him. I love them all. Since I can’t have all of them, I don’t want any of them.” He chuckled. He couldn’t help it. It was a crazy idea, but he loved it. “Would it be too weird if I asked Missy to be my best man?”

Hope squinted at him, as if trying to make sense of what he’d said. Then she grinned, too. “It wouldn’t be weird at all. It’d be absolutely perfect!”

“Then that’s what I’ll do.”