Chance got to the barn a little later than usual on Monday morning and was surprised to find Mason in there brushing down his horse, Storm.

“Hey,” Mason greeted him with a grin. “It’s not like you to be running late. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, it’s all good. Hope wanted to talk about the seating plan one last time before she went up to her dad’s for the day.” He blew out a sigh.

“Never mind, I know all the preparations must be getting to you, but this time next week, you’ll be married. The wedding will be behind you, and the best years of life will be ahead of you.”

“I know. The preparations aren’t so bad; Hope’s done the lion’s share of it all. It’s the seating plan. It finally hit me that my dad and your dad are going to come face to face for the first time.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“It is, I want them to. I’ve wanted them to meet for a while now, but part of me is a bit leery about it all. My two fathers, my two sets of friends, my two sets of families.” He shrugged. “My two worlds, my past and my future. They’re all going to come together on Saturday.”

Mason grinned. “And it’s scaring you shitless?”

Chance laughed. “Kind of. Don’t get me wrong, I can’t wait to marry her. I can’t wait to feel as though my life is whole, instead of being divided in two halves with me hanging like a lost soul in between them; but yeah, if I’m honest, it’s scary.”

“That’s understandable, but like I said, by this time next week, it’ll all be done. The two halves of you will be one and you won’t be lost anymore.”

Chance smiled. “Thanks, Mase.”

“No worries. I’m looking forward to it. I’m looking forward to seeing you pull it all together and finally be happy.”

“And you don’t mind about the best man thing?”

“Nah. I think it’s awesome. I think it’s the best solution you could come up with. If you’d asked any of the other guys, I think I would have been a tiny bit jealous, if I’m totally honest. I know that’s dumb, because I asked Shane to be my best man. But I couldn’t ask you because of Beau.”

“I know, I understand that. I understood it at the time.”

“I think you asking Missy is perfect. She’s your sister, and I know the two of you are close. I’ve always wanted to meet her, and I’ve often thought how hard it must be on her, that you’re here and not there.”

“Yeah, she’s never had it easy and I’ve carried a lot of guilt over the years that I should have been there for her. She cried when I asked her, and Miss isn’t a crier.”

Mason grinned. “I don’t imagine she is. You did the right thing asking her. And Hope asking Renée … I know you said you’re cool with it, but are you really?”

“More than okay. Renée’s like family to me. She’s got no family left, and I still feel like that’s my fault.”

Mason shook his head.

“I know, I know it’s not my fault, and this isn’t motivated by a negative, it’s not about me making up for some guilt over the past. It’s about Hope wanting to help me shape our future. She gets along with Renée. They’ve got their own thing going, even aside from me. It may seem weird from the outside, but to us it feels right.”

“That’s all that matters.”

Chance nodded. “It is. Anyway, I’d better get going. I need to keep on top of things this week, since I’ll be out for a couple of weeks after Thursday.”

“Don’t worry about it, we’ve got you covered. I don’t want you to give this place a thought while you’re gone. You have two weeks and Hope and a jet to take you wherever you want to go.”

“Thanks. I’m looking forward to it. We haven’t even decided what we’re going to do yet, but it doesn’t matter.”

“Okay, well I guess I’ll see you on Saturday, if I don’t see you before.”

“Wow, I guess so.” Chance went to get Maverick from the pasture behind the barn. The realization that he might not see Mason again before his wedding day brought it home just how quickly it would be here. He smiled. He wanted a fast forward button. Everything between here and Saturday was just detail. He wanted to skip that and get on with marrying her.

~ ~ ~

Hope turned into the driveway at the Davenport Ranch and brought the Land Rover to a screeching halt. “Shit! Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!” There were two press vans, a bunch of cars and a whole crowd of photographers standing around. She blew out a big sigh. Why? Why now?

They’d spotted the Land Rover and were surging toward her. She could either turn around and get the hell out of there or press on through. She chose the latter. She fixed her gaze straight ahead, turned the radio all the way up to drown them out and drove toward them, not slowing as they crowded around and in front of the vehicle. She went slow enough that they could get out of the way, but not so slow that they didn’t have to move. She clenched her jaw and stared determinedly ahead as they shouted their questions and tapped on the windows. When she got closer to Uncle Johnny and Aunt Jean’s place, she saw Brody hurrying down the driveway toward her, a shotgun over his arm. She nodded as she passed him and he nodded back, but then turned his attention to the reporters. He stopped them from following her, and when she checked the mirror, he was herding them back up the driveway. She doubted they’d give him too much of an argument.

Her aunt and uncle came out when she reached the house.

“Sorry, Hope,” said Uncle Johnny. “They showed up about ten minutes ago. I have no idea what they know or why they’re here now. We tried to call you to warn you.”

Hope checked her phone and saw she had missed calls, but her volume was turned all the way down. “Sorry. I didn’t hear them. It wouldn’t have made any difference anyway. I have to see Dad. Does he know?”

“I just got off the phone with him,” said Aunt Jean. “I couldn’t get through to him until just now, either. We were worried when they showed up and neither of you were answering.”

“Why do you think they’re here?”

Uncle Johnny looked grim. “They must have found out about the wedding.”

Hope nodded. It had been a stupid question, but she thought they’d been so careful. “The only people who know are family and very close friends. Dad had all the vendors sign confidentiality clauses.”

“Things always leak out somehow, Hopey. You know that.”

She sighed. “I do. I should have expected it, really.”

“You can’t let it spoil your big day,” said Aunt Jean.

Hope shrugged. “I know, but I can’t help feeling that they’ve already ruined it.”

“Don’t, Hope,” said Uncle Johnny. “Don’t be like that. You’re the one who finds the bright side, remember?”

“I am usually, but this is horrible. It’s bad enough for me, and I’m used to it, but Chance? He’ll hate it. I know he will. Maybe we’ll have to postpone it.”

They looked at each other. “You can’t do that,” said Uncle Johnny. “You’ve put so much work into it already. Everything’s set for Saturday. And besides, you and Chance have been so eager to get married as soon as you can so you can begin your life together. Are you really going to let the press dictate that you wait?”

Hope frowned. Now he put it like that, she didn’t want to, but she didn’t see what choice they had. The day just wouldn’t be the same with a crowd of reporters hanging out at the bottom of the driveway. It just wouldn’t. Her phone rang. It was her dad.

“Are you all right? Did you get through them okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine. I’ll be up there in a minute.”

“Okay.”

She hung up and gave her aunt and uncle a sad smile. “I’d better go see him.”

“You do that; be sure and stop in before you leave.”

Her dad was waiting for her on the front steps. He shook his head sadly when she got out of the car. “I’m sorry, Hope. I thought we were going to pull it off.”

She ran up the steps and greeted him with a hug. “I did, too. I guess that was too much to ask, though, wasn’t it?”

He nodded sadly. “It seems that way. What did Chance say?”

“I haven’t called him.” She blew out a big sigh. “I should, though, shouldn’t I?”

“Yes. I don’t think we want the press showing up at the Remington Ranch and catching him unawares do we?”

Hope shuddered. “No. We don’t.”

“You call him. I’ll go and get us some lemonade. I’ll be in my office when you’re ready.”

Hope reached up and kissed his cheek. “Thanks, Dad.”

She dialed Chance’s number and listened to it ring.

“Hey, honey? Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, sorry. I don’t like to call you at work.”

“I’ve told you. You can call me any time. I like it. It makes me smile.”

“I don’t think what I have to tell you is going to make you smile.”

“Why? What’s up?”

“The press is onto us.”

“How? What’s happened?”

“I have no idea how, but they know about the wedding. When I got up here, there was a whole crowd of them in the driveway.”

“Shit!”

“That’s what I said.”

“Damn!” He blew out a sigh. “Why do they care? Why do they want to spoil it for us?”

“I don’t know.”

“What are we going to do?”

“What do you want to do? We can postpone it, if you want to.”

“I don’t want to! We’re getting married. On Saturday. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to sound mad. What do you want to do? I’m just reacting against it. They shouldn’t be able to make us change our plans.”

“That’s what I said, but how much are we going to enjoy the day knowing they’re out there—how much are our guests going to enjoy it, if they have to run the gauntlet of reporters just to get here?”

“Do you want me to come up there?”

“No. I’m fine. I don’t want you to have to drive through them. I wanted to warn you in case they know where you are. They might come after you, too.”

“They’d better not.” She didn’t like the menace in his tone. “Sorry, honey. I’m just mad. I don’t mean anything by it.”

“I know, but if they do find you, please, Chance …”

“It’s okay. Don’t worry. I won’t do anything stupid.”

She nodded, feeling bad that she’d even suggested he might. “I know.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I guess I’ll just spend the day here with Dad, like I planned, and see what happens in the meantime. I’ll call you this afternoon. And you call me if press shows up down there?”

“Okay.”

“I love you, Chance. I’m sorry this is happening.”

“I love you, Hope. Don’t let it upset you. We’ll figure something out.”

She went to find her dad in his office. He gave her a grim smile. “What do you want to do?” he asked.

“Wave a magic wand and have it all go away.”

“If only I could, you know I would.”

She nodded. She did know that now, even though not so long ago the idea of him wanting a magic wand to fix things for her would have seemed ridiculous. She’d thought he didn’t care, but now she knew just how much he did care.

“If we’re going to postpone, we need to decide quickly. Chance’s family and his friends are all rearranging their lives so they can come up here for Saturday.”

“But you said you don’t want to do that, and you shouldn’t have to.”

“I know, but realistically, what choice do we have?” She sighed. “I could maybe put up with it, but it wouldn’t be the same, even for me. The focus would be off the wedding, and be on the press and how to avoid them instead. I don’t want that. And that’s just me. It’s so much worse for Chance. He’s such private person, it’d ruin it for him. I know it would.”

Her dad nodded sadly. “I’d like to argue with you, but I can’t. I know you’re right. But Hopey, even if we postpone, what do you think the odds are of them not finding out again whenever you reschedule to; they’re bound to.”

Hope blew out a big sigh. “I know. They’re like hounds—once they’re on the scent of something, they’re relentless. I hate that they’re the ones in charge now. We either get married with them all out there harassing the guests and trying to get any photos they can. Or we change the date and will probably have to go through the same thing again anyway. I don’t know what we can do that will make any difference.”

“Changing the date might not make a difference, but what do you think about changing the location?”

“Where to? I wanted to get married right here. In this house.” She stopped and sniffed. “I wanted to feel close to Mom.”

“I know, sweetheart, but your mom hated the press with a vengeance. She’d hate for you to go through that just for her.”

“I know. It’s silly.”

“It isn’t silly. It makes sense, but maybe there’s somewhere else that you’d feel close to her.”

“Like where? This was our home. This was the only place I ever lived with her.”

His eyebrows came down and he nodded to himself. “This might be a good idea, and it might be a really bad one. I’m just thinking out loud, so don’t worry if you hate it, it’s just a suggestion.”

“What?” she asked impatiently. “Where else could we get married that I might feel close to Mom?”

“Summer Lake. She loved it there.” He nodded and waited for her to respond.

“Wow!” Hope shook her head. “I don’t know. I mean. I don’t know how Chance would feel about that. He might love it, or he might hate it.”

“I know, and that’s important, but before you even get to thinking about him, how do you feel about it?”

She shook her head again. “It’d make sense. Chance’s family is there, and his friends. They wouldn’t have to come here anymore, but everyone here would have to go there.”

“Forget the practicalities. How do you feel about it? My concern is that it’s Chance’s place. It’s where he loved and lost his Chloe.” He held up a hand. “And we can deal with how he feels about that later. But what I want to know is if that feels right or wrong to you, for you.”

Hope let out a little laugh. “I know everyone seems to think that I’m going to be jealous of Chloe somehow, but I’m not. I don’t see her, or even her memory, as competition for Chance’s affection. I see her as a friend, an ally, someone who loved him, too. She was just a girl. She lost her life when she was eighteen years old. That makes me sad for her, it makes me love her. If anything, I feel like I’m taking the life and the love that she was supposed to have.” She swiped at a tear that rolled down her cheek. “I think I’d like to get married in Summer Lake; it seems right to me. And knowing that it’s a place Mom loved, too, that makes it more right. It’s as though Mom knew something good was going to happen there.”

Her dad smiled. “Okay. Now you know how you feel about it, you can see how Chance does. He might not like the idea and that’s fine, but I wanted you to be clear about your own feelings before you took his into account.”

“Thanks, Dad. I’ll ask him. But even if he says yes, even if it’s what he wants to do, do you think we can pull it off?”

He smiled. “You’re talking to the great Seymour Davenport, remember. I can make anything happen—especially if it’s what my little girl wants.”

Hope burst into tears. He used to call her that when they lived here. She’d been his little girl until her mom died. Now she was a grown woman and he was calling her that again—and she loved it. “Thank you.”

Her phone rang and she picked it up warily. It was Chance.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“I am, but Mason just called me. The press has showed up at the ranch.”

“Oh, no! Don’t go back there, please.”

“I wasn’t planning to. Maverick and I are about to cross onto your Dad’s property, I’m coming to you.”

She smiled. “That’s the best news I’ve heard all day.”

He chuckled. “Yeah. We’ve got to find the bright side in all of this, right?”

“We do, and I’m proud of you. In fact …” She decided she may as well tell him her dad’s idea now. That way he’d have time to think about it while he rode up the valley. “Dad and I were just trying to find a bright side, too, and he came up with an idea that you might like, or you might hate.”

“What?”

“You said you don’t want to postpone, I don’t either. So, if we don’t want to change the date, how about we change the location?”

“To where?”

“Summer Lake.”

He was quiet for a long moment.

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t want to. It’s just a suggestion.”

“Do you want to?”

“I’d like it.”

“For you, or for me?”

“I know I’d like it for me. I don’t know if it would be good or bad for you.”

“Do you want to know the truth?”

“Always.”

“That’d make me very happy.”

She smiled and breathed a huge sigh of relief. “It would?”

“Yeah. I don’t know about the details. We’d have to stop all of them from coming here, and get everyone from here down there. And all the hard work you and your dad have done would have been for nothing, and I don’t know where we could do it there or anything, but …”

“If we both want it to happen, we can make it happen.”

“Then let’s do it.”