Chance peered out the window as the plane touched down. The first time he’d ever flown in a private plane had been last year when Dan had sent a jet to get him after his dad’s stroke. He’d flown in it a handful of times since then—to go to Missy’s wedding in Vegas and when he’d gone with his dad to Oregon. It was hard to believe, but he was used to it now. He was glad this wasn’t the first time. He felt uncomfortable enough that this was Hope’s jet, at least he wasn’t a total novice in how it all worked.

She smiled over at him. “I’m excited, but I’m nervous, too.”

“You’ve got nothing to be nervous about. Dad and Alice already love you, and when it comes to Miss, I think I’m the one who should be nervous. I don’t think I’ll stand a chance once the two of you join forces.”

She laughed. “You’re probably right there. And she’s coming to pick us up?”

He nodded. “She and Dan are coming. You’ll like him. He doesn’t say too much, but when he does, it’s always worth listening.”

“He sounds like my cousin Reid.”

“He sounds like Oscar in some ways, too. At least, the genius bit, he’s no playboy. He’s not even a partier or anything, but he’s damned smart.”

Hope nodded, looking more thoughtful now. “Do you plan to see anyone else while we’re here?”

He nodded slowly. “I think so. I’m not sure yet.” He’d called Renée a couple of days ago to tell her they were coming. She knew about Hope and claimed to be happy for him. Her husband, Gabe, had gone over the contract Seymour had drawn up for the ranch. But still, it felt weird to be bringing Hope here. It felt wrong of him to ask Renée to accept her. Hope wasn’t Chloe, and Chloe had been Renée’s sister. Was it fair of him to ask her to accept another woman in her place? He didn’t want to talk about all that right now though. Not when they’d be seeing Missy and Dan in just a few minutes. “I told you about the whole gang of friends who live back here now. I’ll have to ask Miss if they’re all getting together at any point over the weekend. If they are, we could maybe drop in for a little while.”

Hope smiled. “That’d be fun. Do you usually do that when you come back?”

He shrugged. “Sometimes.” How could he explain that he saw the gang if Missy forced him into going along? He usually bumped into most of them around town when he came, but seeing them individually was a whole lot easier for him than having to go sit at the Boathouse with a dozen people all talking and asking questions—even if they were his friends.

“Let me guess, you usually skulk around the edges of town, and this time I’m landing you right in the middle of everything?”

He had to smile. “Yeah, pretty much.”

“We don’t have to do any of it, if you don’t want to. We can just see your dad and Alice and Missy and Dan. I hope I’ll get to meet her son, Scot, too, but other than that, I don’t want you to have to do anything that makes you uncomfortable. You can keep a low profile if that’s easier.”

He nodded. “Thanks, honey. It would be easier, but easier isn’t always better, is it? We’re both trying to skirt around it, but part of bringing you here is to keep pushing myself. I’ve found ways to deal with so many things since we met. Now I need to see if I can deal with you being here. With me being with you here.” He sighed. “You know what I mean. This place is Chloe’s home. It was supposed to be our home.”

“I know. That’s why I’m saying you don’t have to do anything that makes you uncomfortable. Maybe it’s too soon. Maybe it will never be right for me to be here. I get it.”

He shook his head. “I know you do, but I need to move through it, move past it. It’s not as though Chloe minds you being here. It’s me. I need to break down all the walls I built up in my head and around my heart. It’s going to be uncomfortable, but that’s okay. Change is always uncomfortable, but without change, there can’t be any growth. And I need to grow. I need to …”

The plane came to a halt and the pilot’s voice came through the speakers in the cabin. “Welcome to Summer Lake. I’ll be right through to open the doors and there’s a golf cart waiting for you on the tarmac. That will take you to the FBO building where they tell me your friends are waiting to collect you.”

Hope pressed a button in the arm of her seat. “Thanks, Randy. Are you all set for your stay here?”

The pilot didn’t reply, instead appearing in the doorway from the cockpit a moment later. “Sorry, I thought it was easier to come talk to you. I am, thanks, Hope. Apparently, there’s a little resort in town. I have a room there and a rental car. It seems like a great little town, I’m looking forward to the weekend, thanks.” His smile faded. “But of course, I’ll be on standby whenever you need me.”

Hope smiled. “How about you consider yourself off call until Sunday afternoon? If anything crops up in the meantime, we’ll find another way out of here. That way you can really relax and enjoy yourself.”

He started to shake his head, but Hope fixed him with a questioning look. “Please?”

He smiled. “Okay, then, if you insist, but I’m going to find one of the local pilots and see if they can stand by, just in case. I hate the idea of you having an emergency and not being able to get out of here.”

“Okay, if that’s what it’ll take before you’ll relax, then do it.”

Once they were on the golf cart heading toward the FBO building Chance turned to Hope. “What was that all about with Randy? Why can’t he just take the weekend off and still be on call if you need him?”

Hope smiled. “Because flying is different from most other jobs in that respect. When he’s on standby, he has to be ready to be at the airport and in the air within an hour. That means he can’t go too far and he can’t really relax at all. It also means he can’t have a drink all weekend. They call it eight hours from bottle to throttle. Which is fine, if you go out in the evening and know you’re not flying till the next morning. If you’re on standby, you can’t guarantee you won’t get called to fly in the middle of the night.”

Chance nodded. It made sense. “You care about the people who work for you, don’t you?”

She shrugged. “I see it as just basic human decency, but yes, I do care. They’re my team, I’m closer to them than I am to anyone else. It’s like you with the horses. Randy and Ron and the others, we work together, they’re my buddies.”

Chance smiled as the golf cart came to a halt outside the building and he spotted Missy waving at them through the window. “Are you ready for this?” he asked Hope.

She nodded nervously. He loved that about her. She was supposed to be this big name, this celebrity of sorts who the press hounded, but she was just a straightforward girl who got nervous about meeting new people, or at least about meeting people who were important to him. He took hold of her hand, wanting to show her he had her back. She looked up into his eyes and smiled, making him laugh. “For God’s sake, please don’t say I’m sweet.”

She laughed and shook her head. “I wasn’t about to; I was about to thank you for doing that.” She looked down at their joined hands. “I don’t feel nervous any more. You made me feel safe.”

He didn’t have time to answer before the automatic door slid open and Missy hurried to greet them. She threw herself at him and hugged him. “Chancey! I’m so glad you made it.”

He laughed. “I know you don’t like to fly, Miss, but we were hardly likely to fall out of the sky on the way here.”

She made a face at him. “You know I didn’t mean that. I just meant I’ve been waiting so long for you to come.” She turned to Hope. “And to meet you.”

Hope offered her hand, but Missy waved it away and reached up to hug her. “You’ll get used to me, hon. I don’t do formal.”

Chance was glad to see Hope smile as she hugged Missy back. “Good to know. I’ve been trying to get away from it myself.”

Missy stood back with a grin. “Then you stick with me. I’ll teach you.”

Dan stepped forward with a shy smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Dan.” Chance knew he wasn’t much of a hugger, but he stepped forward and briefly embraced Hope. Chance was proud of him. He’d overcome his own discomfort at the thought of having to hug a stranger because Hope had said she was trying to get away from being formal.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, too. I’ve heard so much about you.”

Dan raised an eyebrow at Chance.

He winked. “What can I say? I like to brag about you. Not many guys can claim to have a multi-millionaire genius for a brother-in-law now, can they?” He felt bad when he’d said it. Dan looked embarrassed.

Hope smiled at him. “I’ll admit I was a little awestruck when I realized who you were. Prometheus was huge when you started it.”

Dan looked surprised that she knew him. Prometheus was the tech company he’d founded while he was still in college and had sold for millions when he moved here to the lake. He nodded. “We did well.”

“It didn’t do too well without you though, did it?”

He shook his head. “They sold out to Systech. Technically the company was no longer Prometheus the second I walked out the door. I kept the name.”

“Yeah, but they still tried to use its reputation—your reputation—for far too long afterward,” said Missy with a scowl.

Dan smiled at Hope and shrugged. “It’s all history now. It doesn’t matter. Your cousin took down Systech at the beginning of the year.”

“Do you know him?”

“A little. We’ve met a few times, and it’s always an interesting conversation when we do.”

“I’ll bet. We should get the two of you together.”

“I’d like that.” Chance was surprised how pleased Dan looked at that prospect, but he shouldn’t be. He imagined Dan would love any chance he got to talk to another mind like his. Most of the time he was surrounded by mere mortals.

Missy smiled. “You’ll be my hero if you can get him together with someone he can have a decent conversation with. My mundane chatter drives him nuts.”

Chance tried not to laugh at the look on Dan’s face. “But I love you,” he said.

Missy wrinkled her nose at him and slipped her arm through his. “You must do to put up with me. Come on. We should get the bags taken care of and get these two home. Scot’s waiting.”

~ ~ ~

Hope looked around as Dan drove them into town. It was beautiful here. The mountains seemed to huddle around the lake protectively. As they got into the town itself she was surprised how busy it was. There were people out walking down Main Street and a thriving little shopping district. She felt like they’d been transported back in time, back to a simpler, happier time.

“Welcome to Summer Lake,” said Missy as they drove by a large square that fronted onto the lake. “That’s the resort and see that place on the water’s edge? That’s the Boathouse, where,” she turned around to look at Chance, “I hope you’ll come and join everyone for dinner tomorrow night.”

She felt Chance tense beside her and saw him narrow his eyes at Missy. Missy shrugged. “I only said I hope. I’m not trying to force you or anything. But it’d be nice if you want to. That’s all.”

Chance nodded, but didn’t speak.

“Thanks, Missy. I’d like to see the place. Even if we don’t feel up to going out tomorrow night, perhaps you and I can stop in for lunch or something?”

Chance took hold of her hand and squeezed it.

Missy’s grin spread across her face. “Sorry. I’m not known for being subtle. I say it like I see it, but damn, girl, you’re good for him. You’ve got him figured out, haven’t you?”

Hope chuckled, glad that Missy understood that she was simply looking out for Chance, not being stand-offish about meeting all their friends. “I think so. The fact that I’m even here is a big deal,” she looked at Chance, “for both of us. We have to take everything slowly and if something doesn’t feel comfortable we don’t have to do it. Hopefully this is just my first visit of many.”

Missy nodded and grinned at Chance. “She’s a keeper, you’d better not screw it up.”

Chance rolled his eyes at her. “I don’t plan to, but my little sister might screw it up for me.”

Missy stuck her tongue out at him and turned back to Hope. “I don’t know how you put up with him. He can be moody, broody, and mean. I think you and I should go out for lunch or something just to get away from him for a while.”

Hope laughed. “We probably should.” She squeezed his hand again as she said, “I’m sure he’ll need some time to himself anyway.”

Dan continued driving down Main Street. The traffic thinned out the farther they went and soon they were in more of a leafy, broad avenue. The houses were larger out here and they backed onto the lake. A few minutes later, Dan pulled into the driveway of a beautiful big house and brought the Jeep to a halt outside.

“Come on in,” said Missy. “I told Dad we’d call them when you arrived, but I wanted you to meet Scotty before we go over there.”

“This is a beautiful home,” said Hope once they were inside.

“Thanks,” said Missy. “I absolutely love this place. Can you believe it was my favorite house in the world when I was growing up, and now, thanks to this guy,” she put her hands on Dan’s shoulders and reached up to peck his lips, “I get to live here. I never thought I would. When I was a kid, my friend used to come over from England to visit her grandparents who owned this place.” She smiled. “She lives here, too, now, but that’s another story.”

Chance shook his head at her. “It is. We want to see Scotty, not listen to you tell Charlie’s story.”

Missy made a face at him and went to the bottom of the stairs. “Scot? We’re back. Uncle Chance is here and Hope.” She looked back at them with a smile. “For the longest time, he seemed like he was so much younger than his age. I thought maybe I’d ruined him and made him into a momma’s boy, but he’s caught up lately. He’s gone all teenager on us. He’s probably got his earphones in and can’t even hear me.”

“I’ll go get him.” Chance looked at Hope; he was checking that she was okay to be left alone.

She smirked at him and knew that he understood—it was so sweet of him to check, but she was fine. He narrowed his eyes at her, then bounded up the stairs. “Hey, Scotty! Where are you, bud?”

“Come on through to the kitchen,” said Missy. “They’ll probably be a minute. They’re the most unlikely pair, but Scot loves his Uncle Chance.”

“How hard is it?” asked Missy once they were seated at the island in the kitchen.

Hope raised an eyebrow. She thought she understood what Missy meant, but she didn’t want to answer a question that wasn’t being asked.

Missy wrinkled her nose seeming to wonder how to phrase it. “Tell me to butt out, if you like. I won’t be offended, but like I told you, I tend to be pretty upfront about everything. I’m so happy you two have found each other, and you sure seem to understand each other, but it can’t be easy. I thought he’d never let a woman into his life. Hell, he barely lets anyone in, and he doesn’t let anyone get close. I’m just worried that he might give you a hard time—without meaning to—while he figures out how to cope with being with someone. Someone who …”

Hope smiled. “Someone who isn’t Chloe.”

Missy nodded. “Yeah. That.”

“It’s okay. You can say whatever you like to me. I tend to be quite straightforward myself, and I don’t take offense easily, so you’ve got no worries there. We haven’t had the easiest ride. It’s difficult for him, but we’re lucky that we’re both willing to talk about it. We’re honest with each other and we don’t hide anything. Even if it hurts.”

Missy nodded. “Wow. To get him talking at all is a big achievement, but to get him to be honest about what he feels is a miracle.”

Hope smiled. “It didn’t just happen with the wave of a wand; we’ve had to work just to get to where we are right now, but again, we’ve both been willing to.” She met Missy’s gaze. “I’m no stranger to grief myself and I think that helps. I won’t claim to understand how he feels. Every loss is as unique as the person and the relationship that’s gone, but I do understand that he needs to feel whatever he does, and I don’t take it personally.”

Missy gave her a puzzled look.

“I mean, knowing that he still loves Chloe, that he always will, doesn’t make me feel that he doesn’t love me. I don’t feel like I’m second place, just in a different place.”

“Wow.” Missy shook her head. “You’re perfect for him. I never thought he’d be able to leave Chloe in the past and step into a future with someone else.”

Hope shook her head rapidly. “And you’re right. He can’t leave her behind. He doesn’t need to and he shouldn’t have to. She’s a part of him, she helped make him who he is, she goes with him in his heart. This probably sounds too weird, but I feel like I love Chloe too. She’s a part of him, you know?”

“Oh, hon!” Missy slid down from her stool and came to give Hope a hug. “You are awesome. I don’t know many women who wouldn’t feel threatened somehow by her memory. But you, the way you look at it, you’re right, it’s a much better way to look at things. He was tied to the past, and you’ve set him free by telling him he can take her with him. Damn, how did you get so smart?”

Hope gave her a sad smile. “I told you, I’m no stranger to grief myself. My mom died when I was twelve, and my dad reacted in the very same way Chance did. He moved us away from our home, he shut everyone out who reminded him of her.”

“Including you?”

“Yeah. He didn’t mean to hurt me, he just couldn’t see past his own pain.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry, honey.”

Hope shrugged. “It is what it is. I learned to cope, and one of the ways I did that was by choosing to believe that my mom was still with me. I knew she was gone from this world, but I decided that I would carry her with me in my heart, then she’d never really be gone.”

Missy’s eyes filled with tears. “And you were just twelve?”

“Yeah, but that was a long time ago. And she’s still in here.” Hope tapped her heart. “And thanks to Chance, I’m rebuilding my relationship with my dad and he’s starting to heal finally, too.”

“Thanks to Chance?”

Hope smiled. “My dad came back to see him off. He thought Chance was going to be no-good, but when he met him, I think he saw a mirror image of himself. I wouldn’t go as far as to say they’ve become friends—not yet, anyway, but they do like and respect each other.”

Missy grinned. “That’s awesome! I hate to say it, but your dad doesn’t come across as an easy man.”

“He isn’t, but then neither is Chance. Sometimes the toughest nuts to crack are the sweetest.”

Missy laughed and looked past Hope to where Chance was coming into the kitchen. He narrowed his eyes at her. “If she starts telling you I’m sweet, don’t buy a word of it, Miss. You know me better than that.”

Hope laughed. “That’s not what I was saying at all.”

“Good. Anyway, look who I disconnected from his computer.” He stepped aside and a teenage boy smiled shyly at her.

“Hi.”

“Hi, Scot. It’s nice to meet you.”

He nodded and then looked down at his feet.

“Are you going to come over to Poppy Jim’s with us later?” asked Missy.

Scot looked up at her from under his eyebrows. “Do I have to?”

“No,” said Chance. He spoke to Scot, but looked at Missy. “You shouldn’t have to come and sit and listen to a bunch of old folks gas-bagging. I don’t want you to start dreading me coming to town.”

Scot smiled at him. “I’ll never do that, Uncle Chance. I look forward to it.”

“He does.” Missy smiled at Hope. “You wouldn’t think the computer guy and the cowboy would get along so well, but they always have.”

“Hey,” said Chance with a smile, “we make a good team. He’s the brains, I’m the brawn.”

Scot shook his head. “You’re way smarter than I am.”

Chance chuckled. “Don’t kid yourself, shorty.”

“There are different kinds of smart.” Dan spoke up from his perch at the kitchen table. He’d been so quiet, Hope had forgotten he was there.

Missy went to him and patted his shoulder. “You know what that means, don’t you, Chancey? It means we are well and truly outsmarted and they’re both just too nice to say so.”

“Oh, I know it, lil sis.”

Scot looked up at them and smiled. “You must both be dumb to not understand what we mean. It’s true, Mom. You’re smart about all kinds of things that just blow my mind. And you, Uncle Chance, you’re the same. Even though you’re smart about different things than Mom is.” He met Hope’s gaze for a moment, then looked away again quickly before looking back. “I bet you’re a different kind of smart, too. You must be.”

“And why’s that?” asked Missy.

“Because she has a big business, and because her dad is who he is, but most of all because she’s with Uncle Chance.” His cheeks were tinged with pink, but he met Hope’s gaze and smiled. “That’s a really smart move.”

Hope smiled back, pleased that despite being so shy or just being an awkward teenager, she wasn’t sure which it was, but either way, he’d made the effort to speak to her—and to tell her that she was smart to pick his Uncle Chance. “Thank you. I think so. In fact, I think it’s the smartest move I’ve ever made.”

Scot nodded, but his gaze had dropped to the floor again.

Missy smiled at her. “You must be smart to get him talking so much. This is the most he’s said all week.”

Scot looked up and rolled his eyes at her. “Yeah, and I think I just hit my word quota for the day. Can I go back to my room now?”

Missy scowled at him, but Chance spoke before she could. “Sure, bud. You get back to it. We’ll catch up over the weekend, right?”

“Right.” Scot smiled at him and gave Hope the slightest hint of a nod before heading back upstairs.