Because I’d blocked Chad’s number, it wouldn’t surprise me if he showed up since it was a Saturday and he was off. I threw on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, grabbed my straw hat, my camera, a cooler, and hightailed it out of here. It was still an hour before I was supposed to pick up Autumn, so I went ahead and made a stop at the grocery store. I knew what she liked, and by the time I was done, I figured I had about twice what we could eat.

After loading the sandwiches, cheese packages, and bottled waters into the cooler, I headed over to Autumn’s. Although I was twenty minutes early, she was ready to go.

“It’s been too long since we’ve done this,” she said as we drove onto the entrance for the Parkway.

“Well, if a certain someone wasn’t too busy planning her wedding…” I looked pointedly at her.

“Yeah, well, who knew there would be so much to do? We should have just eloped.”

I glanced at my friend. “And give up wearing that amazing wedding dress? I don’t think so.” With her honey-blonde hair, blue eyes, and the toned body she’d dieted and exercised like a fiend to achieve, she was going to be a beautiful bride.

“Too late now, I guess, since all the invitations have gone out.” She leaned over and eyed my speedometer. “You better slow down. I heard they’re cracking down on speeding on the Parkway.”

“No fun.” But I eased off the gas. The only thing I didn’t like about driving the Blue Ridge Parkway was the slow speed limit. My car was a four-year-old silver Mustang GT, and she liked to run. Okay, truth was, I liked to go fast. Probably not the best car for mountain roads with their sharp curves, not giving me much opportunity to test her limits, but I loved her. I should probably sell her before I left, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. My dad could take care of her while I was gone. Actually I think he was looking forward to getting his hands on my Mustang.

We were having unusually warm fall weather, and it looked like others had the same idea. I found a parking spot in the almost full gravel lot, locked the doors, and then we hiked down to the bottom of the falls, our totes slung over our shoulders and the cooler between us.

At the end of the easy path down, the space opened up to a large round pool of crystal-clear water. The waterfall wasn’t the biggest in the area, but it was high enough so that the falls cascaded over the rocks and boulders, noisily crashing when it reached the bottom.

People had claimed their spots with coolers and towels. Some were playing in the pool—which I knew from experience was icy cold—while others were basking in the sun. We spied a flat boulder with no one nearby and headed for it.

“I can’t believe how warm it is for October,” Autumn said as we spread out our towels.

“Yeah, we’re going to have a late leaf turning this year.” The sun was warm on my face, but the cool water flowing around our rock kept me from overheating.

For a few minutes we talked about Autumn and Brian’s wedding and what things she had left to do. She was getting married the second Saturday in December, and that would be here before we knew it.

I dropped down onto my back and stared up at the fluffy white clouds floating by. “Do you ever wish you could just drift off on a cloud, go wherever it goes?”

Autumn settled onto her side, facing me, resting on her elbow. “Not even. You’re the one with wanderlust. I prefer to keep my feet on the ground right here in Blue Ridge Valley.” She studied me for a moment. “So you’re really going?”

I turned my head toward her. “Of course I am. I promised.”

She sighed. “I miss her.”

“God, me, too. Every minute of every hour. I feel like half of me is gone.” Which made sense, I guess, since Natalie was my twin. When she died, she’d taken a part of me with her.

Autumn’s eyes misted. “I don’t want you to go.”

“You know I have to. I promised her I’d go to all the places we’d planned to visit together.” And she’d said one other thing, which I’d never told anyone, including Autumn and Savannah, because even they wouldn’t understand. Natalie had made me a promise, too. She swore she would be right there with me, that I’d feel her in my heart. I needed that, craved feeling her being a part of me again.

My plane ticket to Greece was bought and paid for. I’d be leaving right after Autumn’s wedding. That was as far as I’d planned. Once in Europe, I’d hike my way around some, take buses or trains to wherever I felt drawn to go next. Where I went and when would depend on Natalie. If I felt her with me in some particular place, I’d stay longer. If not, I’d move on.

Before we both started bawling, I decided we needed a change of subject. “So, guess who was such a big jerk last night that the cops had to show up?”

She sat up. “No way.”

“Way.” I told her what had happened. She knew I’d been ready to break up with Chad, even warning me that he wasn’t going away easily.

“What an asshat. You should take out a restraining order on him,” she said when I finished.

“Dylan asked me if I wanted to.”

Her eyebrows furrowed. “Who’s Dylan?”

Oops. I probably shouldn’t have mentioned his name. Autumn could be relentless in satisfying her curiosity, meaning about a thousand questions were coming my way. “Dylan Conrad. He’s our new police chief.”

“And exactly how did it come to be that you’re familiar enough with him to call him by Dylan? Cool name, by the way.”

“Um, he stopped by Vincennes last night for a few minutes.”

“A few minutes and he’s already Dylan. Give over, Jenn. There’s more to this story.”

It was useless to resist. “He calls me Jenny. He refuses to call me Jenn because Chad does.”

“Wow. I like him already. I’d heard a big-city cop got the job. Is he cute?”

“No.” She looked so crestfallen that I couldn’t help grinning. “Cute doesn’t do him justice. He’s gorgeous.”

She clapped her hands. “I knew it. With that name, he had to be. I’m hungry. While we eat, you can tell me all about him.”

“Tennessee whiskey-colored eyes, huh?” she said when I finished describing him. “I need to meet this man, see if I approve of him for you.”

“Autumn, I’m leaving in two months. I’m not looking for a Chad replacement.”

“Who knows, maybe you’ll fall madly in love and stay home. Then I won’t have to miss you.”

I threw an olive at her. “Not gonna fall in love.”

After we finished our sandwiches, we stretched out on the rock. Autumn yawned, and within a few minutes she’d fallen asleep. I watched the clouds float by and thought about Dylan.

Everyone had a story, and I wondered what his was. Why would a man leave a big city to come to a small mountain town? It didn’t make sense to me, a person who wanted out of this place. Not that I didn’t love my hometown, I did, but there was a whole wide world waiting to be explored. He had to be used to a wide choice of restaurants, shops, and all kinds of entertainment.

He probably wouldn’t last long here before he got bored and moved on. It occurred to me that wasn’t such a bad thing where I was concerned. I could date him, neither of us with any expectations. Just have a good time together, nothing more, and then we’d each go our separate ways. Him back to Chicago or some other big city and me off to see the world.

I laughed. Already I was planning our relationship. To divert my mind from the town’s new hot cop, I got out my camera and took some pictures of Autumn sleeping and then some of the landscape. Photography was my hobby. To prepare for my world tour and the photos I’d take, I’d enrolled in classes, learning about such things as light, depth, and the Rule of Thirds, which was the placement of your subject matter.

Taking pictures always worked as an escape from thinking about anything other than lining up the best shot, and it worked for me today. Dylan was forgotten as I got some terrific shots of the waterfalls and surrounding landscape.

Chad hadn’t been waiting for me when I returned home, nor was his car at Vincennes when I got there. Although it surprised me he’d not made an appearance, some of the tension I’d felt from expecting another confrontation eased. Maybe he’d gotten the message. We didn’t start getting busy until around five, and I spent my first hour restocking the bar.

A few minutes before five, I made a quick trip to the restroom before things started hopping. Saturday nights were always crazy, and I loved it that way. I redid my ponytail, gathering the strands that had come loose. I headed back to the lounge, happy that my ex wasn’t being a PITA. Maybe Dylan would stop by tonight. Still hadn’t made up my mind about him, but I was kind of excited about seeing him.

Scanning the room to see who had arrived, I rolled my eyes. Considering my poor track record with men, I should know better by now than to expect it would have been that easy. I grabbed a bottle of pale ale, opened it, then slammed it down in front of Chad.

“Hey, baby,” the jerk said as if last night had never happened.

As if the police hadn’t been called, totally embarrassing me. Ignoring him, I turned to Autumn and Brian as they walked up. “Hey, you two.” I wasn’t crazy about Brian, but Autumn loved him, so I kept my opinion to myself. Since I knew they liked eating at the bar, I set out silverware and napkins.

“Love that dress. Can I borrow it sometime?” It was the same blue as her eyes and really made them pop.

“No, you may not. Last time I loaned you my clothes, you spilled red wine down my favorite blouse.”

I rolled my eyes. “That was four years ago. I’ve grown up since then.”

She blew me an air kiss before darting a quick glance at Chad, then turning a raised brow to me. Why’s he here? she mouthed.

“Later,” I said, making the universal sign with my hand to my ear that I’d call her.

“Jenn, got a minute?” Chad said.

“Nope.” I handed Autumn and Brian the specials menu. The regular one they had memorized, as had most of the locals. “Angelo’s got those lamb chops tonight,” I said as I poured each of them a glass of merlot. Brian perked up, which I knew he would. Angelo marinated the chops all afternoon, then crusted them to perfection over a grill. They were pretty darn good.

Brian pushed his menu back to me. “Sign me up.”

“I think I’ll have veal piccata,” Autumn said.

“Of course you will.” She rarely ordered anything else. “Savannah ever call back?”

“Nope.” We’d tried calling her on my phone this afternoon, getting her voice mail. We were worried about Savannah. The first few years, we heard from her all the time. Lately, not so much, and that was worrisome. She was supposed to be home for Autumn’s wedding, so hopefully we could reassure ourselves that she was okay.

“Jenn, please. I need to talk to you.”

I put in the orders for Brian and Autumn before walking over to Chad. If I kept ignoring him, he’d get mad and make a scene. “I’m busy and there’s nothing left to say. If you want dinner, then order something. If not, you’re taking up a seat and there are people waiting.”

He put his hand over mine. “I don’t know what I did wrong, baby, but whatever it was, I’m sorry. Forgive me?”

The urge to bang my head on the bar was almost irresistible, but I settled for pulling my hand away. “Fine. I forgive you. Now go away.” A couple I didn’t recognize came in, and I moved away to take care of them. How did you break up with a guy who refused to listen?

After making drinks for the latest arrivals, I checked on the rest of my customers, refilling glasses and taking orders. I refused to glance Chad’s way, but I could feel his glare on me.

While I was refilling Brian and Autumn’s wineglasses, Brandy brought out their salads. “Saw your car at the grocery store this afternoon. I walked up and down all the aisles but couldn’t find you,” she said.

“That’s because I wasn’t there.”

“Well, your car was.”

“No, it was with me at the water…” I glanced at Chad. Yep, he was listening. “Oh right, I did run in to pick up a few things.”

Autumn gave me a funny look, knowing I was lying. That was the second time someone had said they’d seen my car somewhere I wasn’t. Unless somebody had stolen my car to make a quick run to the store and then returned it, there was a person running around with one like mine. Since I didn’t know of a local who had a silver Mustang, it must be a tourist.

“Jenn!”

I sighed when Chad held up his empty beer bottle. I wanted to tell him to bug off, but he was a customer and this wasn’t the place to make a scene. When I slid another beer to him, he grabbed my wrist. The next time I came near him, I was going to bring a fork with me so I could stab his hand when he grabbed me.

“Come on, baby. I said I was sorry. How long you going to punish me?”

What had I ever seen in him? I glanced around the bar, and the only one paying attention was Autumn. She raised a brow, shooting a look at Brian. I gave a little shake of my head. No way I wanted Brian getting involved, which would only end with Chad mad and mouthing off.

“I’m working, so please let go of my arm.”

The toad tightened his fingers just enough to hurt, then let go. “I’ll be back when you get off.”

My first reaction was to tell him no, but I was going to have to have a firm conversation with him, and I might as well get it over with.

“Fine. See you later.”

It had turned out to be a disappointing night. Chad had shown up and Dylan hadn’t.