“Hi there, Mrs. Donavan,” Davis said, nodding his hello to the hunched-shouldered older woman he’d known since he was born. She was one of the hardest working women in town and he respected how seriously she took her responsibilities. By day a florist. By night a meddler in all matters of the heart.

“Davis,” she sang back lovingly. “What an exquisite girl you brought to me. She has a real knack for arranging flowers.”

“Really?” Davis asked as Elaine came around the corner.

“Please don’t look so surprised.” Elaine smirked as she folded her apron and laid it over the back of the chair. “Thank you for all lessons you gave me today, Mrs. Donavan. I learned so much.”

“Only one lesson that matters.” She grinned, her coiled white hair bouncing as she walked. “Don’t forget. Risks, darling. That’s what makes a beautiful bouquet.”

“Yes ma’am,” Elaine said, accepting the warm hug Mrs. Donavan was offering. “I’ll be back tomorrow. Davis has my car squared away so I’ll be here bright and early.”

“What a lovely thing to do,” Mrs. Donavan said, pulling Davis in for a hug as well. “Two lovely young people in such close proximity to each other, how nice. But don’t rush in here tomorrow. Maybe you two should stop at Sweet Caroline’s and have some breakfast.”

“Yes,” Davis said, rushing Elaine toward the door. The bell chimed overhead and they were out on the curb and under the warm sun before Elaine could reply.

“You’re in a hurry,” Elaine said, looking him over as he dashed to open the passenger door in his truck.

“Mrs. Donavan has a nasty habit of talking your ear off if you stick around too long. Plus she’s one of the big matchmakers in Indigo Bay. She, Mrs. Caroline, and Lucille spend most of their free time trying to work out everyone’s life for them.”

“She was charming,” Elaine said, her wide smile lighting her face. She looked even more beautiful after a day’s work than she had when she left this morning. He fought to stay focused on anything else. “Though I do think you’re right. Mrs. Donavan seemed hell-bent on fixing you up.”

“I suppose she told you all about Julie?” Davis asked, hardly needing Elaine to answer. Her cheeks grew pink and her lips smacked shut abruptly; that was all the answer he needed. “It’s fine. I knew the minute I dropped you off there this morning she’d be blabbing all my business. If it wasn’t her, it would be someone else. People around here, they don’t know what boundaries are. It doesn’t bother me.”

“I’m sorry anyway,” Elaine offered, looking sheepish now. “It sounds like you really loved her, and it took its toll on you.”

“Believe it or not”—he sighed—“I’m in a much better place than most people give me credit for. I don’t cry myself to sleep. I don’t beat myself up.” He put the truck in reverse and pulled onto the main street.

“But you don’t date anyone either? That’s a long time to be alone.” She shifted in her seat and stared out the window as if there were something interesting to see.

“Just because I don’t go parading my love life up and down Indigo Bay doesn’t mean I don’t have one. When I was with Julie, we were the focal point here. Everything we did was public information. Our good days, our bad days, everyone knew what we were doing and when. I swore I’d never do that again. Let them talk. Let them wonder. I just don’t give them anything to talk about anymore.”

“It must be nice to know people care though,” she tried in a cheery voice. “In New York everyone is in their own bubble. We walk fast, we talk fast, and we rarely look up long enough to notice if anyone needs anything. I’m going to enjoy the next thirty days here, soaking in all the kindness.”

“You’ll need a place to stay then,” Davis said, happy to start talking about something other than his past. “I talked to Dallas. He has one small cabin he said you’d be welcomed to use. It’s on the back of the property, and he said he hasn’t been out there much lately. I told him I’d check it out with you and make sure it’ll work. Your car is fueled and at my house. I’ll get it over to the cabin for you later.”

“Thank you,” she said, looking guilty. “I hate that you’ve had to do so much to help me. I promise I’ll get Dallas his rent money for the cabin, and I’ll pay you back for everything.”

“I’m sure you will,” Davis nodded. “I’m in no rush. Do what you need to do to feel better. Then I’m sure when you get back to New York, it’ll be nice.”

“I’m never going back to New York,” she scoffed, shaking her head defiantly. “I might not know much about where I’m going to end up, but it certainly isn’t there.”

“Really?” Davis asked. “I wouldn’t think you could just leave a fast-paced lifestyle without looking back. What about your job?”

“My job is gone,” she admitted, unrolling her window and putting her arm out, letting the wind blow through her fingers. “And I won’t be able to find something in my field again. That ship has sailed.”

“What field was that?” he asked casually, as though he was trying to keep a skittish deer from running off.

“Plus”—she had no intention of answering him—“I actually enjoyed working around all those flowers this morning. Maybe that will be my new profession.”

“Hold on,” Davis said, as he cut the wheel and pulled onto the dirt trail leading to the cabin Dallas had offered Elaine. “It’s a little bumpy. When you drive your car here you’ll have to go real slow. Those sports cars aren’t built for this kind of road.”

“Is this a road?” she asked, clutching the handle over her head as they bounced over another rough spot.

“Yeah, this is more secluded than I thought it would be. I haven’t been down this side of the property since I was a kid. We used to come out here and light barn fires and drink. I know if Dallas had anything else available he’d give it to you.”

“It’ll be fine,” she said, but her face looked less convinced. “I can make do anywhere. I’m not some pretentious northerner who can’t take care of herself. I’ve been doing it long enough.”

“It should be just around this bend,” Davis said, trying to navigate around a tree limb that had fallen.

“Please tell me that’s not it.” Elaine sighed, rising in her seat to get a better look. “Because I can make do with a lot, but I will need a roof.”

“Oh man,” Davis grunted as he pulled in. “We had a bad wind storm here a couple weeks ago. That tree must have come down then.” He hopped out of the truck and hurried over to the cabin. “Dallas is gonna have to send a crew out here to repair that roof. It might take a few days.”

She was out of the truck and by his side a moment later. “I mean it’s not that bad. Maybe if I only stay on that side of the cabin?”

“Sure,” he chuckled as long as you don’t mind the animals that have probably moved in by now. I’m sure the raccoons make for good company in the middle of the night.”

“He doesn’t have any other cabins at all?” she asked, nibbling her nails nervously. “I mean even something being renovated, I could stay out of the way.”

“I’ll call him again,” Davis said, walking over to the fallen tree and trying to figure out what Dallas would need to get it fixed up. “Worst case you can come back to my place.”

“I’ve asked enough of you already,” she said, shaking her head and kicking at the dirt with the sneakers she’d borrowed from his sister. “Not to mention how much fuel we’d add to the gossip mill.”

“I’m not worried about that,” he said, waving her off. “They’ll talk no matter what. But it’s definitely not suitable for you to be here, and it may be days before Dallas can get anything else open. We can head to town and get some groceries. I should make you a proper dinner.”

“You cook?” she asked, propping her hands high on her hips as though he’d been holding out on her. “I’d like to see that.”

“I have a few recipes I can manage. Nothing like you ate at Sweet Caroline’s last night. There won’t be cobbler, but it’s stick to the ribs kind of food. When I went in to see Caroline this morning she said you were much too thin and to make sure I work on that.”

“I’m starting to really like this place,” Elaine said, hopping back into his truck. “But are you sure you don’t mind putting me up for a few days?”

“It’ll be nice to have the company,” he admitted, taking his time to back up the truck and turn it around in such a tight spot. “The house is pretty quiet.”

“I feel like I owe you something,” she sputtered out, twisting her chin up thoughtfully.

“No,” he cut back quickly. “I don’t want you feeling like that. Just enjoy your time in Indigo Bay. Think of me as an ambassador, a welcoming committee. I’m doing my obligatory small-town duty.”

“How about a little honesty,” she offered, fidgeting in her seat. “I guess the least I can do is tell you more about myself.”

“That would be nice, considering Mrs. Donavan gave you my whole life story. You could even the score a little.”

“I’m a VP at a large trading firm on Wall Street,” Elaine breathed out reluctantly. “Or I was. I grew up in the city, and all I ever wanted to do was stand on the floor of the New York Stock exchange and trade. It didn’t pan out exactly how I thought it would. I didn’t have the right makeup for it. So I went on the equities research side instead.”

“Wow, a VP sounds like you’ve earned your stripes,” Davis replied, watching her try to hide her pride about it all.

“It’s a long process. Right out of college I went in as essentially an unpaid intern. Then I did some syndicate desk work, issuing bonds. I went to Harvard business school for two years and came back as an analyst. I’ve been working my way up. It’s a very intense job.”

“I’m embarrassed to say I don’t know much about that. I mean I’ve seen it on television, but it always looked like a bunch of people waving papers around and yelling.”

“As far as the trading floor, that’s pretty much it.” She laughed, and he felt relieved to see her relaxed enough to talk about herself. “You make trades auction style on behalf of your clients until the closing bell. It’s fast-paced. There are billions of dollars on the line. My role was to research and essentially grade pending IPOs and other opportunities on the horizon.” Her hands fluttered with excitement as she spoke. “The stakes are so high. And I was good. They used to call me a bloodhound for a money-making opportunity. I made our firm a fortune.”

“That sounds a lot like the livestock auctions my uncle took me to when I was young and visited his farm,” Davis teased, and she rolled her eyes.

“Sure if each cow was worth a million dollars and you had to know how they’d perform compared to the cow next to them.”

“If you were so good at it, why stop? Why would you want to leave New York if you loved it so much? It’s your home.” Davis knew he was edging on thin ice and was one intrusive question away from plunging into freezing water.

“You’ve been here your whole life?” she asked, casting a knowing look at him, hardly needing to finish her point but doing it anyway. “Indigo Bay is all you’ve known, and you love it? Or are you just comfortable here? Complacent?”

“A little of that I guess.” He shrugged. “I had the opportunity to go other places over the years, and it never worked out.”

“California?” Elaine asked, arching her brow at him.

“Yes,” he sighed. “I could have gone with Julie. My sister was here though. She’s two years younger, and she didn’t want to move away with my parents either. I told them I’d stay with her. It’s a commitment I’m glad I made because it worked out well for her. She’s very happy now. But I do wonder about Julie. If I had gone with her maybe she wouldn’t have spiraled the way she did.”

“My mother was always good at giving advice. She used to say don’t take all the credit for other people’s mistakes. You’d be amazed how little control you have over helping someone do the right thing.” She touched his forearm gently, and he kept his eyes fixed on the road as they emerged from the woods and onto the main road.

“Maybe so,” he reluctantly agreed. “What’s done is done. But to answer your question, I’m happy in Indigo Bay. It’s not because I don’t know any better.”

“I’m not as enlightened as you, maybe. I thought I loved New York, but the second I started driving away from it, the city lights in my rearview mirror, I felt a weight lift off me. Landing in a place like this makes me think maybe there is more to life than just waking up every morning, trying to make a bunch of strangers a lot of money.”

“You managed to not answer any of my questions,” he said, throwing her a sideways glance but making sure to flash her a smile too. “You didn’t say why you left your job.”

“And I probably won’t ever tell you,” she shot back defiantly. “It’s not a high point of my life. You saw how desperate I was to leave it behind. We met on a curb; that should tell you all you need to know.”

“Fair enough,” Davis conceded. “Know that Indigo Bay is happy to have you. You’re welcome here as long as you like.”

“Thanks.” She grinned. “How did you get to be such a nice guy? It must be exhausting always running in and saving the day for a damsel in distress.”

“You are a full time job so far,” he joked but then fell serious. “Actually, I don’t think you’re a damsel in distress at all, Elaine. I don’t think you need a knight to come slay your dragon; all you need is a sword of your own. I’m happy to help with that.”

“Damn,” she said, her hand covering her face as she leaned out the window, her hair blowing wildly.

“What?” he asked, wondering if he’d done something wrong.

“You’re good, Davis Mills.” She laughed loudly, though it was eaten up by the wind. “You are one of the very good ones.”