Kat had her face pressed up against the window, while Cal looked at her like she’d lost her mind. “Oh my God, is that a tin roof?”

“Rusted, yup.” He was totally laughing at her. “There’s a screened-in porch in the back, plus a river where there’s trout-fishing.”

Kat was fascinated by this development. Cal. In, like, a real house. She’d always assumed a mountain lakehouse was more . . . rustic. Like a log cabin or something. Son of a ham sandwich. “What are you laughing at, Calhoun Harper?”

“If I’d known you’d get so excited, I would have brought you up here that first night.”

Cal was smiling, as in a huge, natural smile. She wanted him to look like that all the time, wanted to know what it took to keep that look on his face. He’d talked about the history of the area as they’d made their way to the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. She could almost see the stress rolling off of him. Everything slowed down—the pace of his speaking, his driving, everything. Even his grip on her hand seemed to mellow.

They walked down a gravel driveway to the house, Cal carrying her suitcase in one hand and grasping her hand with the other. He was chuckling softly as he unlocked the front door.

He turned to her, suddenly serious. “Now, I gotta warn you, Kat,” he said. “I bought this house furnished and as is, and to be honest, I couldn’t be bothered to make any changes. This is exactly how it was sold to me, so, uh, fair warning. It’s a lot of look.”

How bad could it be?

He threw open the door, and Kat stepped across the threshold and tried to take it all in.

“Wow. Um.” She hadn’t moved, just stood there in the tiny foyer and gawked. “Yeah, you’re right—this is a lotta look. It’s like . . . a granny’s house, but only if that granny was obsessed with both Gunsmoke and Miami Vice. It’s something my grandmother or mom would have loved. Oh my God, is that a wood stove?”

He chuckled and nodded. “Let me give you the grand tour. It’s not really big, but then again, it’s only . . .” His voice trailed off, and he gave her a weak grin. “So, I call this the white room.”

They spent the next few minutes walking through the house, Cal not saying much, until they got to the kitchen. Unlike the rest of the house, the kitchen was fully updated, complete with a double-oven range and a built-in refrigerator. Kat whistled. This was a kitchen made for someone who cooked and entertained. But the dining room was totally empty.

“Cal, why did you buy this house?”

“Honestly?” Kat nodded. “I bought this house because I hated the thought of living in Buckhead, in one of the newly constructed McMansions that are crammed four to a lot where one majestic house used to be. This is where I grew up, and I love it. I mean, not here. The house where I grew doesn’t exist anymore, but I’ll show you where it once was. Anyway, I got this house for a steal right after Amanda and I got engaged because, let’s face it, she would get a charge out of saying, ‘We’ll be going to the lakeside homestead, you know, the one with the vineyard.’ But when I brought her up here, she complained the whole time.”

Kat scoffed. “About what?”

“The drive, the lack of cell phone reception, the fact that the streets kind of roll up after nine.” Cal sighed, defeated. “I thought if I redid the kitchen to make it an entertaining kitchen, she might want to be here, to play lady of the manor. She always wanted to be a party planner, but her parents push her to simply be a wife.”

Kat threw herself at him and wrapped him in a tight hug, and when she looked up at him, she had tears in her eyes. “Cal, you said you didn’t love her the way you probably should have, but you did. It might not have been the kind of love you should build a marriage on, but you loved her.” She stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his cheek. “So, you’ve told me why you bought the house for her, but why did you buy it? Why this house? And don’t feed me some crap about it being a good deal, okay? We both know that’s you avoiding stuff.”

Cal rested his lips on the curve of her neck and, after a long moment, pulled Kat against him. She could feel him balling her shirt in his hands before giving her a little squeeze. “You wanna see why I bought this house?”

“Yes, please.”

“Let me show you, then.” Cal guided her to the back door and out to the closed-in porch.

“Hot tub?” Kat eyed the Jacuzzi, and Cal gave her a wink.

“That’s a bonus. We can try it out tonight. Come on. You said you wanted to see.”

Cal pushed open the screen door and pulled Kat in front of him. Her breath caught in her throat as she gazed at the panoramic view. She could see the sun glinting off the river as it twisted and turned through the pine trees.

“After dark, the frogs drown out the river. I heard it the first night I spent in the house.” Cal rubbed Kat’s shoulder. “But yeah. This is why I picked this house, and when it comes down to it, I thought that if I showed Amanda how much I loved it, then she would love it because I did, you know?” He exhaled loudly. “Yeah, I know how crazy and desperate I sound.”

Kat ventured into some scary waters. “You know this is not completely about your marriage, right? This is about Pickett and Spence, and about your father’s death, and probably a whole lot of other stuff as well.”

“You and Meghan and probably Suki had a talk, didn’t you?” Cal smiled his crooked grin. “They told you all about the big bad and everything.”

“Don’t forget Bridget.”

Cal groaned. “God, how could I forget her?” he said with a laugh.

“You know, when I met Nolan, Bridget promised she’d never try to fix me up with either of his brothers because you both needed hand trucks to haul around your emotional baggage. But you know what?”

“What?” Cal gathered her hands in his and pressed his lips against her knuckles.

“I’ll take you, baggage and all.”

Cal looked at Kat and just shook his head in confusion. “Dear Lord, you’re a miracle. You chose to ride with me up to the mountains, meet my crazy hillbilly friends and family, and are still be sweet and listen to my whining. Why the fuck am I even talking about her when you’re here with me? I mean, Lord knows why you’re with me, putting up with my bullshit, when you could be back in Boston, being your successful, badass risk-management self. You could be—”

“Because I’m in love with you, Cal.” Kat held her breath for a moment and then decided she was being ridiculous. She took the risk to come to Atlanta and surprise him; she might as well go all in, go for the whole shebang. “Because I love you, Cal.”

Cal looked at her and then whispered, “Say that again.”

“Which part?”

“All of it.”

Kat squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath. “I love you, Cal, and I’m in love with you.”

Suddenly she felt Cal sweep her into his arms, almost pouncing on her, before kissing her like she’d never been kissed before.

Abruptly he broke the kiss. “I’m an idiot.”

Kat, still halfway stunned from the kiss, stammered, “Wh-what?”

“Kathleen Fahey, I think I fell in love with you the moment you tried to put that damn carry-on bag in the overhead bin, and I knew for sure when I heard that damn rooster alarm.”

Kat cackled and clapped her hands with delight. “You are a nut, Cal Harper.” She leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “But you’re my nut.” She took a deep breath. “And, uh, I guess this is a perfect time to tell you something else. I think I might be . . .”

Cal’s eyes grew wide, and he looked at her belly.

Kat frowned, and then the realization hit her. “Oh God, no. No, no, no, no, no.” She kissed him again, harder. “Uh, no. No. Donald Reynolds, you know, my former boss? He gave me some leads on positions here.” She gave him a shy smile. “So, um, I think you’re kind of stuck with me, here and now.”

Cal stared at her, then swept her off her feet and carried her through the white room and into the bedroom.

“First, thank God you’re not . . . you know, and second, I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather be stuck with, here and now, wherever and forever. I love you, too, Kat. More than anything in the world.”

´*•.¸(*•.¸ *¸.•*´)¸.•*´

Cal sat bolt upright in bed to the sound of Kat’s hysterical screaming from another part of the house. He leapt out of bed, ignoring the fact that he was completely naked, and grabbed a baseball bat he kept under the bed, then stampeded from the bedroom and almost fell down the stairs to get to the back of the house, where she’d renewed her screaming with vigor. Finding the living room empty, he burst into the kitchen, baseball bat over his head and ready to pummel whatever was threatening his Kat. What he found was Kat, naked in the kitchen with a round of cheese clutched in her fist, and a very large possum hissing at her.

“Cal!” she shrieked.

“Kat, cool it. It’s a possum. It’s more afraid of you than you are of it.”

“I’m pretty damn afraid of it right now!”

Cal couldn’t help but laugh as he shooed the critter out the back door.

“Is it gone?” Kat peeked around the doorjamb and took a big bite of cheese.

“It’s gone, darlin’. The people who had the house before put in a pet door, for some reason. This little visit is exactly why you don’t do that out here.” He bent down and relocked the pet door. “We’ll get some plywood later today, and I’ll seal that up.”

“Had you ever seen a possum?” he asked.

“Of course. There are actually opossums in Boston,” she sniffed and took another bite of cheese. “I came downstairs for a snack. When I opened the fridge, I felt something . . . furry . . . brush against my leg.” She shuddered.

Cal took two steps, and he was in her space. “Well, it’s not going to get you, Kat.”

“Want the last bite?” she whispered, offering him the remains of the cheese wheel.

“Oh yeah.” He grinned and popped the morsel into his mouth. “I might want another little bite of something else, too.” Cal nipped at her ear.

“My hero. Saving me from the wildlife.” Kat slipped her arms around his neck. “Want a reward?”

“Oh yeah.” He dipped his head for a kiss and then swung her up into his arms and carried her back up the stairs.