As soon as Kat had seen the train depot, she’d sat up straight, her face almost pressed up to the glass, exclaiming about the town’s charm and reading out the names of shops while speculating on the contents within.

“Oh my God, this whole town is so cute! It’s like something from a sweet movie.” She clucked her tongue.

They’d managed to get to the hardware store in time to pick out paint for one room, plus a new back door and some plywood for a temporary possum-proofing, before they headed to their second destination. When they pulled into the tiny, graveled parking lot of The Backward Glance, Cal thought Kat might lose her mind.

“Oh, I can tell I’m going to love this already.” She pointed at a large prize wheel. “And they’re having a sale? Oh boy. I have a feeling you might begin your redecorating project a little sooner than you’d planned.” She sighed happily. But as quickly as her joy appeared, the big smile on her face faded and was replaced by a thoughtful look.

“Darlin’, whatever it is you’re thinking is probably wrong.”

The grin returned for a split second. “That was a pretty presumptive statement—I mean about the redecorating.”

Cal squeezed her hand. “See? Wrong. I think the timing is pretty perfect.” Cal saw a curtain move and a face dart into view and then disappear. “We’d better go in. She’s probably thinking that we’re casing the place.”

“You know the owners?” Kat was still craning her neck around, taking it all in. He could see her plotting, mentally replacing the current horrific décor.

“Bunny and Ace have owned the place for as long as I can remember. Ms. Peeper is new.” He saw a shadow pause in front of the stained-glass door and then disappear. “Okay, let’s go, but be prepared to be overwhelmed.”

They walked through the front yard of The Backward Glance, and Kat stopped to take a closer look at the spinner. Cal laughed as he heard her mutter, “There’s got to be a place to put this.” He dragged her away from the spinner, opened the front door, and motioned her inside.

“Whoa.” Kat froze in the front hallway of the little house, actually spinning around to take it all in.

“Yep, exactly the way it’s always been,” he said with a chuckle. “Why don’t you go wander, and I’ll catch up with you.” Remembering the collection of antique and vintage office machines that decorated Kat’s brownstone, Cal leaned over and whispered in her ear, “I suggest starting with the His Girl Friday room.” He pointed at a sign above an interior doorway, and Kat set off down the hall.

“Mr. Harper?” The same face that spied on them through the window now looked up at him.

“That’d be me.”

She stuck out her hand. “Tally Brown. I’m Bunny and Ace’s great-niece.”

“Nice to meet—”

Cal’s greeting was interrupted when Kat squealed, “Oh my God, just shut up and take all my money!”

He laughed and turned back to Tally. “My girlfriend apparently approves of the shop,” he said with a laugh.

Tally, her tight smile betraying her nervousness, bobbed her head in a nod. “Let me get you your consignment paperwork, and you can be on your way to your next adventure.”

Cal followed Tally to the living room of the house, where a small vintage bar served as a makeshift shop counter. Cal could hear more unintelligible exclamations from the back, followed by a clear “Son of a ham sandwich.” Cal chuckled and shook his head. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to get her out of here anytime soon, so there’s no need to rush.”

Several hours later, Cal watched as Kat fondled the spinner one last time after they’d filled the Nova’s trunk with small items to replace Cal’s current decorations.

“Just you wait, pretty lady. We’ll find a place for you,” she cooed.

“Oh, you’d better watch out, Harper. Looks like your lady has been snagged by the siren song of the spinner.”

“Hey, Robbie Mac. Two days in a row. Are you not working Hemlock Creek tonight?” Cal clapped his high school buddy on the back.

Rob McFerrin set the crate he was carrying down on the front porch. “Yeah, I am, and even if I wasn’t, I wouldn’t miss a free Tobias Harper show,” he said, lifting a bottle out of the crate and handing it to Cal. “Here’s the inaugural batch of Owl Creek Muscadine Shine. I was dropping some off for Bunny.”

“Bunny always did like his shine.” Cal held the bottle of moonshine up to the light. “That is gorgeous.”

Kat wandered over. “What is it?”

“Moonshine. Made from muscadines.” Cal grinned at her. “You know the vines that are at my house? They’re similar.” Cal examined the red liquid, thinking. “You said you’re all licensed and legal?”

“Yep. Some of the liquor stores in Forsyth County are stocking it and everybody raves, but I need some leverage in town. Old Man Gandy is still sore, so he won’t stock a thing that has anything to do with me.”

“Good Lord, it’s been twenty-five years!”

Robbie rolled his eyes. “Tell me about it. The man can hold a grudge.” Robbie leaned over to Kat. “Old Man Gandy caught me with his daughter in the back of my truck after homecoming our senior year. I was not her official date.”

“Oh dear,” Kat exclaimed, stifling a laugh.

Robbie shook his head. “I’ve gotta drop these off and head into the tavern. See y’all tonight?”

“Yep, wouldn’t miss it.” Cal tried to slip the bottle back into the crate, but Robbie shook his head and scooted into the store before Cal could cause a fuss.

“He’ll be offended if you don’t take it,” Kat said knowingly. “These small brewers are proud of their product.”

“Yeah, they are,” Cal murmured, the idea he ignored yesterday knocking around in his head again.

“I see you thinking, Cal Harper,” Kat whispered in his ear. “Keep it up.”

He grinned at her. “Yes, ma’am.”

´*•.¸(*•.¸ *¸.•*´)¸.•*´

Cal had confessed that it had been years since he’d seen his brother perform, so Kat watched him with interest all during the show to see how he reacted. He kept his face impassive for most of the evening, though he clearly enjoyed the music. But when Tobias began to sing, Cal sat up and kept his eyes riveted on the man playing the pedal steel guitar. It took Kat a few moments to realize that the whole bar had gone completely silent. During the other songs, while people were generally respectful, the bar was filled with the usual hum of people ordering and eating, silverware clacking. But not this one. This song, which Kat was sure she’d heard before, made the entire tavern stop and listen. And when it was over, everyone in the bar remained silent for a good ten seconds before they erupted in applause and cheers. She glanced over at Cal, and he was still sitting up straight, looking at Tobias, who gave his brother a single nod before downing a glass of a water.

“Wow.” Kat was blown away. She leaned nearer to him so he could hear more clearly. “He’s really talented.”

“He’s an award-winning songwriter.”

“Like awards?”

“Yeah, like big-time awards.”

“And that song?”

“He wrote that for our mother.” Cal looked wistfully at the stage. “It also happened to be the love theme for a movie, but without the lyrics.”

“Oh my Gosh, that’s the song from—”

“Yep. Toby still gets a little funny about it. There was a whole thing, the final straw that caused him to break with our old man.” Cal sighed and shook his head. “But you know what? The fact that he performed it tonight means . . . well, hell, I don’t know what it means. But it’s something, which I’m not going to question.”

Kat squeezed his hand and leaned against his shoulder.

Robbie slid into the booth across from them. “Hey, guys. Hope you don’t mind a third wheel.”

“You off duty?” Cal asked.

“Yeah, yeah. I got the babysitter until midnight, so might as well make good use of it.” Robbie shrugged and then slapped his hand on the table. “But, man, Cal, your brother? Was smoking. I guess that’s what happens when a guy takes a ten-year hiatus from performing. Man, I am so glad I got to see this.” Robbie shook his head. “The tavern should do this every weekend.”

“You mean they don’t?” Kat frowned. “There’s a dedicated stage and lights and everything.”

Robbie shrugged. “Everything stopped when Reynolds took over. All the farm-to-table stuff—”

“Wait. Reynolds Restaurant Group?”

“Yeah, them. Dickerson joined up with them about three years ago. At first it was okay. The group stayed out of our way and let us do our thing, but they did a whole lot of advertising and stuff. We actually had to start taking reservations. But then about a year ago, they just stopped. Fired Murphy, who had been here since Hemlock Creek opened—something crazy, like, fifteen years—and brought in this guy from Boston who had no clue about anything. He fucked everything up. And then this jackass comes down and strips everything down, turns it all corporate.” He shook his head. “It’s a damn shame. Sorry for the rant—I get all wound up.”

“Would this corporate guy’s name be Topher, perchance?” Kat already knew the answer, but she wanted to confirm.

“Yeah, Topher, Xander, some stupid name.”

“Darlin’, now you’re the one who is thinking.” Cal was looking hard at her.

“Yeah, I am. Cal, I need to call Donald. He won’t care if it’s late.”

“Let’s say hi and bye to Tobias, okay?” Cal was still looking at her.

Kat leaned over and kissed Robbie on the cheek. “You are awesome, Robbie McFerrin.”

“Uh, sure?”

Cal slapped Robbie on the shoulder. “Believe her. She knows what she’s talking about.”