Jonah was so excited to go mini golfing with his father, that by the time the next afternoon rolled around, Evie was almost happy when Tony came to pick him up.

Almost.

Her gut tightened the minute she saw Tony’s car pull up, but the feeling only increased when she saw the look on Tony’s face as he walked toward the house.

Something was up.

If he was cancelling on his son, Evie was going to lose it. Jonah was way too excited to spend time with his dad. If Tony was cancelling, it would break his heart.

“What’s going on, Tony?” she asked the moment she opened the door.

“It’s nice to see you, too, Evie.” Tony smirked and she had to swallow back the urge to say something she’d likely regret. Instead, she put her hands on her hips and tilted her head, waiting for what she knew was going to come.

She didn’t have to wait long. “There’s been a change of plans for tonight.”

“You can’t do this, Tony.” She dropped her arms in exasperation. “Jonah has been looking forward to this all day. You can’t just make plans and then cancel them last minute. Do you have any idea what that will do to him? You have some nerve coming back into his life, just to flake off whenever something else comes up.” She shook her head. “What am I supposed to tell him, Tony? Am I supposed to—”

“Whoa.” Tony held his hands up to stop her. “Have you been storing that up for a while?” He chuckled, which only had the effect of her wanting to smack him across the face. “I never said I was cancelling on Jonah. In fact, I want to do the exact opposite.”

“What?” She wrapped her arms around her waist again. “You want to what?”

“I want to do the opposite.” Tony grinned again.

Damn, she hated that grin.

“I was thinking that after mini golf we could grab a bite to eat and I heard they’re playing a movie in the park tonight. Cool, right? I mean, they’re doing it down by the gazebo. Right outside.”

Evie knew all about Pictures in the Park. She’d been taking Jonah since he was little.

“The movie doesn’t start until the sun goes down. It will be late by the time it’s done.”

“Exactly.”

She raised her eyebrows at him, unsure of what he was up to.

“So Lauren and I were thinking he could just spend the night with us.”

Lauren. Of course it wouldn’t be Tony’s idea.

“The night? I don’t know about—”

“We’re staying at the Springs, so in the morning we could go swimming in the pools. Have you been? They’re really cool. I think Jonah would like them.”

Of course she hadn’t been to the Springs. Besides a ladies’ night dinner a few months back. But she’d never been to the pools. It wasn’t really in her budget, even if she did have extra time to get up there.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea, Tony.”

“What’s not a good idea?” Jonah slipped into the hallway next to her.

“What do you think of spending the night at the Springs with us?” Tony asked before Evie could say anything.

“The Springs?”

“Yeah. We could go swimming in the morning and—”

“Cool!”

Tony laughed at his enthusiasm. “I think we have an answer.”

The knot in her stomach twisted tighter. “Just wait a moment,” she said, trying desperately to stall as she wracked her brain for a reason why Jonah shouldn’t go with his father. Besides the fact that they’d just met, of course. Which, as far as she was concerned, was reason enough. But looking at her son and how excited he was to spend time with his dad, Evie knew that wouldn’t be a good enough reason for him. “I don’t think tonight is a great night for—”

“Oh Mom. Why not?”

“Yeah, Evie. Why not?”

She could have killed him right then and there. And if their son hadn’t been standing in the room, Evie might have done just that.

Instead, she took a deep breath. “Because it’s such short notice and—”

“Hey, Evie?” Declan called to her from the kitchen before poking his head into the living room. “Hi, Tony,” he addressed the other man. “Can I talk to you for a quick second?” he asked Evie and without waiting for an answer, ducked back into the kitchen.

“Let him go,” he said as soon as Evie joined him in the privacy of the kitchen. “Didn’t Russ say you should be cooperative?”

“There’s cooperative and then there’s—”

“What’s the worst that could happen?”

The worst? The worst was that Jonah could…that he would enjoy spending time with his dad.

The realization hit Evie like a brick. She didn’t want her son to enjoy spending time with his dad because that might mean he’d want to spend more time and then…she didn’t want to think about it.

“It’ll be okay, Evie.” Declan wrapped her up in a hug. “It’s a good thing that Tony wants to be a parent. Even if it took eight years. It’s good for Jonah.”

She couldn’t disagree with that.

And she really didn’t think anything bad would happen. Even if she didn’t like him, Tony was a responsible adult. Jonah would be fine. And he’d have a little fun. And that was important.

“I don’t like it.”

“You don’t have to.” Declan kissed her on the forehead in a move that was becoming more and more frequent. Even when no one was around.

She sighed and straightened her shoulders before she headed back into the living room to give her permission.

Judging by the whoop of joy from her son, she knew she’d made the right decision. But when Jonah gave her a quick hug and ran out to the car, she thought she might actually be sick. It wasn’t easy to watch her son leave. Even if it was with his father.

Maybe especially because he was with his father.

It should have made her heart happy to see how easily Jonah had opened up to Tony and accepted him into his life. It should have made her smile to see the light in his eyes when he talked about his dad after all these years. She’d raised a forgiving, easygoing son with a huge heart, and she’d done a good job making sure Jonah had no ill will toward his dad, who’d been largely absent for all those years.

All of those things should have made her happy.

But it was hard.

Really hard.

One of the hardest things she’d ever have to do was stand there and talk to Tony as if her heart wasn’t breaking a little inside while they discussed the details of what time he’d be dropping Jonah off the next day.

As was becoming the habit, Declan was there with his strong arms, a solid hug and his unwavering support. She let him hold her while they drove away and the cascade of feelings that were tied to the whole situation crashed through her.

“If you don’t want to go for dinner tonight, that’s okay,” he said after a moment. “I understand if you don’t want to be around a bunch of people. We can do something else.”

Dinner. She’d forgotten all about the family dinner. It was the last thing she wanted to do. Not because she didn’t like the McCormick family; she did. A lot. But the idea of spending the night trying to convince everyone they were engaged when all she really wanted to do was forget about the whole situation was too much.

It must have shown on her face, because even without Evie saying anything, Declan nodded. “I’ll go call Mitch and tell him it’s not a good night. They’ll understand.”

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I just…”

“It’s fine.” Declan stroked his fingers down her cheek with such tenderness that she almost cried from the touch. “They’ll understand. I’m just worried about you. Are you going to be okay?”

“Yes.” Evie nodded. “But do you know what I really want to do?”

---

Declan would have done anything at all for Evie to take her mind off Jonah. But he’d thought she was kidding when she told him that what she really wanted to do was go backcountry camping.

She wasn’t.

Which was how Declan found himself with a pack strapped on his back, hiking next to her up into the mountains only a few hours later.

“I really didn’t think you were serious,” he said with a shake of his head. “I can’t remember the last time I’ve done this. Or if I’ve ever done this,” he added a moment later.

Traveling with his foundation to various parts of the world, Declan had plenty of experience sleeping in out-of-the-way places. Hostels, couches, tents, the backs of cars: he was no stranger to roughing it. But he couldn’t remember ever putting everything on his back and walking into the woods for a night.

“Of course I was serious,” Evie said. “I used to do a lot of backpacking when I was younger.” Judging by the way she handled the huge pack, it would seem to Declan she still did it on a regular basis. “It’s harder now,” she continued. “Jonah can’t carry as much so the few times we’ve gone, I have to carry more of the supplies. It’s handy to have you along.” She gave him a nudge with her elbow that almost set him off-balance.

He must have been carrying what felt like fifty pounds on his back.

At least.

After agreeing to her plan, calling Mitch and begging off dinner, they’d gone out to her shed, where Evie had loaded supplies into two bags. She said she was evenly distributing the load, but either she was way stronger than he was, or she’d been lying. Judging by the smile on her face, it was the latter.

Not that he minded.

The way Evie’s face had lit up when she’d suggested backpacking was completely worth it. Anything to keep her mind off Jonah spending the night with Tony. It was the right thing for her to do; they both knew it. But it didn’t make it any easier for her.

If the forest was her happy place, he was happy to make it happen for her.

More than happy.

“It’s funny,” he said. “I wouldn’t have taken you for a backpacking type.”

“Because I’m a delicate girly girl?” she teased.

He opened his mouth, but closed it again, because that exact thought may have crossed his mind. Not that he thought she was fragile. Not at all. With every day that passed, Declan was learning just how strong Evie Rose really was.

“That’s it, isn’t it? You think I’m too girly to camp out in the woods.”

“Guilty,” he conceded. Evie picked her way across a log over a stream, and Declan followed, working hard to keep his balance. “But it’s not really that,” he continued when he was across. “Okay, it’s kind of that. But one thing I know for certain is that you’re full of surprises.”

“That I am.” She flashed him such a brilliant smile that his stomach flipped a little. Knowing that he’d played a role, even a small one, in putting that smile there, made him happier than he could ever begin to explain. “How are you doing? The pack isn’t too heavy, is it? I probably packed too much for one night.”

“Probably.” He laughed.

“But I really wanted that bottle of wine.”

“Wine? In my pack?”

“Well, it’s not in mine.” She laughed and it was the best sound. With everything Evie had been dealing with for the last little while, she deserved to laugh. A lot. “But don’t worry, we’re almost there.”

They’d only been hiking about an hour, but despite their heavy packs, they were making good time. “Where are we going anyway?”

“It’s one of my favorite spots,” she said.

“But not the favorite?”

“No.” She shook her head. “That one doesn’t have cell service.”

That made sense. Declan would be more than happy to go completely off the grid with Evie, but of course she wanted to be reachable in case anything went wrong. Not that it would, but it put her mind at ease to know she was only a phone call away from Jonah.

“Maybe we can go to that other spot another time?”

“Really?”

“Why not?”

“I don’t mean to sound so surprised,” she said. “But you really don’t seem like the camping type. Although I really do appreciate you coming along with me tonight.”

“Of course.” As if he would have let her go alone. “And what do you mean, I’m not the camping type?”

She eyed him and raised an eyebrow. “When was the last time you went camping, Declan?”

“I slept in a canvas tent in Haiti last time I was there.”

“Camping?”

“Okay, okay. It was probably when I was twelve or so—in Boy Scouts.”

She burst out into laughter. “Really? I didn’t think it was that long ago. Looks like I’m going to have a lot of teaching to do today. Come on, my spot is right around the corner.”