“Can I have everyone’s attention?” Dalton Black stood in the center of Maisey’s Diner and let out a whistle that could be heard across the lake. “We’re here to celebrate a lot of things.” He picked up the glass of wine in front of him. “First, I want to thank Cannon and Bowie for supplying the alcohol.”

The raucous group yipped and hollered. Everyone loved free booze.

“Second, I wanted to say I love you to my mom, who made this diner possible along with the help and support of Doc Parker and the community.” He shuddered to think where their lives would be if the people of Aspen Cove hadn’t protected and cared for them. That was the best thing about living here. Everyone was family.

When Dalton was a teen and his mom was beaten and bruised, Doc Parker offered up the building for their future. Although her outer shell had recovered, Dalton knew even as a teen the internal scars from years of abuse would take the longest to heal.

Despite it all, Maisey Black moved forward. She’d made the diner a success and paid back the note owed to Doc in record time. Maisey’s Diner belonged to his mom, though she insisted he was a full partner.

“I want to welcome my new brothers, Cannon and Bowie, to my family. I want to give my new dad a hug.” He pulled Ben Bishop to his side and gave him a squeeze. If Ben, who spent years drunk and pining for his dead wife could turn himself around and make Maisey Black fall in love with him, anything was possible.

“In a matter of moments, I went from being an only child to one of three sons.” He looked at Bowie and Cannon, his new stepbrothers and longtime friends. Next to Bowie stood his wife Katie cradling their newborn daughter Sahara. “I also became an uncle.” He found Cannon in the crowd and gave him a knowing look. “I have one more thing to say, and then I’m done.” He glanced between the two sets of newlyweds in the room, Ben and Maisey and Bowie and Katie. “Stop with this love shit. It’s like a virus in this town, and I don’t want to catch it.” He lifted his glass and said, “Cheers!”

Dalton shook his head at his friends who were all laughing and enjoying a night of friendship and camaraderie.

Ben had carted his mom Maisey to Denver last week and married her at the county courthouse. He could have tied the knot here where Doc would have been happy to officiate, but Ben wanted it to be special, so he sprung for a weekend at the Brown Palace Hotel.

Dalton had never seen his mother so happy, but tonight was about something else altogether, and his part in the charade was to make it seem like it was Maisey and Ben’s night to celebrate—again. Since they’d been celebrating every night since they returned, no one would be the wiser.

Cannon brought Sage to the center of the crowd. “I have a few things to say myself.” He nodded to Dalton, which was his cue to get Sage’s sister, Lydia, who’d been hiding in the kitchen for almost an hour. It was a good thing she was hungry when she arrived because he didn’t know what to do with the woman besides feed her. Dalton had a soft spot for Sage, but her sister was a whole other beast. Never had he seen two people come from the same set of parents and be so different. Sage had flaming red hair, while her sister was blonde. Sage had green eyes, while her sister’s were blue. Sage was no bigger than four stacked milk crates, while Lydia came to his chin, which meant she had to be five-foot-six or seven. Sage was always happy, but her sister spent most of her time crying over pie. Dalton didn’t do well with teary-eyed women.

He snuck into the kitchen and said, “It’s time.” Lydia scooped another bite of Maisey’s famous cherry pie into her mouth and followed him out.

As soon as Cannon saw Lydia, he dropped to a knee in front of Sage. She looked at him like he’d had a stroke and fell to her knees in front of him.

“You okay? Are you sick? Too much wine?” She lifted her hand to his head and felt him for fever. The nurse in her never took a break.

He laughed. “I am sick, and I’ll never recover,” he said with dramatic flair. “I caught the bug Dalton talked about.”

She tilted her head the way her three-legged dog Otis did when he was confused. Then she looked behind Cannon to see her sister. Sage jumped to her feet and ran past him to Lydia. Poor Cannon might never get those four words he wanted to ask out.

Sage threw her arms around Lydia’s neck. “You’re here.” She stepped back with a look of concern. “What are you doing here? Are you okay?”

Dalton thought it was funny how everything around him had changed so fast. How his two friends who were sworn bachelors had fallen hard and fast.

When Sage and Katie arrived in town, nothing stayed the same.

He looked across the darkened street to Bea’s bakery and thought about the old woman responsible for this love fest. How her gifts of the bed and breakfast to Sage and the bakery to Katie brought the town together. Her act of selflessness had healed so many hurts.

Lydia wiped the tears from her eyes. “I’m fine. I’m here because…” She nodded her head toward Cannon, who was still on one knee but facing no one. “Go to your man, he has something to ask you.” Lydia widened her eyes and made a face.

“Oh my God.” Sage looked at all the nodding heads and raced back to stand in front of Cannon. “I’m sorry. You have my full attention.”

Cannon chuckled. “I’ll take whatever piece of you I can get, even if it’s your short attention span.” He wiped his hands on his jeans and reached into his pocket to pull out a small white box, then he cleared his throat.

Dalton wasn’t sure if Cannon was trying to gain his composure or get the attention of everyone in the room. Either way, all eyes were on him.

“Sage, I wanted to do this on Valentine’s Day, but I heard it was a cliché. Then I wanted to do it last week on lucky St. Patrick’s Day, but Dad beat me to it by marrying Maisey. So, today is it, sweetheart.” He reached for her hand and held it to his heart. “I loved you the day I met you. Well, I hated you in my head, but I loved you in my heart.”

The room erupted in laughter. Dalton hadn’t been present that day, but rumor said they had a doozy of a first meeting.

Sage pulled back and looked down at him. “Cannon Bishop, if this is the way you’re going to propose, I’ll walk out of here with what’s in the box, but you’ll walk out with a black eye.” She fisted her hands on her hips. “You can do better. Give me the best you’ve got.”

Doc Parker walked up and placed his hand on Cannon’s shoulder. “You’re screwing this up, son.” He looked at Sage. His white brows arched toward the ceiling. “The boy loves you. He wants to marry you. What do you say, young lady?”

“Thanks, Doc, I got this.” Cannon turned back to Sage. “I do love you. I can’t imagine a life without you. I want to marry you so I can love you forever.” He opened the box to reveal a gold band imbedded with tiny diamonds. Cannon’s attention drifted to Katie and then back to Sage. “A certain blonde baker told me a gold band was all you wanted, but it wasn’t enough. You need a little sparkle in your life. Sage Nichols, will you marry me?”

Her sister Lydia burst into tears. Dalton wasn’t sure if they were happy tears or sad tears. He was betting they were a little of both.

Sage dropped to her knees in front of Cannon and threw her arms around his neck, sending the box and ring flying into the air. Dalton caught it mid-flight and hoped it wasn’t like catching the bouquet at a wedding. He needed a woman like he needed another six years in prison.

“You’re the only sparkle I need, Cannon Bishop,” Sage said. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

Dalton tossed the box back to Cannon. “Get the ring on her finger before she comes to her senses and changes her mind.”

Cannon slipped the band on Sage’s finger. The crowd lifted their wine glasses to toast.

This time, it was Sheriff Cooper who had something to say. He pointed at all the Bishops in the house. There were six now that Katie, Maisey, and baby Sahara took the last name. “We’re being taken over by Bishops.” He looked to Bobby Williams, who stood in the corner with his wife Louise. “Dude, they’re giving you a run for your money.”

Bobby gave everyone a sly smile and placed his hand on his wife’s stomach. “Number eight is cooking.”

Doc Parker groaned. “We know what causes that.”

After everyone closed their open mouths, the group went wild. If there was one thing the Williamses did well, it was breed. They had the cutest kids, but Dalton couldn’t imagine having one child, nonetheless eight.

One more look at Bowie and Katie, and he erased the thought. Sahara was a miracle baby born to a mother with the biggest heart he knew. It was a donor heart of a woman he’d grown up with. Looking at Bowie, he knew the man was one lucky bastard to have fallen in love with the same heart twice. Dalton would be lucky to find love once. Who’d fall in love with a man like him?

Katie handed Sahara off to Bowie and picked up the cake she’d baked for the occasion. She brought it to Sage and Cannon. “I did it. I mastered high-altitude cake baking.” She handed Sage the pan, then jumped up and down like she’d discovered the cure for cancer. “It’s even—I didn’t have to balance it out with extra frosting!”

Bowie came up behind his wife and pressed his lips to her cheek. “I loved my lopsided cake.” Bowie’s homecoming cake had an extra quart of frosting on one side to cover up Katie’s baking inexperience.

“You loved me,” Katie reminded.

Dalton groaned. “It’s getting far too thick and sweet in here.” He gave his new dad a test. “Hey, Pops,” he called to Ben. “I’m outta here. Can you lock up when everyone is finished?”

“Sure thing, son,” Ben replied.

Dalton walked toward the door with a smile on his face. It wasn’t the life he’d envisioned for himself all those years ago, but it was his life, and somehow it seemed to work.

Sheriff Cooper caught up to him. “Keep your eyes open on the way home. I think the kids suspected of burning down the house across the lake are from Copper Creek. Arsonists rarely stop with one. If you see anything, don’t act on it, call me.”

Dalton gave him an I’m-not-an-idiot look. “It’s all good. I’ll call you if I see anything.” He walked outside into the chill of the March night. The sky was clear, and a million stars guided him toward home.

The sheriff needn’t worry. Dalton took no chances with his freedom these days. If he had a drink, he walked home or got a ride. If he saw a fight, he stepped aside. Six years in prison for killing someone was enough for him.

Although life seemed to throw him a lot of curve balls, family and friends remained a consistent source of comfort. He looked over his shoulder at the crowd he left at the diner. Those were the people who mattered most in his life.

As he walked the mile up Main Street to Lake Circle, he thought about his future. There would be no falling in love. No engagement. No wedding. No babies. Dalton’s life was fine the way it was, he liked the status quo. He liked the peacefulness of living in a town where he wasn’t judged. In Aspen Cove, he was safe and invisible.

He rounded the corner and walked to his back porch. There were lights on in the cabin next door. Odd because it had been vacant for over two years. There had been no mention of anyone moving in. Cannon told him he thought an investment banker bought it for future development. Dalton would have ignored the light in the window and walked inside his cabin if it weren’t for the smoke billowing from under the back door.