Piper couldn’t stop smiling. Not only was today the day that her family arrived, but the feeling of Cameron’s kiss was still lingering on her lips.

They had spent the rest of the evening cleaning up, stocking Nancy’s guest house, making the bed in Lucas’s new room. It had been a whirlwind of activity that didn’t allow for more kissing, lest they end up in a ball on the floor.

It didn’t matter that danger bells were ringing in her ears over the thought of giving her heart to this man she despised a week ago. It didn’t matter that she was worried sick over Johnny and what he might do. The only thing predictable about Johnny was that he was completely unpredictable.

No, today was the day she’d been looking forward to for almost two weeks. She couldn’t wait to see the look on Lucas’s face when he saw his new home. Her heart swelled at the thought of finally being able to provide for him in the way he deserved.

Piper stood on the front porch, her hands in the prayer position under her chin as she anxiously watched the driveway. Her mother had called ten minutes ago to let her know they were almost there, and she bobbed up and down on her toes as adrenaline rushed through her system.

“Good morning,” she heard Cameron whisper into her ear as he slid his hands around her waist and buried his head into the side of her neck. Her whole body was in overdrive now, the adrenaline unsure of which way to go. Never had a man made her feel so wanted and secure.

This was her dream. A farm. Wide open spaces. Her own business. A gorgeous man slipping his arms around her waist as they stared out over their land and dreamed of the future.

“Good morning,” she said softly as she turned enough to plant a soft kiss on his lips. “My baby will be here in a minute.”

He dropped his hands and cleared his throat. “Then I guess I’d better get ready,” he said with a laugh. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him “readjusting” his jeans and she struggled not to giggle out loud.

“I’m so nervous!” she said, squealing like a pre-teen girl getting ready to meet her favorite boy band.

“Nervous? Why?”

“I just want him to love it here like I do,” she said, craning her neck to see down part of the driveway.

“He will. This place is heaven on Earth for a little boy,” he said with a smile as he watched her eagerly look at the driveway.

And then she saw her mother’s little beat-up car slowly rolling down gravel drive and she started jumping up and down as she ran toward it.

“Lucas!” she screeched as she ran and scooped him up into her arms. She covered his cheek with kisses as he giggled and tried to escape.

“You’re tickling me!” he yelled. She loosened her grip and looked at him.

“How do you look a year older already?”

“Mom…” he groaned. “I’m still only seven.”

“Really? Not possible. You look twenty-seven!” Lucas let out a big belly laugh and then looked at the stately home beside them. “Is that our house now, Mommy?” he asked incredulously.

Piper smiled broadly and glanced back at Cameron before answering. “It absolutely is, sweetie! Can you believe it?”

Lucas slowly walked toward the porch and then looked straight up. The sight of her little boy, still so small in stature, staring up at the gift Lola had given them was almost too much to take in at the same time.

“Santa must really love us,” he said as he turned back around.

“Santa?” Piper asked.

“Yeah. I wrote him a letter in school last Christmas, but he must’ve needed some time to build this.”

“What did your letter say?” Piper asked, glancing at Cameron again.

“It said to please give me and my mommy a great big house and space for animals to run outside and play…” he said walking around and looking at everything with wide eyes.

“Well then, I guess Santa heard your wish and just gave it to you very early this year so you could spend Christmas here.”

“And God. I asked God too. I bet they worked together on this. It was a big job,” he said. Piper was amazed at his wisdom, but also at his faith.

“Momma!” Piper said, realizing that Nancy was still standing there watching the scene from beside the driver door on her little car. Piper gave her a big hug. “You must be exhausted. Let’s go inside and have a cup of coffee.”

“I’ll grab your bags,” Cameron said as Piper, Nancy and Lucas walked toward the porch.

“Oh, you don’t have to…” Nancy started.

“I insist. Welcome to Blue Ridge Orchards,” he said with a smile.

---

Watching Piper with her son was mesmerizing. She was obviously a fantastic mother, and Lucas was a great kid from what he could tell. He was polite, smart and pretty funny without even knowing it.

But all Cameron could think about right now was protecting both of them from that idiot. That guy was trouble, and Cameron had to figure out a plan to get rid of him. He wouldn’t be a good influence on Lucas and would probably just break his heart.

And he also couldn’t stop thinking about that kiss. And putting his arms around her this morning. That had taken some massive courage to try, but it had worked. She’d leaned back and kissed him softly, and it was all he could do not to press her against the nearest wall.

This was a bad situation. How was he going to navigate the choices he had to make? Their “time limit” would be coming to an end soon and he would have to make a decision about his business.

“He’s missed his Momma,” Nancy said as she walked up beside Cameron. He hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to her much yet, but she seemed like a nice enough woman. The years hadn’t been kind to her, but apparently she’d worked hard to raise Piper alone.

“And she has missed him. She talked about him every day.”

“Piper is a good mother. Much better than I was. She deserves this blessing in her life,” she said, with what sounded like a hint of warning in her voice. Cameron didn’t know exactly what that was about.

“I agree. She most certainly does,” he said. He could see Nancy looking up at him, almost studying him, from the corner of his eye. He tried not to look at her, but she was making it pretty obvious. “Something wrong?” he finally asked with a smile.

“The way you’re looking at my daughter… If I didn’t know better, I’d believe you’ve fallen for her,” she said with a lilt in her voice. She smiled knowingly and headed toward her daughter and grandson.

Why wasn’t he arguing with her?

---

The next few hours were spent showing Lucas his new room and getting Nancy all set up in the guest house. Cameron opted to leave Piper and her family alone so they could reconnect and enjoy each other’s company.

It was getting dark outside by the time he heard a knock at his door.

“Come in,” he called, figuring it was Hector giving him the final numbers for the spreadsheet.

“I’ve missed you today,” he heard Piper say softly. He couldn’t help but smile as she approached and put her hands on his shoulders from behind. “What are you doing?”

He quickly shut his laptop lid and twirled around in his chair, pulling her sideways onto his lap. “Nothing,” he said before he slid his hand up her right cheek and pulled her lips to his. He could definitely get used to this - Piper sitting on his lap, her lips on his, the sunset streaming through his bedroom window.

Piper pulled back and looked at him. “Please don’t lie to me, Cameron. What was that?” she asked, pointing to the laptop.

He sighed. “I started writing.”

“A book?” she asked, a smile spreading across her face.

“Yes. But I didn’t want you to know because I don’t even know if it’s good…”

“I don’t care if it’s good. I’m just thrilled to see you following your dream!” She leaned in and kissed him deeply. “I’m so proud of you.”

“How did this happen, Piper?” he asked with a laugh.

“How did what happen?”

“How did we go from hating each other to… this?” He pointed at her sitting on his lap.

Piper giggled. “You know what they say. There’s a thin line between love and hate.”

A knock at the door interrupted their moment.

“Piper!” Her mother’s voice was loud, insistent and full of anxiety.

Piper jumped up and opened the door. Her mother, a frantic look on her face, was standing there holding Lucas’s hand.

“What’s wrong?”

Nancy leaned in and whispered. “Johnny. He’s here.”

Cameron pushed past and went straight downstairs and out the front door. Johnny stood there, a smirk on his face as he stood on the front porch smoking a cigarette.

“Where’s my son?” he said, coming face to face with Cameron. For the first time in Cameron’s life, he could see himself punching someone’s lights out, and Johnny seemed to be a fine specimen for that.

“You agreed that tomorrow would be the day you visited, so you need to leave before I call the police.”

“He’s my son,” Johnny said through gritted teeth.

“And this is my property. Get back in your truck and get out of here.”

“No. Go ahead and call the police. Scare the poor kid with a bunch of cop cars…”

“I’ve got this, Cameron,” Piper said as she cracked open the door and came outside. The porch light had just turned on as dusk turned to night. Cameron stepped just inside the front door, determined to act the moment Piper needed him.

---

It was the last thing Piper wanted to do. She had wanted her son to have one peaceful night before confusion set in. But Johnny wouldn’t stop, wouldn’t give up. She thought about the irony in that. If he’d cared that much at the beginning, his son would know him already.

She knew he had a plan. A game of some kind.

“I just want to meet my son, Piper,” he repeated as they stood on the porch.

“Fine. But you can’t tell him your his father. He will be way too overwhelmed and confused. Agreed?” she asked, knowing full well Johnny couldn’t be trusted most of the time.

“I want him to know who I am,” Johnny said, flicking his cigarette ashes onto the porch. Piper had always hated his smoking habit.

“Eventually, but not tonight. We need to ease into this,” she said, squaring her shoulders to let him know she wasn’t playing around on this.

He breathed hard through his nose, almost grunting and relented. “Okay. But we tell him soon.”

Piper reluctantly opened the front door. Cameron was standing there at the ready, but her mother and Lucas weren’t in sight.

“Where are they?” she whispered to Cameron. He nodded toward the living room.

Piper led Johnny to the living room. Nancy was sitting on the sofa watching Lucas play with a remote control car. He was happily oblivious to the turmoil his mother was going through at that moment.

“Lucas?” she called to him.

“Yes?” he asked without looking up.

“Honey, I need you to come over here and meet a friend of mine…” She struggled to say he was her friend, but could think of no other easy way to explain the stranger standing in their living room right now.

Lucas walked over and smiled up at Johnny. They looked so much alike that it was eerie, and Piper could see the surprise on Johnny’s face when he saw his son. He almost looked… interested.

“Hi. I’m Lucas.”

Johnny’s breath seemed to catch in his throat for a moment. He squatted down and ruffled Lucas’s hair.

“Hey, little dude. You’re mighty handsome.”

“Thanks,” Lucas said, looking at his mother for reassurance. Piper smiled at him.

“You like cars?”

“Yes, sir. And trucks too.”

“Cool. Can I play?” Johnny asked. Lucas nodded and led him across the living room. The two sat down on the floor and started talking about cars and trucks.

Piper felt sick. She really wanted to throw up. Her mother put her arm around her and Cameron backed away a bit to give them all space.

They were a family. Like it or not, he was the outsider here.

---

Cameron sat at the top of the steps listening to the activity in the living room for over an hour. At first, the tension was thick, like the black smoke they’d crawled through during the fire. Then it seemed to ease up, and he heard Lucas laughing with his father.

And he’d heard Piper telling a few stories, almost reminiscing about the good old days.

It made him uneasy. But he also knew a boy needed his father. He’d missed his own father for so many years, and maybe Lucas would have the chance to have his father around.

Cameron finally went back to his room and fired up his laptop again, hoping to get more words on the page before bedtime. But his creativity was squashed and he could only think about Piper.

When his phone rang, he considered it a welcome sound to break the monotony of staring at his blinking cursor.

“Hello?”

“Cam! Thank goodness. I’ve been calling you for hours,” his assistant, Susan, said.

“Sorry. I had my phone off for awhile.”

“Listen, I’ve got major news. And I know you’re stuck at that farm for awhile longer, but this is huge!”

“Okay. What’s up?”

“Well, I didn’t want to tell you until I knew for sure, but I got confirmation today. Jed Millway wants to sign with us!”

Cameron almost dropped the phone. Jed Millway was a New York Times bestselling author, and his books were almost always instantly made into movies. Signing him meant he could save his publishing house and finally be considered legitimate in the publishing world.

“Are you serious?” Cameron said. “If we sign him, that changes everything.”

“I know! It’s so exciting!” Susan said, giggling on the other end of the line.

Cameron stopped pacing his room and sat down on the edge of his bed, quietly considering his options for a moment. On the one hand, if he signed Millway, he would have to go back to New York soon and throw himself into his publishing company.

On the other hand, if he stayed in Whiskey Ridge, he would be giving up his publishing business on the off chance that he could make it as a writer while running the family business.

And then there was Piper. And Lucas. And now Johnny?

“Cam, you still with me?” Susan asked. She was a rough-around-the-edges kind of New Yorker, her voice deeper than his.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m still here. Listen, can we chat more tomorrow? I’ve got a lot to think about.”

“A lot to think about? What in the world could you need to think about? Without this deal, we’re as good as sunk. You know that.”

“Susan, I’m still your boss, you know,” he said.

“Not if the whole company closes. Look, Cam, I’m going to be honest here. I’m worried about my job, and the staff.”

“I promise you guys will be okay no matter what.”

“Why does it sound like you’re saying goodbye?” she asked.

Cameron sighed. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

---

Piper walked to the fountain in the center of the garden between the greenhouses. It was quickly becoming her favorite place on the property because it allowed her quiet time and peace.

Until today.

“Mommy! Did you see that goldfish?” Lucas exclaimed in a high pitched squeal.

“It’s called a koi fish,” she said as she peered over the edge of the pond. “I’ve named him Ralphie. And that one is Squiggy.”

“Those are silly names, Mommy,” Lucas said with a giggle.

He was adjusting quite nicely to living there, and she had already registered him for school. He’d be starting in just another few days, but his absence during the day would allow her the time to get back to work and finally get some rhythm to her daily life.

But the problem of Johnny was weighing heavily on her mind. He had come over the last three days in a row, and Lucas seemed to enjoy spending time with him, although he still had no idea who he was. They’d taken a walk - with Piper trailing behind, of course. They’d fished in the pond - with Piper hiding out in the bushes nearby. They’d even ridden in the golf cart, but Piper was sitting on the back.

There was no way she was trusting Johnny with Lucas yet. And maybe she never would.

A part of her had hoped he was a changed man, although some things hadn’t changed. He was still cocky and arrogant. He was still a heavy smoker. And he still didn’t have a job.

When she’d asked him about his inability to hold a job, he said he was a “free spirit” and just hadn’t found his “thing” yet. When she had asked how he supported himself, he’d changed the subject.

“Hey, guys,” Cameron said from behind with a smile. She had barely seen him in the last few days, the whirlwind of Johnny being around really cramping their budding romance.

“Hey!” she said, happy to see his face. He didn’t look at her the same way, though. He seemed cordial, but distant.

“Hi,” Lucas said, barely looking up as he continued looking at the fish. “Mommy, can I climb that tree?” he asked, pointing at a large magnolia tree with low hanging branches. She nodded and he ran away, happily giggling in the process.

She looked at Cameron and smiled before she sat down on the concrete bench installed next to the pond. Cameron slowly walked over and sat down beside her.

“How’ve you been?” he asked softly.

“Frantic. Stressed. Confused.”

He nodded. “I can understand that. Sometimes things change quickly and they’re out of our control.”

“Yeah, Johnny is one of those things,” she said. “I just don’t know what to do. He’s a loose cannon, always has been. I keep wishing that he’ll grow up, be responsible. But I doubt it.”

“We can go to Mr. Dylan…” he offered.

“No. Not yet anyway,” she said. “There’s this tiny little part of me that wonders what Lucas will say when he sixteen years old and I told his father to stay away. I don’t want him to resent me.”

“I understand that, Piper, but what if his father is a negative influence in his life? Then you’re protecting him.”

She nodded. “I know, but the thing is… Johnny seems to be showing a real interest. At first, I thought he had some angle, but now I’m not so sure.”

Cameron patted her leg before standing up. “You’ll make the right decision. Trust your gut.”

With that, she watched him walk back toward the house and her stomach tightened. Something was going on, and she had no idea what it was.