Cora could hear the shuffling footsteps of Mr. Knight as she waited on his front porch. In the last month alone, he seemed to have slowed down considerably.

“It’s me, Mr. Knight,” she called out as she heard him coming closer.

“Cora?” He asked as he swung the door wide.

His home was out on what used to be one large ranch that had been run by his family for generations. Now, much of the land had been parceled off and a few homes stretched out on either side. The cattle that had once been a staple on the land was gone.

She smiled when he got the door open and held up the basket of muffins. Yes, it was cliché, but she brought muffins to the man whenever she came to see him.

He gave her a mock scowl. “Blueberry, I hope?”

“Of course,” she said, following him inside. He seemed to shrink further and further into himself as the days wore on and she worried that he didn’t have a lot of support in the town.

In a small town like Evers, when you sued one of the town’s biggest employers, it tended to make people wonder where your loyalties stood.

Cora could understand people being upset about Mr. Knight’s suit against Caufield’s Furniture, but she also thought his allegations that the company had poisoned his well and was making him sick were worth looking into. Last she heard, his well had been tested and they were testing the soil and the wells of the surrounding properties. Two of the kids on the neighboring land had been diagnosed with cancer in the last two years.

People in the town were sympathetic to what was happening to them, but they were also fiercely aware that the furniture company provided a living for a great many people around here. If the illnesses were nothing more than coincidence, no one wanted to see the company take the fall for it.

Cora followed Mr Knight into the kitchen and watched as he lowered himself into a seat at the table. He began pulling the top off one of the muffins. She did the same thing when she ate a muffin. Top first, because it was the best part, then the bottom.

She heard the front door open again and looked to Mr. Knight with raised brows.

“My son,” he said. “Came home to stay with me. He’s broke.”

“I’m not broke, dad,” a man with a broad chest and light brown hair said, as he walked into the room. “I moved home to help you.”

He set a stack of boxes on the table and turned to Cora, smiling a smile that held a few crooked teeth. Something about that imperfection made him all the more appealing. He was only an inch or so taller than she was, but he was muscular and had the look of a man who worked for his living. Brown eyes greeted her from a tanned face.

He stuck out a calloused hand. “I’m Ethan Knight. I don’t think we’ve met. I was a few years ahead of you in high school, but everyone knows who the Walkers are.”

Cora took his hand. It was warm, his grip firm. She vaguely remembered him, although he’d never exactly been on her radar. Cora’s sister, Ashley, had been a trouble maker in high school. If the legends about Ethan Knight were true, he’d made Ashley look like an angel.

“Hi. I’m Cora Walker. But I guess you know that.”

Mr. Knight slid the basket of muffins toward his son. “Cora brings me muffins. You only get one.”

Ethan grinned and winked at Cora. “I’m probably lucky he’s sharing any with me at all.”

“You bet your ass you are.” Mr. Knight snatched the basket back as soon as Ethan had claimed his allotted snack.

“I can bring more if it’s going to cause a fight,” Cora said, only half joking.

Ethan changed to a stage whisper. “I’ll steal another one when he takes his nap.”

Cora found herself smiling again. She gestured to the boxes. “Still moving in?”

The inner narrator of her lame romantic novels chimed in. Our heroine couldn’t come up with anything witty so she went with the inanely bland box conversation.

“Oh, no,” Ethan said. “Those are for work. I do imprinting on promotional items for businesses and things.”

“Had to close his store,” his dad said around a mouthful of food. Cora was glad to see him eating. He’d been losing a lot of weight lately, and some days he didn’t seem to have much of an appetite. She had a feeling that as much as he was complaining about having Ethan there, the change was a positive one.

“I wanted to do it, Dad.” Ethan shook his head, but explained to Cora. “I had a shop in San Marcos, but that drive is too far with my dad being sick, so I moved things here. I can do my printing just as well here and ship things to my clients.”

His dad snorted like he was talking to a child Ethan instead of the adult version in front of him.

“That Derrick Ayers came by while you were out. You tell him I don’t want him coming around here.” Mr. Knight crossed his arms over his chest, sticking out his chin. At one time, the move had probably been intimidating, at least to his son. Not so much anymore.

Ethan sighed. “Dad, I haven’t hung out with Derrick Ayers in years, but I don’t have any control over him if he comes around to say hi. He probably just heard I was back in town.”

“That boy is no good.”

Cora didn’t want to stick around for the rest of the conversation. “I have to get going, Mr. Knight. I’m due out at my parent’s house in a bit for dinner.” She turned to Ethan. “It was great meeting you, Ethan.”

“I’ll walk you out,” he said and walked by her side, his hands shoved in his pockets as they moved through the house to the front door.

He walked her all the way down to her car, opening the door for her. “Sorry about that. He gets really grumpy sometimes, and I’m not his favorite person.” He grinned, looking a little sheepish. “I was a tough kid.”

“That’s okay, I understand.” Cora didn’t come from an average family, but she’d seen and heard plenty of parents and their kids interact. She’d seen the oil and water type of relationship she was guessing those two had.

“Thanks for coming by to bring him food. That’s really nice of you.”

She smiled. “It’s no problem. I like visiting with him. He’s been lonely. It’ll be good for him to have you here.”

Ethan looked at the house and shook his head. “We’ll see.” He looked back to her and offered a slow, easy smile. “Listen, would you like to grab dinner sometime?”

Cora was surprised to find her stomach did a fluttery little flip. Not quite the full-fledged thing it did when Justin smiled at her, but a heck of a lot more than she’d felt for any of the guys she’d met online.

She couldn’t help the smile that spread on her face. “I’d like that.” She pulled her phone out of her purse. “What’s your phone number?”

“You sure you’re going to call me if I don’t get your number?” he asked and she wasn’t entirely sure he wasn’t joking. He had to get that women didn’t want to give their numbers out right away, right?

His eyes flashed as he gave her a bad boy grin. “Teasing.” He rattled off his number and she put it into her phone.

She did know his dad, and his family had lived in Evers for a long time. In fact, it was surprising she hadn’t met him before this.

She didn’t wait to call him. She sent a text message. “There. Now you have my number.”

“Great. I’ll call you.”

Cora nodded and started the car, waving at him again when he waved at her. He watched as she pulled down the long drive that led to the road.

She could swear she’d heard that when you put yourself out there and stop looking so hard for The One, you end up meeting more potential Ones. Maybe whoever it was that said that was right. Maybe she’d just met a potential One.

Our heroine smiled as she drove away. Things were beginning to look up.