Nik brushed the grass off his clothes, his eyes locked on Claire. Hundreds of thoughts chased themselves though his mind but one clear thought was uppermost.

He had kissed Claire in front of her daughter.

And he didn’t regret it at all.

“So, are we still playing?” Emma called out. “I got the ball.”

Nik dragged his gaze from Claire and looked over to Emma. Sure enough she held the baseball between two fingers, pulling a face of disgust. “It’s kind of wet though.”

“Then maybe we should let it dry out,” Nik said. Holding a ball full of dog slobber held no appeal.

“You okay?” he asked, looking back at Claire, pleased to see her smiling.

“Yeah. Fine.”

“Really? Cause I am. I truly am. Just in case you were wondering.” He hoped she understood what he was trying to say. Maybe he was jumping ahead but the past few days had changed so much. Being with Claire and Emma at the picnic had felt so right. As had sitting with them in church.

And this afternoon, visiting with his mother and sister and future brother-in-law had given him a glimpse of the other possibilities that lay here in Sweet Creek.

He wasn’t sure if Claire felt the same about him as he did about her.

Would she have kissed you back if she didn’t?

But even as these thoughts slipped through his mind he looked at the house behind her and a shadow slid over the day.

“Where are you?” Claire asked. She must have seen how his expression changed. "Reliving memories?"

“Yeah. Sorry.” He shook his head as if trying to dislodge them.

Then, to his surprise, Claire lifted her hand and stroked his cheek. “I pray that someday they will ease.”

At her touch, he felt as if that was happening already.

“I hope so too,” Nik said. “Though visiting with my mother helped.”

“Are you finding your way through to forgiving her?”

Nik tested that idea a moment, looking past Claire to Emma, who had given up on them and was now throwing the ball for Mooch to fetch.

“I had an interesting conversation with her,” he said, resting his hands on his hips, pulling in a long breath. “She wanted to know about my life after I was moved out of the Jensen’s home. It was a tough moment.”

“Did you tell her?”

“I wanted to. I thought of all that had happened here but then…” his voice drifted as he looked back at the house, walking toward it. He rested his hand against the post supporting the roof over the porch, running his fingers over the rough wood. It was still there.

“You look like you’re remembering something,” Claire said, sitting on the steps of the porch.

“I remember this dent here,” he said, running his finger back and forth over it. “My foster father was angry with me because I mouthed him off. He grabbed a flipper from the barbecue and came at me. I ducked, he missed, hit this post and I took off. I laid low for the rest of the day, wandering around town hoping he was gone or passed out when I got back.”

“I’m so sorry.”

He sat down beside her, watching Emma wrestle with Mooch.

“Being with my mother made me realize telling her wouldn’t change anything,” he said, his voice quiet. “Something the pastor said this morning stuck with me. How a mother’s love can take different forms. How it’s not always about hugs and kisses. How love can be about making hard choices.” He released another sigh, remembering the sorrow on his mother’s face. The glisten of tears in her eyes. Again. “I actually felt sorry for her this afternoon.”

“That’s a good place to start.”

“I know. It’s like each time I see her, listen to her, spend time with her, I come around to another place in my journey with her. It’s like a spiral that gets tighter and tighter and with each revolution, I get a little closer to her and a little further from my emotions. It took a few years to get to this point but for the first time in a long time I realized that it wasn’t her fault I ended up here. In this house. With that family.”

Claire’s eyes locked onto his and she gave him a tender smile. “That’s a journey that was worth taking.”

“I know. I’m so glad I came here.” And he returned her smile, his soul filled by just sitting beside this amazing woman. “And I’m thankful I met you. And Emma.”

“Me too.” Her response warmed his heart.

She looked past him her expression shifting, a faint frown creasing her forehead.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked.

“My own remembrances of this place.” She leaned back against the other post, pulling her knees up close and hugging them with her arms.

“Which ones are you pulling out?”

She shook her head, giving him a melancholy smile. “Doesn’t matter. I don’t want to trivialize what you just told me.”

“I was only sharing my particular memory. You have your own that are as legitimate as mine. So tell me.”

She smiled, her eyes growing bright as if slipping back to another time. “I remember Tess and me climbing up on this porch roof with a blanket, a bottle of water and a bag of cookies we had filched from the kitchen.”

“So you’re telling me I’m sitting with a thief?” Nik teased, wanting to lighten the mood that had clung to him.

“The worst kind. The kind that steals from her own mother.” Claire’s smile grew as she settled back. “We would do that often. Sometimes we would pretend we were princesses stuck in a tower, waiting for our prince to rescue us until it got too hot and then we would decamp and slither down that post behind you. We always pleaded with our parents to let us sleep on the roof. For some reason they always said no.” She chuckled at the memory and he joined in.

“Those are good things to remember.”

“And they are part of this house too,” she said, looking away from him, as if unwilling to see his reaction.

“I suppose,” he said. “I wish I could have experienced some of that.”

As soon as he spoke he wished he could take the words back. He sounded as if he were feeling sorry for himself.

“I also wish this house had better memories for you.”

Nik looked back, struggling yet with his mixed emotions. “I do too." It was all he could tell her.

And yet his mind ticked back to kissing her in the living room. An event which, they had just discovered, Emma had witnessed.

He looked over at Claire again, their eyes meeting. Four feet separated them, but the connection was so strong it felt like inches.

Stay.

The single word eased like a sigh into his confused mind, settling feather-light yet carrying a weight of peace.

Stay.

Again, he looked back at Claire, a woman who had her own struggles and demons to wrestle. Who’d come out strong and in charge of her life. A mother who took care of her child. Who would do anything for her. Someone who not only knew what the words “Mother” and “Faithful” were, but who lived them.

Stay.

Could he?

Did he seriously think he could leave feeling the way he did about Claire? About Emma?

* * *

“You’re humming.” Tess looked up from the industrial dishwasher as she loaded the last of the dishes, grinning at Claire. “It’s been a long, busy day, and you’re still humming.

“Am I humming?” Claire adjusted her bandanna, wrung out a cloth and wiped down the countertop.

“Loudly and cheerfully,” Tess said as she closed the large metal door. “Too cheerfully for someone who is working, I might add. Does this have anything to do with spending all day Sunday with Nik?”

“Not the whole day.” Claire couldn’t stop the faint flush warming her neck and turned away so Tess couldn’t catch it and start her standard cross-examination of Claire post-date.

She wasn’t sure she was ready to talk more about him to Tess. Her feelings for Nik were deepening. With each kiss he gave her hope grew. “Did he give you lots of smooches?” Tess asked, hitting the button.

“I don't smooch and tell,” Claire said, too late realizing how prim she sounded.

“Since when?” Tess scoffed, turning back to her sister. “I always got to hear the low down on kissability and scoring of said kissability.”

“Well, I’m not about to score Nik.” Claire stirred up the dough, her movements quick and decisive.

“So, you did kiss him.”

Caught.

“And?” Tess wouldn’t leave it alone.

“It was nice.” Claire continued wiping. “And that’s all I’m telling you.”

“Was Emma there?” Tess’ voice grew serious and Claire glanced across the kitchen to catch her sister’s now-somber gaze.

“Yes. She was. And I don't need the lecture about being responsible with my daughter. I know what’s at stake. So does Nik.”

“I know you do. So I'm thinking things must be getting serious.”

Claire blinked as she stared down at the cloth. “They are.”

“You sound confused.”

“I am. A little. He’s a wonderful guy and he cares about Emma and he likes me. He even puts up with Mooch.”

“All in his favor. I don’t even like that mutt.”

Claire wasn’t sure if she dared venture down the next part, but Nik’s comment allowed a glimmer of hope to grow within her. “And as far as the house goes, I think he’s coming around.”

“Why is that so important to you? It’s just a house.”

“You know it’s more than just a house,” Claire said. “I’ve always seen it as a way to take care of Emma. As a way of connecting with my past.”

“Could it be that you’re making too much of that house, too?” Tess asked.

“Maybe, but it would mean so much if he would understand what that house means to me.”

“I understand, but you could switch that around too,” Tess said, sounding imminently reasonable.

Claire held that thought a moment then shook her head as all Nik’s motivations and reasons for his actions tumbled back. “He has a deeper, darker reason for tearing that house down. Some horrible things happened to him there. Abuse, neglect at the hands of the foster parents he had then. He thinks if he gets rid of the house those memories and pain will go away and that concerns me.”

“Why?”

“To me it shows how deeply he’s still stuck in the past. And if he can’t get over that, what kind of relationship could we have?”

Tess nodded, as if understanding what her sister was saying.

Claire took a breath, winding the still-damp cloth around her hands. “Besides, he’s not building another house there. He wants to put up a fourplex.”

The look of shock on Tessa’s face gave Claire more ammunition for her reactions to Nik’s plan.

“That would be criminal,” Tess said.

“I agree. It’s a gorgeous property, and I know the yard is huge, but if he built the fourplex there, it would take over the whole yard. So that was one of the other reasons I wasn’t happy what he wants to do.”

Tess tapped finger on her lower lip. “So you think he still might do that?”

Claire shook her head. “I hope not. He knows how much that house means to me and Emma. And if… if things change enough between us, I had hoped…” she let the sentence trail off, unwilling to vocalize the wish that glowed deep in her soul.

“Hoped that the three of you could live there,” Tess said, finishing the thought.

Claire wasn’t sure she dared voice her dreams yet.

“And what about his relationship with his mother? Has he made peace with her yet?” Tess asked.

“He visited her yesterday after church, and he seemed happy when he came back.” Claire rinsed the cloth and wrung it out once more then tossed it into the laundry bin. “I think things are moving in the right direction between him and Joyce.”

“So, things seem to be falling into place for you as well?”

Claire untied her apron and tossed it into the laundry bin. “I feel like they are, and yet there’s a part of me that is still afraid.”

“I don’t blame you. It’s hard to trust when trust has been broken. Even if the person you care for wasn’t the one who caused that to happen.”

Claire’s expression grew serious as she looked at her sister. “And you and Jace are okay?”

Tess looked down at the sparkling ring on her finger and released a gentle smile. “We are more than okay. And I’m not worried about the future. Jace is a good man and I know he will take care of me.”

“You two have been through a lot, too,” Claire said. “Getting past what Carson MacGregor did to you can’t be easy. Especially because he was Jace’s boss at one time.”

Tess tapped her fingers on the counter, frowning. “It hasn’t been easy but I feel like I should let you know, Jace told me last night that two other women are filing sexual assault charges against Carson. I… I asked if I should join the suit. Jason said it was my call. I’m not sure I want to dredge up all that stuff again. I feel like I plowed through that dark valley and came up the other side stronger. To be a part of this suit might drag me back there. But I don’t think I should leave those girls on their own.”

Claire came around the counter and pulled her sister into her arms, hugging her tight. “I want you to know that no matter what happens, we’re all behind you. We’re all supporting you and we’re all praying for you.”

Tess hugged her back, clinging to her a moment. “I am so thankful for you. We’re so blessed to have each other.”

“Nik said the same thing. He said he was always jealous of our relationship.”

“I guess he knows a good thing when he sees it.” Tess released a shaky laugh.

Claire gave Tess one final hug then drew back.

“We’ve talked enough about me the past few months,” Tess said. “What do you think will happen with you and Nik?”

For a moment uncertainty gripped Claire, but behind that came the memory of his kiss. The talks they had. “I think Nik knows what’s at stake if we get more serious. He’s been on the receiving end of brokenness in families and I also sense he’s searching for security as well.”

“I feel like I should tell you, I gave him the sister talk.”

“What?” Claire shot her sister a puzzled look.

“You know. The one where I tell him he has to be careful with Emma and with you and that if he hurts you I will hunt him down like an animal and punch him in the face.”

“You didn’t.”

Tess lifted her hands in a ‘what can I do’ gesture. “Okay, I didn’t say I would punch him in the face. That was just embellishment to let you know I was serious. But I told him to be careful. So I’m thinking if he’s still with you and he’s still kissing you he’s not being casual about this relationship.”

Claire felt the same way but hearing her sister say it made her situation more real.

“I was going to ask if you wanted to help me pick out table decorations for the wedding, but I imagine you’ll be seeing him tonight?” Tess asked.

“No. He’s gone for a couple of days. He told me he wouldn’t be back until Wednesday. He had to do some follow up on a potential job—”

“Where?”

“He didn’t say where. But the fact that he’s looking into other work is good. Originally, he said after he was done with the house, he would be gone on a six-month vacation. He hasn’t said anything more about that.” Claire clung to the vague plans she was weaving around Nik’s vague plans, hoping, once again, that he wanted to settle down.

In Sweet Creek.

“But tonight doesn’t work, anyway,” Claire continued. “I promised Emma a mother/daughter night. She wants to do pedicures. She said she wants to look nice for when Nik comes back.”

“She seems attached to him.”

Claire thought of them playing ball the day before and smiled. “She’s been campaigning for him from the start. Going on about not having a daddy and how she thought Nik would make a good one. So she’s good with how things are progressing.”

“Are you a little concerned about her attachment?”

“I was. But you know, I feel good about it all. Things are changing between Nik and me. I could hold back, but for how long? I need to take a chance once in a while.” Claire bumped her sister with her hip. “Just like you’ve told me to.”

“Sounds like things are coming together for you, my dear,” Tess said as they walked out of the back of the cafe.

“I think so.” Claire knew she had to be wary yet she was tired of it. She had to trust as well that the prayers she had been sending up the past few weeks were being heard.

She had to keep praying and trust that God would give her and Emma the strength to deal with whatever came their way. She hoped she wouldn’t have to pray that prayer too soon.

They said goodbye and Claire got in her car. Her phone had been dead all day so she plugged it in. As soon as she started the car it pinged. But the screen was still black. It would take a minute or two before the phone had enough charge for her to check her messages. As she drove it pinged again, but she figured she would check it when she got to her mother’s place.

But once she arrived, her mother was standing by her car with Emma and Mooch who had his leash clipped to his collar. Clearly everyone was ready to go. Immediately.

“Everything okay?” Claire asked, catching her mother’s faint frown.

“Emma, can you and Mooch wait in the car a moment?” her mother asked.

They helped Emma and the dog inside then her mother caught Claire by the arm and drew her a ways down the driveway.

“I had hoped we could sit down and have a little chat in the house,” her mother said as they walked, then stopped around the corner of the garage. “But I couldn’t get out of this appointment and my company will be back any minute.”

“What did you want to chat about?” The second the question left her mouth Claire regretted asking. She could see by the way her mother’s lips thinned that it would not be a pleasant conversation.

Her mother turned to her, concern etched into her features. “I saw you and Nik in church on Sunday. With Emma.”

“So?” The question came out snippier than she’d intended. She blamed it on a mixture of her changing feelings for Nik and a touch of insecurity about her decision.

“And he bought your basket at the picnic.”

“All of this I know,” Claire said, folding her arms. Claire knew exactly where her mother was headed.

“I’m worried about you and Emma. All she could do was talk about him and how she was so hoping he would be her daddy. I tried to temper her enthusiasm, but she seemed to think this was a done deal. Has he proposed to you without talking to us?”

This, Claire could handle. “No, Mother. He hasn’t proposed. Emma is just making mountains out of molehills. Though I have to confess, I’ve never seen a molehill, so I wouldn’t know how one could do that.”

Her mother snorted in annoyance. “You and Tess are the same.” She pulled in her breath, smoothing a hand over her hair. “But I am concerned. I understand he is tearing the house down and building an apartment block.”

Claire wished she could firmly tell her mother it wasn’t her business but she also knew her mother was truly worried.

“How do you know?” she asked, going for deflection instead.

Her mother heaved out a sigh. “I overheard Gerald saying that he finagled the clawfoot bathtub in the house from Nik before he demolishes it.”

“And here I thought you would discuss the sermon, not plumbing possibilities,” she joked stifling her concerns. She had thought Nik was having second thoughts.

Her mother waved her joke off. “At any rate, I don’t think he has intentions of staying around.”

“How do you figure that?”

“That he’s leaving?” Her mother bit her lip and took a moment to reply. “Apparently, Nik was also asking Gerald about a recent trip he made overseas and if he had any suggestions for a trip he wanted to make.”

“How long were you listening to this conversation?” Claire tried to inject some humor into her voice, but her mother’s comments disturbed her. “And where was I?”

Her mother had the grace to look a little discomfited as she lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I just happened to be behind them as we walked out of church. It took a while. And I don’t know where you were. Probably busy talking to your friends.”

Claire’s mind skipped back, drawing out a memory of Kelsey Swain pulling her aside to talk about baseball practice. She remembered wondering how Nik would do but then she saw him talking to Walt the plumber.

“I don’t have much time to say much more,” her mother continued. “But I feel I need to warn you about Nik. Warn you not to make the same mistake you made with Lance.”

Claire sucked in a deep breath, struggling to calm a surge of frustrated anger. “I think I learned my lesson from that situation,” she snapped.

Her mother frowned but then looked over at Emma, who was sitting quietly in the car. “You should probably go. But realize that this time around you’re not just deciding for yourself. You have Emma to consider. If this man is doing what I keep hearing he’s doing — tearing down that old house, rebuilding and then moving on — you had better make sure you don’t get involved with him. It wouldn’t be fair to Emma.”

Despite her indignation with her mother’s insinuations, her words plucked at Claire’s insecurities, making them hum.

Her mother placed her hands on Claire’s shoulders. “I’m only trying to take care of you. You’re my daughter and I feel like we never took as good care of you or Tess as we should have. Your father and I… well… we made mistakes. And that wasn’t fair to you. I guess I don’t want you to do the same.” Then she gave Claire a quick hug and walked toward her own car, parked beside Claire’s.

Claire followed a few steps behind, got in her car and waited for her mother to leave before she reversed and drove away.

The entire drive to her place, or rather, Nik’s place, her head buzzed as thoughts and questions chased each other in a futile frenzy.

“Will Nik be at the house?” Emma asked from the back seat of the car.

“No, he won’t be. I told you he was gone. That’s why we’re doing manicures tonight.” Claire flicked her hand at Mooch who was nudging aside her hair with his cold, wet nose. “Can you please hang onto Mooch? I don’t want him bothering me while I drive.”

Emma pulled Mooch back, reprimanding him. “When will Nik be back?”

“I’m not sure.” She didn’t like her vague answers any more than Emma liked receiving them.

“He won't be like my first daddy, will he? Leaving and not coming back?”

Claire’s heart thumped hard and the niggling concern her mother created bloomed into panic at Emma’s words. She caught herself, reminded herself of Nik’s concern. Of his gentleness. He knew what was at stake for her.

And yet…

“He’ll come back,” Claire assured her. Though he had seemed evasive, he had kissed her before he left. Stroked her cheek and told her he cared for her.

He wouldn’t do that if he were leaving.

As she made the turn onto their street she shot a quick look back at Emma to make sure she believed what she was saying. But Emma was sitting up, looking intently ahead.

“What are those trucks doing by our house?” she asked.

Claire turned her attention back to her driving, slowing at what she saw.

A large lowboy with a track hoe was parked in front of the house and ahead of that, a dump truck.

“They’re taking up our parking spot,” Emma complained.

“They are indeed,” Claire said, curiosity mingling with the dread she had felt just a few seconds ago.

“That’s a really big whatever it is,” Emma said.

“I think it’s called a track hoe,” Claire said.

“Maybe they’re coming to tear the apartment down.”

Relief surged through Claire. Of course. That would make sense.

She got out of the car, caught Mooch by the collar and clipped his leash on before he bounded out.

“Stay close beside me,” Claire cautioned Emma as they walked toward the trucks. They were still running, their diesel engines rumbling.

One of the drivers got out of the truck carrying the track hoe and ambled toward her. He wore stained coveralls with the name Norm embroidered on his chest and a worn and faded baseball cap with the logo of a sports team.

“Can I help you?” Claire asked.

“Yeah. We were told the gas company would be here to mark out the gas lines before we started taking the place down. But I don’t see any flags out.” Norm had a rough voice, eyebrows that met over dark brown eyes and tufts of gray hair sticking from his cap that matched his bristling mustache.

While he spoke, he pulled his cap off with one hand, scratched his head with his forefinger, then replaced it, adding a tug for good measure.

Emma had already gone into the yard and closed the gate behind her. Claire could hear Mooch barking.

“I’m sorry, I can’t help you. You need to talk to the owner.” She waved her hand back at the apartment building. “I can give you his number.” She called him so often when she lived there, he was on her contacts list.

“We got his number, he’s not answering.” Norm dropped his hands to his hips, looking over the house. “I guess we could take some of the stuff down, but I’m not sure if he wants to keep those big trees.”

Claire did a double take. “Trees?” There were no trees in front of the apartment.

“I’m talking about those trees.” The driver waved his arm at the large spruce and birch trees she and Tess had planted when they were young. Trees that now towered over the house, filling the front yard.

“Wait, you’re here to take this house down?”

“Yeah. What did you think we were doing?”

Claire stared at him for a moment. “There has to be some mistake… Norm,” Claire said, glancing at the name on his coveralls again, having forgotten it as panic rose within her.

Norm reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper, unfolded and looked it over. He shook his head, then looked back at the house. “Work order says, ‘dismantle and tear down of house’, at this address.” He waved at the house again, then showed the work order to Claire. She didn’t know what to look for, but one thing stood out. On the bottom was Nik’s name, printed out and his signature, or what she presumed was his signature, above it.

And right beside that was the date.

“This is dated for next week.”

The guy frowned and took the paper back then shook his head. “Oh brother. I’m sorry. I got the month and day mixed up. Always was a bit dyslexic that way."

Ice slipped through her veins as he explained.

Nik was still tearing down the house despite knowing what it meant to her.

He couldn’t get past what had happened here. He couldn’t move on.

And if he was tearing down the house… was he still leaving?

She swallowed, looking from the house to the large track hoe to the dump truck. Sure, they were almost a week early. But still. Why hadn’t Nik called her? She had stuff in the house that needed to be moved. He couldn't be that inconsiderate.

“We’ll get out of your way and be back next week,” Norm said. “Sorry about that. I can’t believe I misread the invoice so badly.”

Claire gave him a feeble smile as she pulled her phone out but nothing showed up on her screen. No message. No notification of a voice mail. She walked toward the house as the trucks shifted gears and rumbled away.

She shoved the phone back in her purse, tears threatening, anger taking place of her fear from only moments before. She should call him, but right now she was too angry.

She stalked to the house, her heartbeat gathering speed, making her feet hurry as her mind ticked over what her mother said, put it together with what she had just heard from Norm. She swallowed a knot of pain so large she was surprised she didn’t choke.

Nik was following through on his initial plans.

Then he was leaving.

The two were always inextricably intertwined where he was concerned.

She swayed, pain knifing through her. What had happened between yesterday and now? How could things have changed so much?

Had they? Had he made any promises?

Claire’s hands shook as she unlocked the door.

You have to fight for this house. You have to stop him.

How?

The single word reverberated through her mind. What could she do? It was his house and his plans.

She could challenge the permit. Talk to the Town Council. Tell them they had to change their mind.

As she imagined herself striding into a Council meeting, she knew how ridiculous she would sound. How little input she really had.

A vague pain flitted around her temples. Headache coming on.

Phone Nik.

Her hands trembled as she picked up her phone, but she found she couldn’t do it. She was afraid of what he would tell her.

Suddenly she was tired of fighting. Tired of trying to make things work.

Maybe Tess was right. Maybe she was making too much of the house too.

However Nik’s plans showed that he wasn’t moving on or changing. Still bitter and still determined to erase his past rather than deal with it.

And she couldn’t bear to watch that anymore.

She needed to leave, she told herself. Move on. Start over. If Nik was still tearing down the house, he was probably still leaving and she wasn’t putting herself or Emma through that again.