“Someone’s here for you, Mr. Charles,” the person at the front desk announced.

Dylan had been working on his music the past few hours and had almost not bothered to take the call, knowing that he had to be leaving soon if he wanted to arrive early to the arena for tonight’s show.

It wasn’t unusual for a few rabid fans to have dug up his location in the hopes of meeting him, but he’d stayed at this hotel a few times in the past and they were professional. They screened everyone who attempted to get through.

“Can you see what they want? I’ve got to leave in a few minutes.”

There was a pause. “I usually would, sir, but the young lady seems fairly insistent that she needs to see you. I think you’re going to want her to come up.” All thoughts immediately rushed to Tessa. She’d come here to make him see reason, to tell him that they would figure out a way to work through the publicity and the reporters and all the negative attention that came with dating him and to tell him he was an idiot for doubting that. Before his thoughts could go further astray, the guy clarified, “She says she’s your sister.”

Elle? His hand went to his head, rubbing the worry lines he was quickly getting since having her in his life. “All right. Send her up.”

A few minutes later, there was a slight knock on the door. He opened it, sighing wearily. “Does your mom know you’re here?”

“What do you think?” Elle asked and slipped by him, her backpack bumping him as she passed.

“Come right in,” he said, bemused. “Is there any particular reason you once again risked your life in coming all the way out here to see me? And how on earth did you even know where I’m staying?”

“Duh. Remember we set up that Find My Friends app last weekend when Tessa and I lost you at the festival? I can see you wherever you are.”

He’d forgotten about that, and how he’d accepted her request to be friends, not exactly realizing what he was signing on for. She could see where he was…always? He’d have to reconsider that one. “All right. So you found me, but how did you get here?”

“I kind of borrowed some of that money you sent my mom and bought an airline ticket.”

His mind raced as he considered what she said. “They just let you on the plane, no questions asked?”

“I had all the forms filled out ahead of time,” she said a little too proudly. “And mom’s signature isn’t that hard to copy.”

“You forged your mom’s signature? And they didn’t ask any questions, require a guardian to at least see you off?”

“I paid the Uber driver extra to walk me to the gate just in case, but they didn’t need to see him.”

He sat down, his hands wrapped around his head. The risk she took was going to kill him just as surely as her mom was going to kill her. “Okay. So you’re here. Now what was so important you had to come to see me?”

“To tell you how much of a jerk you are.” Why did that sound familiar? “I can’t believe you are back with that stupid Roxie Mann and not with Tessa. And then you go and make plans to go get pancakes with me and then break them. Just so you can sing at some stupid concert.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. I’m not back together with anyone. Where did you get that idea?”

“Because you’re playing in her show and it’s all anyone can talk about, how you two had to have made up. For a public person, you would think you’d know your way around social media by now.”

This kid. “I’m not back with Roxie. As to the pancakes…I’m sorry. I forgot, and I’ll make it up to you, but that’s no reason to do what you just did. What am I going to do with you? I’m leaving to get ready for the show in a few minutes. I can’t just leave you here alone.”

“Why not? I’m almost thirteen. I can watch TV and do some homework and I won’t cause any trouble. And if I need something, I can call someone from the front desk to help me,” she said in a pleading tone.

“That’s up to your mom, not me.” The problem was, it was probably the only solution, since he couldn’t very well take her to the show without any supervision, let alone leave her to roam backstage. Too much could happen. Her mom was going to have to be okay with it since he couldn’t possibly get her to the airport and back on a flight before he had to be on stage. That didn’t mean he was looking forward to breaking the news to Lana about her daughter’s latest adventure.

“And what about Tessa? I really liked her. Don’t you like her anymore? She’s so nice and funny, and I was really hoping that she might even be my sister someday. Because you two were so…so perfect.”

There was a lump forming in his throat that he swallowed past. “Wish it were that easy. Let’s just say that sometimes things are complicated, and loving someone doesn’t make those complications go away.”

“But you’re not with Roxie Mann?”

“Nope. Look, Elle. I really don’t have time for the third degree. You being here has really put me in a bind, and I need to go call your mom and figure out what we’re going to do with you.”

Her eyes widened at his sharp tone, and he could see that he’d hurt her feelings. But he didn’t have time for this or to babysit her, either.

“Wait here while I call your mom, please. Watch TV if you want,” he said, trying to soften his tone.

Five minutes later, he came out to find Elle on the couch, a purple photo album open on her lap. “Looks like your mom is resigned to having you stick around here, but first thing in the morning, you’re on a flight back home.”

“Okay. But maybe after pancakes?”

She certainly had a one-track mind. “We’ll see. If you can stay out of trouble before I get back.” He came over and took a seat, his conversation with Lana having taken it out of him. He glanced over to her book. “What have you got there?”

“Something Mom put together for me since I was a baby. I thought you might like to see it.”

He glanced at his watch, knowing he should leave but also wanting to make sure they were on level ground after his earlier behavior. Five minutes. He could give her five minutes. “All right. Show me.”

She beamed at him before flipping the pages back to the beginning of the book. “This is me in Mom’s stomach. She said that I gave her terrible morning sickness and a lifelong aversion to eggs.”

The picture was of Lana looking for all the world like she was the luckiest person on earth even though she could barely be eighteen at the time. Elle turned the page, showing off photos of herself as a baby with a bright shock of red hair at the top of her head even then.

His stomach dropped a little when she got to the picture of his old man, this time holding the squirming baby girl as Lana looked on. “Mom said he loved to count my toes and fingers, amazed at how small they were.”

“Do you remember him at all?”

“A little, I think. He was on the road a lot. I remember he liked to pretend he was going to throw me in the tub because my hair was on fire, which I thought was the funniest thing. I remember he liked to play the guitar a lot, kind of like you do, and he’d play all sorts of silly songs. He would also talk about you and how you really were something and how proud he was of you.”

Dylan didn’t have a response. Wasn’t sure if he could really believe that his old man had given him a second thought the moment after he walked out of his life. But this was Elle. She wouldn’t make this up.

He studied the pages in front of him more closely. What he saw was a man who seemed more defeated and sadder than he had in his earlier pictures, like the one his mom had kept. Definitely a man who might have had more than a few regrets.

On the pages before him, he could see that indeed the old man was present physically and emotionally in Elle’s young life. But it was when Elle turned around six that the happy family disappeared, and Lana was probably feeling as alone as his mom had. He studied her. Sure, she looked a little sad early on, but most of the moments she still looked lovingly at her daughter, all her hopes and dreams she had for her child still in her eyes.

He thought of the flimsy box his aunt had sent home with him the other night, filled with bits of a life he had before he came to Blossom Falls. A few rare photos, some odds and ends. Most of Dylan’s memories, however, weren’t found in the contents of the box. His memories he carried with him. Memories of a lonely existence before he’d come to Blossom Falls with a woman who just couldn’t find enough reason to join the living. Not even for him. She’d let her grief consume her.

All the anger and resentment Dylan had over the years over what he’d never had always focused on his dad. He’d never known fully until this moment how much anger he had for his mom, too.

She didn’t have to give up when Brick Jamison had walked out of their lives. Lana had struggled as a single mom and not given up or let herself be controlled by self-pity and anger. She had a daughter to raise, and that’s what she focused on. And then there was Tessa’s dad, who had lost the love of his life and he hadn’t emotionally abandoned his children.

People moved on. But his mom hadn’t. Or couldn’t. He’d blamed himself for that, thinking if he’d been a better kid, better student, she’d snap out of it. But no amount of A’s or B’s or help around the house made a difference.

Only Dylan wasn’t to blame for that.

The truth was that his mom hadn’t been strong enough. Maybe she hadn’t had anyone who believed in her enough growing up. Maybe she hadn’t had the support of friends and family that he eventually had when he moved to Blossom Falls. He’d never know.

And just like that, his pent-up anger slipped away. He could forgive her her weakness, forgive her for abandoning him, forgive her because, even through it all, he still loved her. Just as now he could forgive the weaknesses of an old man who didn’t know what a good life he could have had had he been present.

Dylan turned the pages until he got to one of him and Elle. A selfie from that first time they’d played games at the farm. On the next page was one of him, Elle, and Tessa at the Harvest Festival. Tessa, smiling so openly with all the love and passion she could offer someone shining there in her eyes.

This was a woman who was strong. This was a woman who had born the loss of her mother and had gone on. Who’d been subjected to the teasing and roughhousing of growing up the only girl with five boys and learned to give as good as she got. Who somehow had found room in her heart for him when he first appeared on their front porch and had only made more room for him as the years went by. Who’d loved him even when he didn’t want to be loved or feel worthy of love. Who’d been put through hell when he walked out on her ten years ago and had still gone on to accomplish so much. Who had, through her pain and terror of letting him back in, given him another chance.

She wasn’t like his mom. Tessa could overcome the trials and tribulations that came with being in love with someone like him. And he’d pushed her away, been willing to walk away to save her. Little had he known that he was the one to be saved. By her. By her love.

He didn’t know how long he just sat there, lost in his thoughts, until Elle finally punched him in the shoulder to get his attention. “Aren’t you going to be late for your concert?”

It took him a moment to answer as he thought over his decision, trying to figure out how he’d get it done. “No. I’m not going to be late, because I’m not going. In fact, you and I have other plans. But we need to get a move on if we’re going to get to the airport before the evening flight leaves.”

“You’re taking me home?” She looked so disappointed and heartbroken. “You’re that mad at me?”

He smiled. “Not in the least. But I’m going to need your help with a pretty big mission. I’ll explain it to you on the way. Come on.”

For mid-October, the weather was unseasonably warm, and with the sun still perched above the horizon, it could almost have passed as a late-summer evening for Tessa as she, Quinn, and Anna reached the town square, the venue for tonight’s party. It had been a surprise when, an hour before, she’d opened the door to find her best friends standing there with smiles on their faces, having canceled all their plans to make sure she was settled in and had all the support she needed during this time.

She was going to miss them, but this was a reminder that no matter what happened, they’d always be a part of each other’s lives.

“Who’d have thought our own sweet, easygoing Tessa was such a woman of mystery,” Anna said, linking her arm through hers as they passed a couple of fired-up grills where the sizzling scent of savory burgers and hot dogs filled the air. “First we find out you and one Dylan Charles not only grew up together but shared a secret romance, and then we discover that you’re an incredibly talented artist. Who are you?”

Tessa laughed. It had been hard to hide the painting she’d been working on when they arrived, and they’d been raving about it ever since. She’d surprised herself with how easy it had been to return to her love, and to actually see that her paint strokes, although a little less practiced, still did the image in her mind justice.

She’d started painting a picture of her mom after she died, but then Dylan and that heartbreak got in the way and she’d never finished it. Which was why it was the image that compelled her the most to start again. To give life to the curves in the woman’s face, the arch of her brow, the warmth in those eyes.

“It really was beautiful, what you’ve done so far,” Quinn added. “Does this mean that you’re going to take a break from practicing law? Pursue your art instead for a little while? Because if you’re serious, I know James and his family are contributors to several major art foundations and galleries and could arrange some meetings if you wanted.”

“That’s sweet. But for now, I’m going to take things day by day. There’s no reason to rush into anything.” Up ahead, Tessa saw Claudia talking to a couple of people. “Actually, I need to go say hello to someone. Go try the custard and apple cider doughnuts and I’ll join you guys in a minute.”

Seeing her arrival, Claudia stepped away from her friends, grabbing Tessa for a quick hug before stepping back. “I’m thrilled you could make it after all, Tessa. This isn’t quite the ending you wanted, but I want you to know how pleased I am with the result.”

“I’m glad then,” Tessa said. “You made such a difference in my life when I needed it the most. Probably did for a lot of people if the size of this crowd is any indication.”

“Thank you, my dear. Actually, I have something for you. Come with me,” she said and led Tessa over to a table, where she dug underneath the tablecloth and brought out a couple of canvasses. “I wanted you to have these,” she said and presented them to Tessa.

They were her old paintings. One she recognized as having hung up in the art studio; the other she hadn’t seen in years, still waiting to be finished. It was precisely this painting that she’d decided to recreate this afternoon.

“I almost wanted to keep them both for myself,” Claudia continued. “I’ve enjoyed looking at them over the years. But I think it’s time they were returned to you. Maybe they’ll even inspire you to pick up a brush again?” she asked almost hopefully.

Tessa was still staring at the second canvas. It was one she’d done right after her mom died. She’d meant to capture everything that her mom had meant to her, something that Claudia had encouraged her to do in those weeks when she felt so lost and alone. She’d only been eighteen at the time, but she could see on the lines of the canvas everything her mom had meant to her in every brushstroke, every choice in color, and in every tear that she remembered shedding as she’d worked on it. It was beautiful. And being able to express that pain through her painting had been a cathartic release.

Even then, at such a young age, she could admit that she’d had talent.

And now? she wondered. Maybe there was room for both. A little whimsy, a little bit of dreaming, mixed with the practicality of life and her law practice, wherever she ended up.

She smiled as she looked up at Claudia again. “Who knows? Maybe I will.”

“Tessa!” someone shouted across the square, and Tessa looked up to see Elle racing across the grass toward her. At her heels at a slower, more leisurely rate was another figure, a figure who still could send her heart pouncing right out of her chest.

She felt Claudia pat her on the arm before moving away, leaving her alone to face the approaching Jamisons.

“Tessa, Tessa, I hoped we’d find you,” Elle said, wrapping her arms around her.

Tessa tried to find a smile as she hugged her back, all too aware of the hulking man still bearing down on her. He shouldn’t be here. He wasn’t supposed to be here. By all accounts, he was supposed to be in LA preparing to perform with Roxie Mann. Something that had served to remind her of how different their lives were and why, although the way things ended had been tough, the decision was right.

Only he wasn’t in LA. He was here.

She wasn’t ready to face him. Wasn’t yet strong enough to be sure she wouldn’t crumple before him and beg him to have her back. But there was no escape from those eyes. So she would have to wait for the impact. And stay strong.

“Hi,” he said.

“Hi,” she managed to say despite the tightness in her lungs.

“Hey, Dylan, is it okay if I grab a hot dog?” Elle asked. “The last thing I ate was those cookies on the plane and I’m super hungry.”

“Of course, kiddo. Maybe you can grab me one. Maybe a soda, too,” he called as she ran over to join the line.

Just act natural, Tessa. You were bound to run into him at some point. “I’m surprised to see you here. Aren’t you supposed to be playing in a concert in LA?”

“I was. But then Elle knocked on my door.”

Tessa gasped. “She didn’t.”

“She most certainly did. However, it’s been hard for me to stay mad at her considering she helped me see a few things that I couldn’t before.”

“Her mom knows her whereabouts, I take it?”

“Oh, yeah. And if I were Elle, I’d be enjoying my last day of freedom.”

Tessa smiled wryly and studied his face, looking for any signs of the stress that she’d worn on her own face these past long days. “She’s pretty stubborn, I guess. Can’t keep her in one place.” Must be genetic. “You’re cutting it kind of close, wouldn’t you say, if you plan on still flying back to LA in time for the concert.”

“I’m not playing in the concert. Not anymore.”

She raised a brow. “And does Roxie know this?”

“She does. I called her on the way out here. But don’t worry. We’ve reached an understanding.”

And like that, it felt like someone was crushing her heart in their hand. Okay, Dylan was crushing it. “Congratulations. I’m happy for you two,” she managed to choke out.

“Congratula—? No. You don’t understand. Sure, initially she wanted to hurt us, and I may have agreed to play in exchange for her changing the narrative on the story about us. Leaving you out of it. But we’ve talked since then and both of us are on the same page. We were never a good fit. Not when I’ve always been in love with you.”

Oof. He couldn’t say those kinds of things to her. He just couldn’t. It hurt too much.

She shook her head and walked away, aware of him following anyhow. “No. No. You can’t come here and say that kind of stuff to me. Not anymore, Dylan.”

He reached out to try and take her hand, but she pulled it away. “Hey. Stop. Please, Tessa. Let me say this to you, and then if you still want me to leave, I will.”

She raised her head to the sky, saying a quick prayer that she’d have the fortitude to stay strong, not let him see her cry. She stopped and crossed her arms over her chest. “Five minutes.”

“Fair enough.” He ran his hand through his hair, as if trying to find the right words to start. “You knew a little of what my life was like before I came to Blossom Falls. Of my mom, who let the ravages of drugs and drinking take hold of her life after my dad left, until it ultimately consumed her. I’d vowed never to let another person have such power over my own life—or, maybe more importantly, never to have such power in anyone else’s life. To never be the one responsible for their pain and suffering, as my dad had been to Mom, to Lana, and who knows how many other women. You see, all those years, I’d put the blame on him. On why my life had been so crappy. Then I came here and met this little, spunky nine-year-old girl who saw someone better than I thought I was. You looked at me and knew I was worth loving. Worth waiting for.”

She remembered him that first day, sitting on the top porch step as he watched everyone play, trying to pretend he didn’t want to join them, to be part of the fun. But she could also see the yearning in those eyes and she’d decided then that she’d make sure he felt wanted. How little she knew then how those feelings would bloom so big and full in her heart the longer she knew him. Pinching the inside of her hand, she willed herself not to cry or tear up, to let him know how much his words already were affecting her.

“It wasn’t that I was afraid of loving you, or what that could mean to my future. It was only because I loved you so much that I didn’t want to see you putting your life and dreams on hold. Like my mom did all those years ago for my dad until she lost her way. You deserved better. And then the other night, you were hurting from all the crap coming down on you because of me, and I figured once again, you deserved better. A better life. One that wouldn’t rip you apart and take everything away from you that you deserve.”

Idiot. She didn’t blame him for what had happened. He couldn’t help what had happened. But he could help how he’d reacted. Not believing they could work through it together. That they wouldn’t be strong enough.

“It took Elle arriving this evening to remind me of how strong and brave you are. How you have a heart so full of love and compassion that you would never end up like my mom. She made her choices, let her grief consume her life. But she isn’t you. I shouldn’t have let you go. I should have seen that, together, we could take on anything. Be each other’s support.”

She could have told him that, had he given her the chance. But he hadn’t. He’d just…left.

“Please, Tessa. Tell me that I haven’t blown it. Because I know that if you say yes, our life together will be amazing. Happy. Filled with ups and downs, no doubt. But all the same, it will be blessed.”

Blessed. The word resonated with what her dad had said earlier.

Another breeze picked up, leaving her hair crossing her face, and she took the moment to clear it away, trying to find words as Dylan stood there expectantly. Waiting for forgiveness.

Something that she was surprised to find she was ready to give.

“I love you, Tessa Montenegro,” he continued, unaware of the restraint she was showing in not rushing into his arms. “Your love is the only thing that’s worth having in this world, and I’ll do anything to earn that again. You don’t have to answer right now. If it’s time you need, I’ll give it to you. But I’m going to show you every day that I’m here and in this thing, even if you keep sending me away. I’m not leaving you, not again.”

She blinked through the tears that threatened to fall, but she willed them back. Just for a few minutes more. Until she got through this, said what she needed to say.

“You were wrong to walk out on me the other day,” she said, her voice stronger than she expected. “But I have to admit, I was wrong, too. I should have stopped you. I could have insisted that you were stuck with me no matter what happened. But I didn’t. I held back, letting my own fear of being hurt again stop me from taking what I should have. I saw what loving and losing my mom had done to my dad, and when you left me that first time, I retreated into myself, deciding I would never let myself feel that way about anyone again. But I was wrong. Dad made me see that. I know that every minute we have together will be worth it. No matter how this ends.”

His face was incredulous, and he stepped forward, his arms ready to grab her, but stopped. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying? That…you forgive me?”

She laughed. “I’m saying that we’re going to have to work so that old habits don’t creep in and get in the way of what we want. And yes, I forgive you as long as you forgive me, too. Because you’re right. I’ve loved you, Dylan Jamison, for what feels like my entire life. And I want to spend each day of the rest of my life showing you how much I love you. You’re stuck with me.”

In an instant, she was crushed up against him, his arms holding her so tight, as if he was afraid that she might slip away, a sentiment she shared. Over his shoulders, she could see the smiling faces of her friends watching them, a few people cheering them on, a few others with their phones capturing the moment.

But if it came with the territory of loving Dylan, of being part of his life, she could accept it.

His eyes shined warmly as he stared at her, making her almost blush with the promise held in their brown depths. “I can’t imagine any other person I’d rather be stuck with.”

Then he kissed her, a soft, magical kiss that was made more so by the fact that she knew in her heart this was a forever kiss.

A forever love.