Page 18 of Stuck with the Hero Next Door

And maybe, just maybe, she was starting to see Everwood the way I did.

Chapter 5

Lakeside Realizations

Cassie

We’d made plans before parting Friday afternoon—Levi took his “make the stranger feel welcome in town” duties seriously—nothing elaborate, just a quiet afternoon at the lake a few miles out of town. Levi had said he’d bring the coffee and snacks. I’d bring myself. Saturday morning, Janet handed me the keys to her old green sedan without needing an explanation. “It’ll get you there,” she said, smiling like she knew exactly what I was up to.

Maybe she did.

The lake glittered like someone had cracked open a jar of sunlight and poured it across the surface. I stepped carefully down the slope, damp pine needles catching under my boots, the breeze tugging loose strands of hair from my scarf. Levi was already there, a faded blanket spread beneath an old cedar tree, a thermos and two mugs sitting beside it like an offering, along with a basket full of muffins that looked suspiciously like Janet’s handiwork.

They probably were.

Levi glanced up as I approached and gave a small, quiet smile—one that didn’t ask questions or expect anything in return. Just steady. Present.

“This okay?” he asked, gesturing to the blanket.

“Perfect.” I slid down beside him, tucking my legs beneath me. “You come here often?”

“When I need to think.” He unscrewed the thermos and poured two mugs of coffee, the steam curling between us like a lazy river. “Or not think. Depends on the day.”

I accepted a mug, fingers closing around the heat. The lake lapped quietly at the shore, pine trees rustling like they were trading secrets above our heads. I hadn’t realized how loud my thoughts had been until this moment, here in the hush of water and afternoon light.

“Thanks,” I murmured, sipping.

We sat in silence, and for once it didn’t itch at me. It settled instead. Not heavy or awkward, but warm in that way only silence between two like minds can be.

I pulled my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them. “My mom would’ve loved this place,” I said, more to the water than to him.

He didn’t say anything right away, but I felt him listening—really listening, not just waiting for his turn to speak.

“She loved lakes,” I continued. “Mountains, trees, places where the air smelled like something wild and clean. She used to say the world made more sense by the water.”

Levi nodded slowly, his mug resting on his knee. “She sounds like someone worth listening to.”

“She was.” My voice cracked a little at the edges, but I didn’t try to hide it. “She taught high school English—loved her students, probably more than they knew. She had this way of making people believe they could be better.”

His gaze met mine, gentle and unhurried. “So do you.”

The words knocked something loose in my chest. I looked away, swallowing hard.

“I don’t know. I don’t even know what I’m doing anymore,” I admitted. “I came here because my truck broke down, and now it seems like Everwood’s dropping hints every time I blink. But part of me...”

I trailed off, not knowing how to finish that sentence. Not sure I wanted to.

“Part of you what?” he asked, voice soft.

I stared at the water, letting the ripples speak first.

“Wonders if I’ve been chasing the wrong thing. If Miller’s Pass was my mom’s dream...and not mine.”

Levi didn’t answer. He just sat there with me, still and solid as the mountain at our backs.

And that was enough—for now.

“I never planned to end up in Everwood,” I said after a while, cradling my mug like it could steady my thoughts. “I was going to teach in Miller’s Pass, settle in, make a difference there. That was always the goal.”