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“I thought that was you,” Wes said as he reached them. “How’s it going?”

That same old flicker ran through her, quick, sharp and annoyingly similar to the way she had always reacted to him.

“Good,” she managed. “We’re about to head home for dinner and homework. What about you?”

“My grandpa apparently forgot to pick up a prescription and asked me to take him to the pharmacy after his music practice.”

The simple statement touched her. For all the complicated history between her and Wes, it shouldn’t surprise her that he was the kind of man who showed up when his grandfather needed him.

“That sounds fun.”

He gave a wry smile. “Fun is one word for it. I figured I would take him to dinner afterward. Any suggestions of good places to go?”

“A few of the old places are still here and still good,” she said, leaning against the open car door. “If he’s in the mood for burgers, you can’t beat Murphy’s. I also recommend the Thai place on Lakefront and Seventh. Tuk-Tuk Thai. Their green curry is amazing. And there’s a new Peruvian place on Maple, Sol y Mar. Their roasted chicken is worth the trip.”

“Shelter Springs has certainly changed since the old days,” he said, glancing around the snowy parking lot, the warm windows of the retirement community glowing behind them.

As have we all, she thought.

“We’re having lasagna,” Carter announced from the back seat.

Wes smiled at the boy. The sight did something odd and uncomfortable to her insides.

“Sounds good. I love lasagna. Maybe we can find an Italian place.”

“My mom made some for us,” Hannah said. “She dropped it off earlier.”

“Your mom is a great cook,” he said. “I remember her lasagna with great fondness.”

And Hannah remembered, just as clearly, a teenage Wes, hanging out with her brothers while they all demolished an entire pan at her parents’ kitchen table, making her mother beam like Wes was a stray cat she had taken in and fattened up.

“I’m sure we would have plenty of lasagna to share with you and Stanley, if you would like to bring him to the house after you pick up his prescription,” she heard herself say. “I still have to bake it, but it should be ready in about an hour.”

The words left her mouth before her brain could catch up. She blinked, not entirely sure why she had offered, only that it felt . . . right, somehow. If nothing else, it would be a small way she could repay him for helping her put together Carter’s bed.

He looked surprised. “I don’t want to eat your lasagna.”

“Please. You know my mom,” she said, rolling her eyes. “She always makes three times what we need and then we eat leftovers for days. You’d be saving us at least one day of lasagna fatigue.”

He hesitated, clearly torn, and she forced herself to let it go. The children, however, did not.

“You should come,” Carter piped up.

“Yeah,” Riley agreed. “That way we can pet Kodiak again. He’s the best dog ever.”

Wes looked down at his dog, who wagged his tail at the mention of attention, then back at the children in the back seat. When he smiled, something in Hannah’s chest gave a small, painful twist.

It was the kind of smile that lit his whole face, softening the years between them, and reminding her of all those long-ago days when life had felt so much simpler.

“I’m sure Kodi would love that,” he said. “Okay. I’ll talk to my grandfather and I’ll text to let you know the verdict. I’m sure he’ll say yes, though.”

“Do you have my number?” Hannah asked. “It hasn’t changed.”

“I still have it,” he said.

The quiet certainty in his voice sent a strange shiver through her. He had kept her number all these years? She didn’t quite know what to do with that.

“See you in about an hour, then,” she said.