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The words hung between them and her mind flashed back to that night in Salt Lake City. His mouth on hers. The heat sparking between them.

The way he had pulled back.

She looked up and found him watching her, his expression unreadable. All the old hurt and renewed longing tangled together inside her in a tight knot.

“I don’t know what to do,” she admitted quietly. “I have to call Morgan and tell her that her father is in town. She needs to know before she comes home. But I hate giving her one more thing to worry about.”

“I get that. But I think you’re right. She deserves the chance to decide what to do with this. Better to give her the information early and not spring it on her out of the blue.”

She could hear her mom’s laugh from the kitchen, the clink of dishes, the children talking about something in excited voices. It all felt so ordinary.

“Thank you,” she said.

“For what?” he asked.

“For dropping everything and coming when I called.”

“I hope you didn’t question whether I would.”

She shook her head. “Not even for a second.”

Their gazes met and something deep and profound passed between them, layered in meaning she couldn’t begin to interpret.

She stood, needing to move, to put space between them, so that she didn’t do something stupid like blurt out that she was still in love with him.

“I need to take the kids home. They have been here all evening while I was having dinner with Holly and our friends.”

“Right. We’ll get out of your way. Come on, Kodi.”

The dog rose slowly from the floor where he had been sprawled out. She walked both of them to the door. Wes paused with one hand on the dog’s leash and the other on the doorknob, gazing down at her.

When he spoke, his voice was low. “If you want backup when you call Morgan, you know how to reach me.”

Their gazes held again for one long, charged moment. The memory of his kiss in that hotel room—and all the hundreds of other kisses they had shared—seemed to eddy between them like soft snowflakes on the breeze.

“I do,” she said softly.

He nodded once, then stepped out into the cold night, the door closing gently behind him.

For a moment, she stood in her parents’ entryway, feeling strangely bereft. Then she drew in a steadying breath, squared her shoulders and turned back toward her family and the children who were temporarily hers.

Tomorrow she would call Morgan. Tomorrow there would be more hard conversations.

Tonight, she would tuck two exhausted children into bed and let herself be grateful for cherished friendships and for the comfort of community.

And for a man who showed up when she needed him, even when it left her more vulnerable than she wanted to admit.

Chapter 32

She did not want to have this conversation.

As Hannah settled onto her bed and prepared to make the FaceTime call to Morgan the next day, she was almost hoping her friend wouldn’t pick up.

The weight of what she had to share pressed hard.

She did not want to give Morgan any news that might hinder her healing process and possibly prevent her from coming home to see her children for Christmas.

She had no choice, though. She could not keep this secret. All night, she had wrestled with the right words to say to let Morgan know her father was in town, turning over phrase after phrase in her mind. She still wasn’t quite sure how to do it without causing more emotional strain on someone already going through too much.