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Put up with the three of them.
Lilly couldn’t help but smile at that. Yeah, they’d put up with her tagging along on their “boy” excursions. But they’d never complained, and in fact always said they wouldn’t be a team without her.
She had just spoken to Christian a week ago, had just heard the deep baritone of his voice as he talked about getting the four of them together again after all these years. She had meant to come down, but with working at the firm, she hadn’t found much time.
It was too late, though. Christian was already gone, and she would never see him again.
She felt a tear slip down her cheek and quickly wiped it away. She’d taken a leave of absence, the loss of her friend hitting her so hard she couldn’t even think straight, let alone go back to work.
She’d enough time and money saved up that she didn’t even have to worry about working for a while.
“Anything else, ma’am?”
She turned her head toward the young man. The scent of grease, oil, and gas permeated the air, and instantly her stomach recoiled. She shook her head, handed him the money and a generous tip, and drove off.
Twenty minutes later, she was pulling into Burkett, the sights bringing back memories and putting a smile on her face. Nothing had changed in the years she’d been away, and she was thankful for the feeling of being home.
The snowcapped mountains towering in the horizon reminded her of the trips the four of them used to take, the weekend camping getaways where they’d huddled by the fire, drank beer and whiskey, and laughed at the stupid shit they’d done.
She turned off her car and sat in the parking lot of the local grocery store. It wasn’t anything big, minuscule compared to what she was used to, living in Denver, but it reminded her of happier times.
She stared at the mountains, remembering when the four of them had gone skiing for the first time as a group. It had taken all of her coaxing to talk her parents into letting her go with Tallin, Christian, and Riley.
Christian had taught her how to ski when she was seventeen. Tallin and Riley had teased her mercilessly over the fact that she was so old and lived so close to the mountains and had never learned.
Big mountains and the fear of avalanches—as silly as that was to believe—cemented her belief that it was better to stay in town. They had talked her into it, though.
Her three big, strong boys had told her they would protect her.
And they had. They always had.
She grabbed her purse and got out of the car. She needed to pick up a few things since she had no idea how long she intended to stay in town.
Her parents had moved to a warmer climate a few years back, but fortunately they hadn’t sold their cabin. That was where she planned on staying for her indefinite time in Burkett.
The grocery store’s double doors slid open, and she stepped inside. Half the town was shopping since the weather had predicted a massive snowstorm to hit later this week.
She saw several faces she recognized and a lot that were new. It was the busy time in Burkett, the skiing excellent this time of year and bringing hordes of tourists to the area.
“Well, if that isn’t Lilly Hawthorn.”
She turned around and smiled widely. David Masterson was several years older than she was and had acted more like a big brother than a neighborhood friend.
His dark hair was prematurely graying, and wrinkles had started forming at the corners of his baby blue eyes.
“Davie Masterson, how’ve you been?”
They embraced, mindful of standing in the center of the produce section as people shopped.
“Good, and you? Haven’t seen you in what? Three years?”
She adjusted the little red basket on her arm. “Yeah, long time. How are Dani and the kids?”
“They’re doing real good. Dani is pregnant again.”
“What is that? Number four?”
His cheeks became red, and he broke into a full grin. “Yup, fourth time’s the charm. Three little girls and now we’re finally getting that boy.”
