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I’d always prided myself on keeping things inside. Even my cousin Carter didn’t know the depths of sadness and grief I still felt over the loss of my mom and brother.
Of course, he was smart enough to know how devastated I was, but I never let on that it hurt as much today as it did back then.
I was nineteen.
Barely a sophomore in college. My brother was a junior. We’d chosen different majors and different schools.
But none of that mattered the day they were taken from me.
I dropped out of school the next semester. My friends tried to convince me to stay, but I couldn’t even stay strong enough to remain close to them. So, I picked myself up as best as I could and found a profession that allowed me to listen to people and smile.
I needed to smile more than anything. And there were days when it hurt more to smile than to cry, but I found my solace at Silver Ridge Resort in Washington, where I picked up the pieces and started again as a bartender.
But as the years went on, I realized I wanted something more.
And my aunt, uncle, and cousin were all out in Wisconsin.
I was ready for family again.
Albeit on my terms.
And Buttercup Lake was more than I could even ask for, with friendly people who were like family, festivals celebrating just about everything in the world, and a closeness that helped fill part of the void.
Maya and Nina had become close friends, and they both wound up with a Knox brother.
But Hunter was the best of all.
And the most misunderstood.
As I stared at the ceiling, my mind drifted to the possibility of a Mr. Right. Or was Hunter a Mr. Right Now? I just didn’t know.
Whatever this was between us felt fresh… and right.
The problem was that I didn’t know what the future held, and the future I’d always imagined got taken away from me.
And that left me scared and worried that I would always be faced with that kind of pain.
The sound of the front door closing below signaled they’d left for their shopping right when my phone rang.
I glanced down to see Millie’s name pop up.
“Hi, Millie.”
“How’d you know it was me?”
“I have your smiling face pop up whenever it’s your number.”
“Oh, that’s right.” She chuckled. “Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I spoke to your boss, and she’s going to call you later.”
“Okay…” I wasn’t sure where that was going.
“But I thought I’d let you know the good news. The smoke damage isn’t as bad as they initially thought, so they’re opening back up next weekend.”
My heart unexpectedly took a plunge.
I’d just gotten here, and it was kind of fun.
“But that’s not the reason I called. I was hoping that since you’ll be back in town, I can count on you to make your fudge for the Sunshine Breakfast Club’s Holiday Bazaar on Saturday.”
