- -
- 100%
- +
Liam had decided a long time ago it wasn’t worth the risk.
For the next half hour, he took a page from Aiden’s playbook and pointed out things he hoped Anna’s daughters would find interesting. Liam figured he made a poor substitute for his brother, but he kept the twins entertained.
And it kept his eyes focused on his surroundings instead of the beautiful woman sitting in the canoe next to his.
“There’s something in the water!” Cassie almost dropped her paddle as she pointed to a sleek brown head moving parallel with the shoreline.
Liam smiled. He no longer needed T-shirts to tell Anna’s twins apart. If not for a slight variation in the spray of freckles across their noses, the difference in their personalities gave it away.
Both girls were curious and talkative, but Cassie practically vibrated with restless energy. It was a good thing Liam didn’t get motion sickness, because their canoe didn’t simply glide down the river—it practically created its own white-water rapids.
“That’s Ben.” Liam had been hoping the otters would make a guest appearance this morning. He scanned the shoreline. “Keep an eye out for Jerry. They’re usually together.”
“Ben and Jerry?” It was the first time Anna had spoken directly to him since the start of their journey.
“Aiden named them.” Liam smiled. “You of all people know about my brother’s addiction to ice cream.” Every Tuesday afternoon in the summer, Aiden dragged Liam into The Happy Cow to feed his habit. A triple scoop of Rocky Road.
And every Tuesday, he and Anna pretended there wasn’t a barrier ten times higher than the counter between them.
“I see Jerry, too!” Chloe shouted.
“Let’s see if we can get them to put on a little show for us.” Liam whistled a trio of notes, trying to mimic the greeting Aiden had started using to get the otters’ attention when they were newborn pups.
On cue, Ben began to perform barrel rolls in the shallow water, but Jerry, the more courageous of the two, dived underwater and then popped up right between the two canoes, sunlight sparkling on the droplets of water clinging to his whiskers.
The girls squealed in delight as the otter rolled over and exposed his snow-white belly to the sun like a tourist working on his tan.
“Can we take some pictures of Ben and Jerry for my journal, Mom?” Cassie begged. “We’ll earn our Celebrate Creation pins, for sure. Josie Wyman got a picture of a hummingbird, and this would be even better!”
“Celebrate Creation pins?” Liam automatically looked to Anna for a translation.
When the girls had first arrived, they’d said something about Sunflowers and pins and journals, but Liam had had a hard time converting eight-year-old-girl into a language a twenty-eight-year-old guy could understand.
“For the Sunflowers kids’ club at church,” Anna explained. “The girls earn pins when they memorize Bible verses or complete a special assignment this summer. Except—” She paused to give Cassie a meaningful look. A look Liam recognized because he’d seen the same one on Sunni’s face over the years when she was taking advantage of a “teachable” moment. “Except that Ms. Shapiro didn’t intend for it to become a competition with Josie Wyman, did she?”
“Nope.” Cassie swung her head from side to side, the very picture of innocence. “But I still think it would be sweet to get a picture of the otters for my journal...and a pin.”
“Mom made them,” Chloe added proudly. “She stays up and makes jewelry after we go to bed at night.”
Anna’s cheeks flushed a deeper shade of pink, but all Liam felt was a stab of guilt. The previous autumn, Lily had rallied the family and a group of volunteers to renovate the second floor of Anna’s building into a combination studio and jewelry store. Liam was the only one who hadn’t helped with the project.
Given their history, Liam had told himself he was saving Anna from a potentially awkward situation. Now he wondered if keeping his distance had had more to do with self-preservation.
Because every time Liam looked at Anna, he remembered the line he’d crossed on prom night. He should have backed off when Anna had gotten defensive, but all he could see was his dad using his fists to get his way.
You need to break up with Ross, Anna. He’s dangerous.
Dangerous.
Said the guy everyone assumed had had multiple run-ins with the police before he’d moved to Castle Falls.
You don’t know anything, Anna had retorted.
The implication behind the words had struck deep.
Liam didn’t know anything because he was an outsider. In Anna’s mind, he would always be an outsider. And the knowledge that Liam could have ruined her future happiness if she’d taken his advice was always there, simmering in the air between them.
Which was why it would be better if his relationship with Anna—or lack thereof—stayed the same.
Polite and professional, Liam reminded himself.
“The camera is packed away, sweetheart,” Anna said. “I’m not sure we should take the time.”
Right. Based on Anna’s comment, the four-hour countdown was obviously still on her mind. Proof that she wanted to spend as little time in his company as possible.
Cassie spun toward him, their official river guide and therefore the only person who outranked her mother when it came to making decisions. “Do we have time, Mr. Kane?”
“It’s Liam...and you make time for what’s important,” he told her.
Chloe and Cassie exchanged a disappointed look, so Liam decided he’d better clarify the statement.
“Which means an otter photo shoot just became one of the stops.”
Chapter Five
“Yay!”
Chloe and Cassie leaned toward each other and slapped their hands together in a high five that set both canoes rocking.
Before Anna could warn them to sit back down, Liam beat her to it. And he didn’t respond with a scold or a scowl, either.
“Rule four,” was all he said.
For a bachelor who’d grown up with brothers, the man’s patience and easygoing humor with two little girls who chattered more than they paddled was something Anna hadn’t expected.
But then again, Liam wasn’t quite what she’d expected.
Even apart from all the rumors swirling around the three brothers, Anna had always found Liam a little unsettling. There’d been times, during study hall or in the school cafeteria, she’d caught Liam looking at her. No, not just at her. Through her. Like he knew what she thinking. Or feeling.
That’s what had unsettled her.
But he’d never gone out of his way to talk to her—until the senior prom.
Memories came rushing back. Anna’s astonishment when Liam had led her into the center of the gymnasium and then guided her out to the courtyard. Her defensive reaction when Anna discovered the real reason he’d asked her to dance.
I saw what Ross did in the parking lot, Anna. My dad...he wasn’t a very nice guy. He would bully my mom like that, too.
Ross wasn’t bullying me.
He grabbed your arm.
Anna had denied it even though her arm had still burned where Ross’s fingers had bitten through the lacy sleeve of her dress.
Look...just be careful, okay? Liam had persisted. You don’t have to let him treat you like that.
She’d made excuses for Ross. Told Liam in no uncertain terms to mind his own business.
But she hadn’t believed him.
Anna rubbed her arm. The bruises had faded years ago but the wound Ross had inflicted on her heart still hurt.
The theme, A Night to Remember, had fit as perfectly as the tiara placed on Anna’s head when she was crowned queen. But, like so many other moments in her past, that night had become one more thing she wanted to forget.
At least in high school, her wishes and dreams had centered around the plans she and Ross had made for Friday night or on the dress she’d picked out for an upcoming dance. Anna had poured out her heart in a journal similar to the ones Rene Shapiro had handed out to the Sunflowers. Protected her secrets with the turn of a key that fit into a tiny gold lock.
She wasn’t willing to take the chance that Liam—or anyone else for that matter—would see the one she kept locked inside her heart.
“Oh, look at that bird over there! Isn’t it cute?”
The bottom of Anna’s canoe scraped against a rock, warning her that the canoe had drifted into the shallow water. Fortunately, no one seemed to notice she’d broken rule number six—Pay Attention to Your Surroundings—because their attention was focused on the shoreline.
“It’s a kingfisher,” Liam said. “You can tell by the crested head and the color of his feathers.”
“He’s making a funny noise.” Cassie stopped paddling and Anna could read her mind.
Time for another photo session.
“He’s talking to his friends farther down the river.” Liam was already reaching for the camera.
“What’s he saying?”
“He’s saying...” Liam tipped his head to one side and pretended to listen. “Look at those people over there! Aren’t they cute?”
Cassie and Chloe giggled, but it was the grin on Liam’s face that sent Anna’s heart rocking back and forth like a raft caught in a swell.
“It just went under the water!” Chloe exclaimed.
“He’s looking for his lunch,” Liam said as the bird disappeared underneath the water.
“Lunch.” Cassie sounded a little envious.
Her comment reminded Anna they’d been on the river for well over an hour and her daughters hadn’t complained a bit about boredom, achy muscles or empty stomachs.
Liam must have realized it had been a while since breakfast, too.
“Is anyone getting hungry?”
“I am!”
“Me, too!”
Liam looked at Anna, and whatever he saw in her eyes seemed to cast the deciding vote.
“Okay, then.” He dipped his paddle in the water. “Next stop—Eagle Rock.”
Anna had noticed the spot marked on Sunni’s map, but until they paddled around a small, tree-lined peninsula jutting out from the shoreline, she hadn’t realized Eagle Rock was a...rock.
More like a small cliff, from what Anna could see. It jutted over the river, shading a wide stretch of beach like a sandstone canopy.
As they neared the shoreline, Anna spotted a ring of stones and the blackened remains of a campfire, evidence that Eagle Rock was a frequent stop for paddlers.
Liam, a few lengths ahead of her and Chloe, reached the shoreline first. He hopped out of the canoe, reached for Cassie and deposited her on dry land.
“Are we going to have a campfire on the beach?” Cassie asked hopefully.
“We could...” A smile kindled in Liam’s eyes. “But the view is better at the top of the rock.”
He didn’t mean...
Anna squinted up at Eagle Rock. She couldn’t even see a way to get to the top.
Before she could suggest they stay on the beach, Cassie and Chloe bumped their fists together and broke into an exuberant little dance right there on the sand.
“Can you take our picture, Mom? When Ms. Shapiro sees how high we climbed, maybe we’ll get our Be Strong and Courageous pin, too!” Cassie said.
“We don’t know that verse yet,” Chloe reminded her sister.
“I do! It’s in Joshua. ‘Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be...’” Cassie paused, her brow furrowing as she searched her memory for the rest of the words.
“‘Do not be afraid,’” Liam quoted softly. “‘Do not be discouraged. For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.’”
“You have to memorize verses, too?”
Cassie’s open astonishment brought a smile to Liam’s face again.
“I don’t have to,” he said. “But if you know what the Bible says, the verses are... They’re kind of like the signposts on the map we gave you. They keep you going in the right direction. And if you do get lost...well, they can help you find your way back, too.”
Now it was Anna’s turn to stare.
Because she hadn’t really expected Liam to know the verse? Or because the undercurrent of quiet confidence flowing through the words told Anna they were stored in his head and his heart?
“I’d be scared if I got lost,” Chloe confessed in a whisper. “’Cause the bears might find me.”
“I’m not a fan of bears, either.” Liam shot Anna a sideways glance. “Unlike your mom, who chased one off the high school football field once.”
“A real bear?” Chloe clutched Cassie’s arm for support.
Anna had forgotten all about that. And she wasn’t sure how she felt about Liam bringing it up now.
“It was a very small one,” she muttered. “Not much bigger than a cub.”
“But still...you chased it.” Cassie looked impressed.
“Chased it away.” Anna shot a look at Liam. “When I screamed.”
“She shook her pom-poms at it, too.” Liam obviously remembered more about the event than she did. “The other cheerleaders ran inside the school, but your mom stood her ground. Pretty ‘strong and courageous,’ if you ask me.”
Strong? Courageous?
For a moment, Anna wanted to cling to the words even though the girl Liam had just described was long gone.
And the admiration Anna was startled to see in Liam’s eyes would be gone, too, if he knew the truth.
When it really mattered, she hadn’t been either one of those things.
* * *
“Mom was a cheerleader?”
The twins appeared more shocked by that information than they were about the bear.
“Your mom made captain our freshman year.” Liam couldn’t believe Anna had never mentioned it to her daughters. “Her squad won an award for their halftime performance. It was pretty impressive.”
“How would you know that?” Anna’s eyes narrowed. “You never went to any of the football games.”
Liam realized he should have quit while he was behind.
“I...” How to admit this without sounding like a total stalker? “I saw you practice once in a while.”
Once in a while meaning every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, when Liam took a shortcut underneath the bleachers on his way home.
For weeks after he and his brothers moved to Castle Falls, Liam had lived in constant fear that Sunni and Rich would realize they’d made a huge mistake and ship all three of the Kane brothers back to Detroit. Liam would be separated from Brendan and Aiden forever and become a file in some social worker’s drawer.
Watching Anna preside over cheerleading practice had been the one bright spot in a day clouded with uncertainty. Outgoing and confident, Anna had had an unquenchable spark of life in her eyes and a smile bright enough to light up an entire room. The kind that declared I’m ready for whatever was to come.
Only she wasn’t smiling now.
When he’d told the humorous story about Anna’s encounter with the bear cub, Liam hadn’t considered it might resurrect painful memories, as well. The cheerleading award Liam had referred to was displayed in the trophy case, right beside the one Ross received when he’d taken the football team to the state championship.
Way to go, Liam.
Just when he had started to feel like the wall between them was beginning to break down, Liam had reminded Anna what had caused it in the first place.
He pushed out a smile and looked at the twins.
“Ready to climb Eagle Rock?”
A loud whoop answered the question.
Liam led the small procession up the winding, overgrown footpath. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d climbed Eagle Rock...which told him it had been too long.
It would have been a lot easier to use the fire pit on the beach, but if Rene Shapiro wanted the Sunflowers to celebrate God’s creation, Liam couldn’t think of a better place than at the top of Eagle Rock.
“How is everyone doing?” He glanced over his shoulder.
Chloe and Cassie gave him the thumbs-up sign, but Anna didn’t respond to the question at all. Liam couldn’t decide if the climb itself was the problem or if Anna was upset that he’d added at least another hour to the four she had signed up for.
Rocks skittered over Liam’s feet as he reached the top of the platform overlooking the river.
His breath caught in his throat, the past momentarily forgotten.
Eagle Rock was more enchanting than he remembered, like an illustration straight from the pages of a fairy tale. A thick carpet of emerald moss covered the ground, and wild grapevine draped the birch trees that circled the sun-drenched clearing.
Cassie scrambled up beside him. And for the first time since they’d launched the canoes, the little girl seemed to be at a loss for words.
It was Chloe who came up with one—a soft, breathless “Wow.”
Liam laughed as he set the cooler on the ground. “My brother Aiden discovered this place when we were kids. He stuck a canoe paddle in the ground and made us write our names on it with a rock.”
And then they’d rowed back home, minus one paddle, terrified Sunni would ground them—or worse—for leaving the other one behind. She had insisted on accompanying them on the return trip the next day. But, instead of retrieving the paddle, Sunni had picked up the rock and scratched her name next to theirs.
Things had been difficult for all of them after Rich died, but it wasn’t until that moment Liam finally began to accept he wasn’t alone.
When they got back, Liam had unlocked Rich’s workshop and spent the next few weeks paging through his foster dad’s notes, studying his designs and slowly figuring out what to do with the strange tools scattered around the room.
Liam had never felt like an outsider in the workshop. For the first time in his life, he’d felt like he was exactly where he belonged.
“Can we write our names on the paddle, too?” Cassie asked.
“I’m not sure I could find it anymore.” Liam scanned the thick hedge of trees. “Everything changes from year to year.”
Anna, who’d been a few seconds behind them, appeared at the top of the path. And, once again, she carefully avoided his eyes.
Okay.
Maybe not everything.
Chapter Six
“Isn’t it beautiful here, Mom?” Chloe threw her arms around Anna’s trim waist. “It looks like one of the pictures in the book you’re reading to us.”
“It is beautiful.” Anna’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes as she looked at Liam. “How long do you think it will take to get the fire ready?”
“I’m not sure.” But not nearly as long as it would take Liam to catch the trout he planned to cook on that fire. “Half an hour or so.”
“Oh...” Anna’s teeth sank into the plump curve of her lower lip. “I accidentally left my phone in the van. If something happens at work, the afternoon crew won’t be able to get in touch with me.”
“I have mine. If there’s a true emergency, your employees know where you are. They’ll call Sunni, and she’ll let us know.”
“I suppose.” Anna didn’t look reassured by Liam’s logic. “It’s just... I’m sure you didn’t plan to spend the whole day with us.”
No. He hadn’t. But that didn’t mean Liam wasn’t enjoying himself. Cassie and Chloe were more entertaining than the river otters, and their bright-eyed curiosity reminded Liam of Aiden at that age. And it was nice to see the change in Anna the farther they drifted from civilization. Her slender shoulders had softened into the relaxed pose of someone who’d started to work with the current instead of against it.
She needs a friend.
The thought was too radical to have sprung from Liam’s own mind. He’d been a believer long enough to recognize a divine nudge but still...a friend?
Anna had lived in Castle Falls all her life. She was a respected business owner who served on multiple committees at church and in the community.
Not to mention Liam had tried to be her friend once, and it hadn’t gone so well.
Mom makes jewelry after we go to bed at night.
Chloe’s voice infiltrated Liam’s thoughts.
What was that old saying? Out of the mouths of babes?
He studied Anna’s face and that’s when he saw it. The faint brushstroke of lavender shadows underneath her eyes.
After Rich died, Liam and his brothers had pitched in to help Sunni. They’d taken care of each other.
But who took care of Anna?
Anna’s mother, Nancy, spent the majority of the year in Florida with Anna’s grandmother. And for as long as Liam had lived in Castle Falls, Anna’s father hadn’t been in the picture. For a town with an efficient grapevine, Liam couldn’t even remember anyone mentioning him.
Anna worked long hours, and the muffler of her rust-pocked minivan had a plaintive, rasping cough you could hear a block away.
Another nudge.
This one Liam couldn’t ignore.
All this time he’d assumed Anna didn’t want to spend one minute longer than necessary in his company. But what if she was worried about how much those extra minutes were going to cost? And if she would be the one responsible for paying for them?
“It’s my fault we’re a little off schedule.” Liam strove to keep his tone casual. “If we go over the four hours, consider it a birthday gift from Castle Falls Outfitters.”
The flash of relief in Anna’s eyes told Liam he’d hit the proverbial nail on the head even as she started to protest.
“I can’t let you—”
“Guide,” Liam interrupted, tapping his chest. “Which means you’re stuck here until I decide it’s time to go back.”
The girls, who’d been blatantly eavesdropping on their conversation, exchanged a wide-eyed look.
Liam winked at them. “There’s another fire pit up here, but we’re going to need kindling to get a campfire going. That’s where you two come in.”
“Okay!”
Cassie and Chloe looked so excited Liam had a hunch they would find some way to connect another Sunflower pin to the mission.
“What would you like me to do?” Anna asked.
“Do you see that rock over there?” Liam pointed to a gigantic piece of sun-warmed sandstone embedded in the carpet of moss. “The one that looks like a recliner?”
A smile tugged at the corners of Anna’s lips. “Only Fred Flintstone would look at that and see a recliner.”
“That might be true,” he allowed. “But I want you to go over there, spread out one of those beach towels you brought along and sit down.”
Anna’s russet brows dove together. “Sit down?”
“And relax while the girls and I get a fire going.”
“Relax?”
Liam tamped down a smile. “I’m paraphrasing a little here, but basically the word means ‘take it easy and let someone else do the work for a change.’”
“But—”
“Guide, remember?”
* * *
Liam bent closer, so close his breath feathered against Anna’s ear and sent a shiver rocketing up her spine.
“I’ve got this, Anna.”
“Here, Mom!” Chloe bounded over with Anna’s beach towel, proving her girls didn’t miss a thing. “You can use mine.”
“Thank you, sweetheart.”
Feeling all kinds of self-conscious, Anna trudged over to the rock Liam had pointed out. Slightly bowl shaped with a high back and two slabs the perfect height to rest her arms, it did look a little like a recliner.
It took a minute to spread out the towel and another five to get comfortable. A task made more difficult because she was forced to remain idle while her daughters headed into the grove of trees to search for kindling.
“Cassie, Chloe...don’t go too far,” Anna called out. “Stay where I can see you!”
A shadow suddenly fell across the rock and momentarily blotted out the sun. Liam stood in front of her, holding what had to be the ugliest hat ever to grace the shelf of CJ’s Variety store. It was stained, misshapen and smelled a little like—Anna’s nose twitched—fish.
“It’s pretty bright up here. I thought you might want to cover your eyes.” Without waiting for a response, Liam plunked the hat on her head.
“I can’t see anything.” Anna peered at him through the cloud of mosquito netting that drifted over her face like a pea-green wedding veil.
“It won’t matter because your eyes will be closed.”