campfire. “Let me try this again. The three who are standing are Amy, Kerry, and Luis. Rich and Dom are on the bench, and the guy in the blue hoodie is Wayne, your lawyer. I already knew Topher, Colt, and Tina, and the guy in the Brewers hat is…uh…on the tip of my tongue.”
“Ralph. He installed your toilets. You shouldn’t forget his name.”
“You’re right.” She rested her head on his shoulder, thinking for the hundredth time this week that he was the perfect height for her. “This was a good idea. Everyone needed a distraction.”
“Everyone else needed one. I already have mine.”
“Nice to be useful.”
“Oh, you are.” He nuzzled her ear with his nose. “You are definitely useful.”
“Uh-oh. Interruption at two o’clock.”
Tina walked toward them, carrying a folded lawn chair. “We need to go pick up the kids and get them to bed. But first I want a tour of Emily’s house.” She aimed her I-told-you-so grin at Jake. “Can I steal her for a minute?”
Emily yawned. “I think I’m ready to call it a night.” She raised up and kissed the frown off Jake’s lips. “Send them home and get some sleep.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
They were barely out of earshot when Tina whispered, “Well? Is this a kiss-and-run or a kiss-and-stay-forever?”
“It’s not a kiss-and-run. I don’t know about forever yet.”
“But you want it to be, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“I knew it.”
Emily tuned in and out of Tina’s monologue about how she knew Colt was “the one.” The reverie continued until Emily opened the front door and turned on the new overhead lights. Tina let out a respectable gasp. “It’s amazing. So new, and yet you kept all the old feel.”
“Thank you. That could have been the tagline on my spec sheets, but with Dorothy buying it…”
Wide brown eyes flashed at her. “You’re still selling? Only if you and Jake don’t work out, right?”
“No. I mean yes, I’m still selling. If Jake and I…we’ll figure it out if that time comes.”
Tina’s long-legged strides loped through the dining room and into the kitchen where she continued to gush, not just about the house, but about how perfect it would be for a family of four. She headed for the stairs. “How could this not be your destiny, girl? Four bedrooms. One for Adam, one for Alexis, one for you and Kiss-and-Stay, and a nursery for the cute babies you guys will have.” Tina rubbed her bulging belly. “They’ll be buds.”
Happy place. She thought of Jake’s nose on her ear, his whispers sending chills skittering up her back. She had more happy thoughts than she’d ever need. She flipped on the bathroom light switch. “Jake said he found this light fixture in your barn.”
Tina squealed. “That used to be in my grandma’s dining room! See? It’s a sign. If you keep the house, I can come sit in your bathroom and feel like I’m having Thanksgiving dinner with Gramsy.”
The heart-stab from the nursery comment dissipated. Laughter was the only option. “If I were staying here, I’d keep a gravy boat on the counter just to make you feel at home.”
Tina’s eyes grew uncharacteristically serious. “Walk me back.”
She had no idea what possessed her to agree. Tina was silent until they crossed the street.
“Jake won’t ditch you. You know that, don’t you?”
She’d shared almost nothing of her past with Tina. Was it that obvious?
“Maybe I’m wrong, and it’s none of my business, but if you’re holding back because you think he’s going to dump you, you’re dead wrong.” They reached the redbrick house. Colt sat in the car in front. Tina gestured to the side of the house. “Now go get one more good-night kiss.” With a quick hug, she sprinted toward the car.
Emily was a step from the backyard when she heard her name mentioned. She stepped back and crouched close to the edge of the house.
“…did what I told you.” The lawyer’s courtroom voice carried around the corner. “You tell them you’re getting married and you’ve got a major leg up over Madsen. I’m telling you, man, she’s your lottery ticket. With Emily in your pocket you got this sewed…”
The last thing she heard before she ran was Jake’s laugh.
November 2, 1852
“Must I come?” Hannah offered Papa a spoon of cooling apple Betty.
Papa shook his head. “It would look odd if you didn’t accompany me.” He slipped one arm into the frock coat he wore only for church or business, or supper with cousins he’d rather not see. “We cannot be guided by fear, Hannah.”
Her