49

Cole dropped by Bailey’s on the way to the hospital.

She opened the door with a smile. “Good morning. What are you doing here?”

“Can’t a guy visit his gal just to say he loves her?”

Her cheeks tinged pink. “Always.”

“I do believe you are blushing, Miss Craig.” He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to him. She smelled of sugar and blueberries. “Making pancakes again?”

“Mabel says it’s the last batch of the season. You up for some?”

“I wish I could, but I promised Piper I’d be by. I’m bringing Rori as a surprise.”

Bailey looked past him at the truck. “They let dogs in the hospital?”

He smiled. “Not usually, but Dr. Graham’s making an exception. He delivered Piper, so he’s got a soft spot for her.”

“She’ll love it.”

“Doc says she’ll be home day after tomorrow.”

“That’s great.”

Cole gripped her tighter. “A lot of great things are happening. Piper’s going to be fine, you’re staying in Yancey . . .”

“Well, I think it’s only right I continue in Agnes’s footsteps. I’ve always loved the shop and it’s about time I settled down.”

“Anyone in mind for settling down with?”

“I’ve got a couple ideas.” She smirked.

“Very funny.” He bunched the tie of her sundress in his hand and brought his lips to hers.

She sighed when he pulled back, resting his forehead against hers.

“Definitely bumps you up on the list.”

He kissed her again, long and tantalizingly slow.

From Cole’s truck, Aurora howled.

Bailey giggled. “I think someone’s getting impatient.”

“She’s not the only one.” He checked his watch. “Only seven hours until our first official date.”

“And what do you have planned, Mr. McKenna?”

“That’s a surprise, Miss Craig.”

She lifted onto her tiptoes. “A good surprise?”

He winked. “The best.”

Landon cut the ignition and sat back, exhaling long and low.

Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. What was he expecting? He’d waltz into Piper’s hospital room all jazzed up in his best—well, his only—blazer, with a bouquet of flowers in one hand and a stuffed moose in the other, and . . . what?

He swatted down the visor. “You’re an idiot,” he said to his reflection.

What was he doing? This was Piper. Cole’s baby sister, and he wanted . . . what?

A relationship? The word alone terrified him. Too much time and energy involved. Too much change. Too much risk.

But what did it matter? He was fooling himself. Piper had made it clear how she felt about him—annoying, gruff, lucky to have any woman put up with him.

Piper was hardly any woman. She was kind and intelligent, mischievous and beautiful.

Enough!

He glanced over at Harvey in the passenger seat. “What do you think, boy? Am I crazy?”

The oversized mutt tilted his head.

“Right.” Time to go before the dog started answering him. He grabbed the bouquet off the dash and tucked the goofy moose under his arm. He’d never understand why Piper loved them so.

He’d simply walk in there, say hey as he always did, and let her reaction be his guide.

“Be right back, boy.”

At the elevator, he pressed the Up button and paused at his reflection in the doors—his best buttoned-up shirt, his newest pair of jeans, his blazer, and his unbummiest pair of sneakers, the moose peeking at him from under his arm.

The doors opened, and Peggy got off.

Her step faltered. “Landon.” She nodded with a grin.

“Peggy.”

Great. He not only felt like an idiot, he must look like one too.

He jammed the third-floor button with his thumb and hummed over the elevator tunes.

The doors binged open and out he stepped. Before he could breathe, he was outside Piper’s door, his heart racing.

He steeled himself. He could do this. He got shot at for a living.

He lifted his hand to knock when laughter emanated from her room. Piper’s sweet laugh, followed by . . . a man’s?

“Oh, Denny, you shouldn’t have.”

Denny. Landon gritted his teeth and peered inside.

Piper held an enormous teddy bear on her lap, white with a bright red bow. His gaze shifted to the enormous vase of roses on her nightstand.

He looked down at the sad little moose in his hand and the pathetic bouquet of wild flowers. Who was he kidding?

“The roses are beautiful, but it’s too much,” Piper’s voice trailed out.

“Nothing’s ever too much when it comes to you.” Denny kissed her hand.

Landon’s stomach lurched. He dropped the moose and flowers on the breakfast cart outside her door and turned heel. Piper deserved someone with so much more to offer her. While he didn’t believe that was Denny, it certainly wasn’t him. What had he been thinking, anyway?

He yanked off his jacket and climbed into his truck.

Harvey tilted his head.

“Not a word.”

He revved the engine.

Cole rapped on the window.

This day just kept getting better and better.

“You just see Piper?” he asked.

“Nah. She’s got company.”

“So? You’re family. Why don’t you come back up? I’ve got bagels.” He held up the bag. “And Aurora.” He jiggled the leash, and Aurora leapt up, placing two oversized paws on the windowsill.

Harvey whimpered. “Easy, boy.” At least he wasn’t the only one pining after a McKenna.

“What do you say?”

“Nah. I’ve got a lot to do. Just tell her I said get well.”

“All right.” Cole tugged Aurora back to his side. “You okay, man?”

“Yeah, fine. Just a lot to do.”

“All right. Have a good one.”

“Yep.” Landon reversed and shifted into drive. He glanced at Harvey. “Looks like it’s just you and me.”

Harvey moaned.

That evening, Bailey opened the door to find Cole holding a bouquet of flowers in one hand and a scuba mask in the other.

She laughed. “Well, I can safely say I’ve never seen that combination before.”

“Good. I pride myself on being original.”

She smiled as he tugged her into his arms. “You’re definitely one of a kind.”

“As are you, Miss Craig.”

“I’m afraid to ask, but what do you have planned for tonight?”

“That’s a surprise. You just need a swimsuit. I’ve got the rest taken care of.”

“Okay. I’ll be right back.” She put her suit on under her sundress, her heart racing as she pondered exactly what he had in store.

“Ready?” he asked when she crested the stairs.

“I think so.”

“You sound nervous.”

“Excited,” she corrected.

“Good.” His gaze traveled to her neck, and his smile faltered.

She instinctively touched the locket he’d given her all those years ago.

“You kept it.” Joy gleamed in his eyes.

“It was from you.”

“Can I look yet?” Bailey asked as Cole led her by the hand. He’d made her shut her eyes the minute she climbed into his truck. She’d kept up with the turns he’d made as far as Harbor Lane, but then she’d lost all sense of direction. It was almost as if he’d deliberately taken a circuitous route to throw her off.

“Almost.” His timbre was music to her ears.

The cool grass beneath her feet grew sparser, coarser until velvety sand replaced it. Her toes sunk into the granules, and Cole steadied her.

“A few more feet,” he said, his fingers enveloping hers.

The sun’s warmth still lingered in the sand, and its heat was a nice contrast to the cool ocean breeze riffling through her hair.

The fresh scent of saltwater tickled her nose.

“Okay . . .” Cole slowed to a halt. “Now.”

She opened her eyes and her breath caught. Blue Paradise—where he’d taught her to dive, where he’d given her the locket she now wore around her neck.

“I thought we’d go for a moonlight dip.”

Tears welled in her eyes.

Concern flashed across his handsome face. “If you’d rather do something else . . . I just thought . . .”

She squeezed his hand. “There’s nothing else I’d rather do and no one else I’d rather share it with.”

Pleasure danced in his eyes. “I love you, Bailey.”

“I love you too.” It was the first time she’d told him, and her heart had never felt lighter.

Suiting up, they waded out into the ocean.

The moon shone brightly, its reflection shimmering across the dark surface. The sea was calm—nothing more than gentle waves lapping against the shore. Stars twinkled overhead as they slipped beneath the surface into what felt like a world of their own.

It was amazing to think that little more than a month ago she was living in Oregon with no intention of ever setting foot in Yancey again. Now Yancey was home. She was reopening the Post, volunteering with teen girls at church, and enjoying a phenomenal relationship with the man she loved.

If she hadn’t before, she certainly believed in miracles now.

Two blissful hours later, she stretched out on the beach blanket beside Cole—the sand tickling her feet, the bonfire warming her back. “Are all our dates going to be this magical?” she asked, staring up at the vast canopy of stars glistening overhead.

Cole intertwined his hand with hers. “This,” he said, brushing a kiss across her fingertips, “is just the beginning.”