Page 3

“And when he called your brother to say he was in town, I invited Brody to stay here at the house.” Gran reached out an arm and moved toward Brody, tucking herself in at his side. She gazed up at him, the apples of her cheeks glowing. She’d always had a soft spot for my brother’s best friend. Most of the town did.

“A visit?” I cringed at the high pitch of my voice.

“Yes, and I would’ve told you, Ro, but you were at Eve’s, and you had your phone switched off.” Gran flicked her brows skyward.

Guilty as charged. My phone being off was probably for the best. If I’d learned Brody was here, I would’ve camped at Eve’s until he left.

He was fresh out of rehab. Everybody knew that. A leg injury took him out of the game for months. He was due back to histeam soon to start the new season. But, if that was the case, what was he doing in Tuft Swallow? He should be training, not taking a holiday.

I wrung my hands. “And you’ll be staying here? Not the Owls Inn? You know they did a renovation recently to get rid of the damp. The rooms are beautiful, and they’ve added a gym. I think you’d like it.”

Gran tutted. “Rowena Swan, he’ll do no such thing.”

My heart plummeted. I could kiss goodbye any peace of mind or wholesome thoughts then.

“Brody will stay with us.” She patted him on his chest. “I’ve set him up in the den. He doesn’t have anyone in town anymore, so we’re the nearest thing he has to family.”

I stifled a sigh. She was probably right. But it brought little comfort knowing that the only man I’d ever loved would be sleeping under the same roof as me.

“But the couch in there is terrible. Lumpy. And what about the gophers? I think I heard them in the walls last week. They’ll keep him awake.”

Coop huffed a flat laugh. “We don’t have gophers. If you’re so worried about his comfort, how about you offer Brodyyourbed? You can move into the den instead.”

No. Just no. I shook my head. There was no way I’d have him poking around in my room. What if he found the scrapbook I’d kept of him when I was a kid? Stumbled across my old diaries and the countless entries I’d written about him. I sighed. “The den will be fine, I guess.”

“Brody is staying with us, and that’s that,” said Gran.

“I do really appreciate it, Mrs. Swan,” Brody said, dipping his head to kiss the top of Gran’s.

“Call me Maggie. You’re all grown up now.”

If I remembered correctly, the last time I saw Brody, he’d already grown up.

“Do you know how long you’ll stay?” I asked, my gaze traveling to meet him.

A look crossed his face like a cloud moving over the sun. “I’m not sure yet. It could be a week. Maybe more.”

My body sagged. I could survive for a few days. A week at the absolute max, but anything longer would be sheer torture. While Brody was in town, staying in my house, I needed to keep as far away from him as possible. But knowing my luck, he’d move in permanently. Add his name to the mailbox and buy his own pipe and slippers. And worst of all, run ragged over my heart for a second time.

2

RO

Each step up to bed dragged on as if I were marching up Everest. It was as if all the years of heartache and regret since Brody left town were strapped to my back, and I was running out of oxygen.

How had the evening gone so awry? All I wanted to do was snack on some eggs before showering and hitting the sack. But then, the one man who could turn me inside out sauntered up in the dark and whispered, “Hello, Ro.”

Brody had been a permanent presence in my house for as long as I could remember. Ever since the third grade, he and Coop were inseparable. As the youngest in the family, I’d hero-worshiped him just as much as I did my brother. If not more, because Brody shined the brightest. He took all the dares, pulled the best pranks, and laughed the hardest. Even though he was only four years older than me, he probably viewed me as nothing more than an irritation, always trailing him and my brother around town. But when he’d grin at me, call me “small fry,” and gently pull my braids, I’d adore him all the more for it.

The boys in town used to call him “The Chosen One.” “The Golden Boy of Tuft Swallow.” And I believed it too, trekking outto Robin Springs with my brothers to watch his hockey games. As he carved up the county’s only ice rink, he was a god in my eyes.

I reached the top of the stairs, then turned into the landing, stopping to run my fingers over one crispy leaf on Mom’s favorite peace lily. It stood on the side table, constantly reminding me she wasn’t around anymore. I didn’t inherit her green thumb, but I'd kept the plant alive in the seven years since she passed away. Just. I’d given it some water this morning, but it struck me as poetic. Maybe I was the parched leaf, and Brody’s arrival in town would bringmeback to life. Or drown me.

I sucked on my lips and dismissed the notion. Why did Brody always turn my thoughts all melodramatic? He didn’t know the hours I’d spent mooning over him. The times I’d replayed our old conversations in my head. And besides, I was doing just fine without him, wasn’t I? I huffed a bitter laugh. More like I was trying to convince myself. Trying to trick myself into believing I hadn’t walked around town for the last five years with a Brody-shaped hole in my heart.

When I was little, I’d seen him as another brother. Like Gran said—family. But as I got older, things became awkward between us. Like I just woke up one day, and his smile suddenly could make my stomach flip like a pancake. He was the only boy in town who wielded that superpower over me. Only he could make me feel all tingly and giggly inside.

And whenever Brody threw his drop-dead grin my way, I’d held the secret feeling close to my heart. Nobody knew, not even Eve.