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“Sounds like something from an old black and white western.”

He grinned and took a second to take in the way her laughter lit up her blue eyes. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Gus and Ginger pulled the carriage down the road past Hetty’s cottage and rounded the corner toward the state park. Asher let them plod, not in any hurry, especially with Sadie at his side and occasionally brushing against him as they bumped over a rut. He wanted to be sure the horses could handle the vintage wagon without any difficulty.

Sadie leaned back in the seat and lifted her face to the sun. “It’s so beautiful out here. I can’t imagine why anyone would want to leave.”

He glanced at her again. “Does that mean you’re planning to stick around after the festival?”

She lifted a shoulder. “Depends.”

“On?”

“What I can figure out to do with my life.”

“If money was no object, what would you like to do? No overthinking. Tell me the first thing that pops into your head.”

Sadie started to speak, then shook her head. “Nope. We always talk about me. This time, it’s your turn. What brought you to the island?”

Asher blew out a breath and ran a hand over his face. More than anything he wanted to spill the secrets of his past, but if he did, he could almost guarantee she’d hop off the carriage and sprint all the way back to Hetty’s.

Keep it simple.

“I was going through a tough time, and my aunt and uncle gave me a safe place to land.”

“I’m sorry about the tough time.” She sat quietly for a moment. “I heard you refer to the caller on your phone as Mom. Your parents are still alive, I take it?”

“Yes, very much so. My dad has a construction business outside of Flint, and my mom is his office manager. They’ve been married for thirty-five years. To be honest, I’m surprised. I don’t know how she puts up with him.” As soon as the words left his mouth, Asher wanted to snatch them back.

“Him being your dad?”

He nodded.

“You guys don’t get along?”

“We had a falling out nearly fifteen years ago when I didn’t want to go into the family business after high school. Eventhough I worked with him during summers while in school, I didn’t want to follow in the family footsteps. Since then, things have been…tense, with Mom caught in the middle.”

“What did you want to do?”

Her questions were nothing more than conversation, but the more he shared and the more she knew, the closer they would become. Asher really needed to fight harder to keep his distance.

He shrugged. “Not construction.”

She made a sound next to him, and he glanced at her. “What was that?”

“For someone who doesn’t want to do construction, you’re pretty great at it.”

“I pick things up quickly. Always have.”

“That day in Gran’s garage, you mentioned a sister. Do you get along with her?”

“Abi? Yeah, she’s great. She teaches preschool in the same town where we grew up.” He pulled gently on the reins and turned Gus and Ginger back toward the ranch. “I’m happy with the way they’ve handled the carriage. Now I’m even more encouraged to offer a tour or two during the festival.”

“Dani will love that, especially when we tell her about the period costumes. Speaking of which, we need to order those right away so they’ll be here in time.” She pulled out her phone and typed something in the search bar, then lifted the screen to him. “I’ve been thinking about what you said since last night. What do you think about something like this?”

Asher took her phone and glanced at a woman wearing a mint-green dress and a man dressed in decorative threads, complete with a morning coat. “Looks pretty fancy to me.”

“The outfits were worn during the early 1900s—the Edwardian era. Reminds me of that Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour movie,Somewhere in Time, set on Mackinac Island.”