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“I don’t know if I’ve seen it, but I’ll take your word for it. That’s not what my grandparents wore, but we don’t have to be matchy-matchy to them.”

A few minutes later, Asher commanded the horses to stop in front of the barn. He jumped out of the carriage and helped Sadie down.

She held up a hand. “Wait. Don’t move.” Then she lifted her phone and snapped a few pictures.

He glanced down at his grubby jeans, navy T-shirt with a tear at the hem, and grimy work boots.

Not exactly GQ.

“What was that for?”

“Posterity.”

He reached over and swiped her phone, still open on the camera app, and flipped it to selfie mode. Then he slipped an arm around her waist, lowered his head so they were both in the frame with Gus and Ginger in the background, and snapped a couple more shots. “There. Now you’re a part of history too.”

She reached up for her phone and her fingers brushed against his. Instead of releasing the device, he pinned her fingers with his. She frowned at him while his eyes skated over her face, taking in the gentle curve of her cheek, the slightest upturn of her nose, and the barest of gloss on her perfect lips.

He released her fingers and slid a hand up her arm until he could curve it around the hollow in her neck. As he stepped closer, her eyes widened and she swallowed.

Behind him, Gus nickered. He nudged Asher’s back, pushing him closer to Sadie. Asher stumbled over his other foot and nearly plowed her over. He caught Sadie before she fell back into a shallow puddle.

She cleared her throat, glanced at the ground, and took a step back, widening the distance between them. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I, uh, should head to the ferry andcheck on Gran.” She lifted a hand, then turned and raced for the fence.

Once she disappeared, Asher turned back to the horses. “Thanks, pal. Way to ruin the moment.”

Even though every inch of Asher was disappointed he hadn’t kissed Sadie, maybe it was for the best. If she knew the truth about him, she’d be running anyway, so no sense in leading her on when there was no hope for a relationship between them.

And that was even more disappointing than the missed kiss.

Chapter Nine

Sadie couldn’t figure out what it was about Asher that seemed so familiar, and it was bugging her.

His refusal to talk about his past did little to assuage the nagging feeling that pricked the back of her neck. What was she missing?

Despite her hesitancy, there was something about Asher that continued to draw her to him. And that was dangerous.

With her feet tucked under her, she sat in Gran’s comfy chair with a knitted blanket tossed over her legs. Rain pattered gently against the roof, lulling her into a state of contentment, especially now that Gran had come home that afternoon and was resting in her own bed.

Sadie lifted her mug and took a sip of hot tea as she continued to thumb through the photos in her camera roll.

The man could be a model.

No doubt about it.

Even the scarring on his neck could be airbrushed, but it didn’t bother her or detract from who he was.

A thump sounded from Gran’s room down the hall.

Sadie set her mug on the side table, tossed the blanket aside, and hurried to the bedroom. She braced the doorway. Gran sat on the edge of her bed. “Gran, you okay?”

“Yes, love. Just trying to get comfortable and knocked into my nightstand. A picture fell to the floor.”

Sadie spied the frame face down on the floor, crossed the room, and picked it up. She ran a finger over her sister’s face, her lips lined with red. “I remember this day. We’d returned from making doughnuts at the bakery. You let Lauren and me frost our own. She chose strawberry and I had lemon.”

Her grandparents, with hair more brown than silver, sat on Gramps’s old glider on the front porch. Dad stood behind them, his hand on Gran’s shoulder, while Mom leaned into him, her cheek resting against his upper arm. Eight-year-old Lauren looped her arms around Gramps’s neck, her blonde hair in two ponytails, while six-year-old Sadie sat on Gran’s lap, head against her chest.

“That was a good day.” Gran sighed as she turned her head toward the window. “We had so many good days as a family.”