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Nova Cambridge was a small university town four miles from the entrance to The Sanctuary. There were only a few shops, two

gas stations, a grocery store, a coffee shop, and a few other places that catered to the students at Tupelo Grove University.

It had seemed a safe and perfect place to live, and never once had Paradise sensed danger lurking anywhere. Her life had been

idyllic until the terrible night her parents were murdered.

Blake drove slowly through town, past the old hotel that had been converted to shops and businesses. The building’s lights

and antique streetlamps showed people sitting at tables and chairs on the large front porch of the former hotel. She read

the lit sign over the door. “University Grounds. Coffee shop?”

“It’s got great coffee. Cider and beignets too. Want to stop?”

“Not just yet.”

She didn’t have to direct Blake since he’d grown up here in a different neighborhood from her parents’ home. He was a year ahead of her in grade school, but when she was placed in foster care with his next-door neighbors, he’d started looking out for her. She’d idolized him, and when she was fourteen, he’d started to notice her in a different way.

Their path to the old neighborhood took them past Tupelo Grove University. Tupelo trees marched in rows along the brick paths,

and she spotted the little pond she used to love. The stately old buildings had decayed some since she lived here. “Seems

a little worse for the wear.”

“New management is working on increasing enrollment and adding new classes.”

It felt right to be here with him tonight. Back when they’d dated there was no coffee shop, and they would cruise the dark

streets talking for hours. Sometimes they’d make the trip to Pelican Harbor and buy beignets to eat as they walked past the

shimmering waves of Bon Secour Bay. It seemed a lifetime ago and yet just yesterday. Did he ever think about those times?

She studied the line of his jaw and the strong column of his neck. If she had more courage, she’d ask why he never married.

It didn’t matter though—their time had come and gone. And maybe it wouldn’t have lasted anyway. They’d been kids, young and

in love, but still kids with a lot to learn.

“We should have gotten beignets when we were in Pelican Harbor. Petit Charms is just as good as ever. The boys beg me to buy

them anytime I head to town. When I get back, they’ll ask for them.”

“We could stop at University Grounds and get them some. Or is it Petit Charms or bust for them?”

“They aren’t picky. I’ll grab some on the way out.”

Did he ever regret giving up his career to help his mom? Knowing Blake, she would bet his decision wasn’t something he’d had to think about. Even as a teenager he’d been selfless and had always tried to help his mom. Jenna had raised a fine son, and Paradise already saw the signs the other two boys would turn out as well as Blake.

“How’d you manage to finance college and vet school?” Blake asked.

She tensed at the thought of more revelations. “Mr. Gibson paid for it as long as I promised not to press charges against

his son.”

“The father of the guy who raped you?”

She clenched her hands together and nodded. It wasn’t something she was proud of as it smacked of blackmail.

He touched her hand. “I’m sorry. I can tell it’s all still very painful.”

“Dragging the case into court would have been agony, but maybe I shouldn’t have taken the easy way out. What if Scott did

it again? The thought has haunted me all this time.”

“There wouldn’t have been good answers back then. At least you did something with your life. You didn’t let it define you.”

“It has though.” She hugged herself and still couldn’t look at him. “I don’t like to be touched.”

“I’ve noticed.”

“The boys are helping me get over it. And you.” She dared a peek at his expression at her admission. His blue eyes held a

warmth and tenderness she hadn’t seen in so long. The intensity made her uncomfortable.

The moon came out from behind a cloud, and the light touched the trees with a silvery glimmer. A memory slammed into her out

of nowhere. A glimmer of moonlight slanting through her bedroom window followed by a scream. She’d bolted upright when the

scream pealed again. Her mother’s.

“Paradise?” Blake stopped the truck in the middle of the quiet street.

She shook off the terror of the memory and swallowed hard. “I—I remembered something. I heard my mom scream that night. There was a loud thump too, and I was too scared to move for a few seconds, then I slid off the bed and hid under it. Steps went past my door, and when they proceeded down the hall, I crawled out from under my bed and hid in the closet.”

“Do you remember anything else? A voice maybe? Did someone come into your room?”

The moisture in her mouth dried up, and she shook her head. He reached over and took her hand, and she let him. The physical

touch grounded her. She was fine—it was a memory, nothing more. No one was lurking in the darker shadows under the tupelo

trees.

She finally found her voice. “I’m okay. You can drive on.”

His hand squeezed hers one last time before he placed it back on the steering wheel. She glanced at him from the corner of

her eye as he drove down the road. Her former home was lit up, and light streamed from nearly every window. She spotted the

little girl she’d seen the day she arrived in town. A television flickered across the room, and the child sat entranced. Paradise

remembered evenings like this one. Her mom and dad had often watched a kids’ movie with her, or they would play Go Fish or

a board game.

Her vision blurred, and she didn’t realize she was crying until Blake parked along the road and slid across the bench seat

to slip his arm around her. She buried her face in his chest and sobbed for the life that had once been and would never come

again.

***

Paradise would think he was a total slob. Blake glanced around the tiny space above the garage and tried to see it through her eyes. A couple of books on fly-fishing lay open on the sofa, and his fishing rod, tackle box, and waders occupied too much space in the corner behind the brown tweed sofa. A distinctly fishy odor permeated the air too.

He grabbed up his fishing gear. “I’ll stash this stuff somewhere else, and you can air out the room. Mom changed the sheets,

but she didn’t get a chance to clear out my belongings. Give me fifteen minutes to grab it all.”

She didn’t seem perturbed at the state of the place. “I’ll help. I hate taking your apartment. Are you sure there isn’t another

cottage available?”

“Everything else is occupied.”

“This is occupied too. Where are you going to stay?”

“I’ll be in the main house. Mom has it all planned out.” He didn’t mention he’d likely be bunking with one of his brothers.

“I’m used to being in a barracks, so I can sleep anywhere. It won’t be much of an adjustment for me.”

“I appreciate it.”

Though she didn’t mention it, he knew she had no real choice. The Sanctuary didn’t have the funds to increase her salary,

and she wouldn’t be able to pay rent with what they could pay. Now that they’d talked, he understood why she’d taken the shoestring

wage they could afford.

She headed to the closet and began to pull out boxes. “I’ll start with these.”

He whipped around. “No, I’ll get those. Some of them are heavy.” And personal.

Before he could move her out of the way, one of the boxes tilted and slid off the top of the other one in her hands. The top opened, and the contents spilled onto the floorboards. Blake froze as everything he’d hoped to hide from her rolled into view. The set of Harry Potter novels she’d given him for Christmas that last year peeked out the top of the box along with the other items he’d kept all these years.

She dropped to her knees and tugged the books the rest of the way out of the box, then lifted out the other items. The snow

globe she’d given him for Christmas the first year, notes she’d written him in class, tickets to the school play when he’d

kissed her for the first time. All the memories he sometimes pulled out with regret lay exposed in a pathetic little pile.

If she didn’t already think he was a total loser, she would now.

Her guarded expression dropped away. Her amber eyes held the old softness he hadn’t spotted in years. This wasn’t the time

to air old feelings. But were those feelings gone, or had they just moved underground?

His face burned as he knelt and began to toss the items back into the box. “This stuff has been stored up here forever. I’ll

take care of clearing out the closet if you want to pack up my books in the bookcase.”

Her fingers brushed his hand as she took the globe from him. “You still have this. My dad gave it to me when I was a kid.

I’d forgotten I gave it to you.” She shook it and the white snow swirled down on the boy and girl skating by a red barn and

a two-story farmhouse. “His parents gave it to him when he was ten. He always said it reminded him of growing up in Indiana.

My grandparents lived on a farm like this.”

“I remember. You should take it back.”

“I wanted you to have it.”

“But your mementos burned up. It’s a piece of your dad.” He pressed it into her hand. “Please take it, Paradise.”

She hesitated before her fingers closed around it. “It might help me remember.” She turned back to the items in the box and picked up the ticket stubs for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows . Her eyes went misty.

Did she remember their first kiss as vividly as he did? He cleared the huskiness from his throat. “I reread the series sometimes.”

He stuffed more things in the box while she continued to examine other items. If he got it all out of view, maybe she wouldn’t

realize he’d kept every one of the notes she ever sent him.

She held up the Angry Birds plushie. “You hated this thing. I can’t believe you kept it.”

And it was better if she didn’t know how many memories he’d packed in this box. He plucked it from her hand and caught a whiff

of the plumeria scent she wore even back then. The fragrance heightened the tightness in his chest. He tossed the plushie

in the box, then closed the lid. He doubted she’d even kept the class ring he’d given her while he’d treasured every minute

he spent with her. It had been a waste of time and energy pining for someone who hated him.

And he couldn’t blame her for the way she felt.