Chapter 1

1

T he constant hum of the sewing machine was music to Elsie Sweet’s ears. Its steady vibration shook her hands, and her heart swelled at the pleasure of feeding fabric into the old, trusty Singer to create something beautiful out of something old and discarded.

Heck, she’d been lucky to make a career finding treasure out of things most people didn’t want to mess with.

Her fingers ached as she finished the hem of a black pencil skirt. A donation that needed altered then taken to Safe Haven Women’s Shelter, not a piece of clothing to stay in her secondhand store, Sweet Repeats. She studied her work and, satisfied, set it on the floral armchair beside her.

Not like she could see many of the colorful blooms snaking up the light gray fabric. A mismatched variety of clothing was close to toppling off the back of the chair. Time to take a break, bag up the clothes, and figure out when she could deliver them to the shelter. Then she could focus on her actual business for a while before closing time.

She sighed and studied the mess waiting for her attention. Her distressed, vintage desk was buried under boxes overflowing with knick-knacks and accessories. Bolts of fabric leaned against her dusty pink walls and a subtle, tangy scent reminded her a half-eaten yogurt waited to be thrown away.

“Knock, knock!” The sing-song voice of her roommate, Mila Kinsley, turned her head toward the doorway. Her blond hair was pulled into a tight ponytail with a bright red head scarf and her fair skin was make-up free. Yellow smiley faces dotted her pale blue scrubs.

A tiny tornado of energy ran past Mila and into the office. Jimmy, Mila’s six-year-old son, flung his arms wide as he bounced up and down in front her. His blond hair and cornflower blue eyes mimicked his mother’s, his grin always filled with mischief. “Elsie, I’m finally here!”

Elsie struggled to keep her expression serious as she shifted on her chair to face Jimmy. The little boy had lived with her since the day he’d come home from the hospital, and she couldn’t love him more if she’d given birth to him herself. “I see that. Are you ready to work?”

He gave one big nod.

Mila grinned from her spot in the doorway. “Really? You could have fooled me when you argued about putting away your clothes before we left.”

Jimmy dropped his big eyes to the floor. “Sorry, Mama.”

Elsie tucked her thumb under his chin and lifted his eyes to hers. “You promise to listen to your mama next time?”

“Yes.”

“And help me at the store until it’s time to leave?”

A tiny smile slipped through his forlorn expression. “Yes,” he said again.

“Good, because I need a lot of help.” Elsie stood and grabbed the skirt she’d finished altering. “Can you run out and give this to Amy? She’ll know where to put it.”

Jimmy gave her a big hug, grabbed the skirt, then dashed out of the room.

Mila chuckled. “If only he was so passionate about putting his own stuff where I tell him, but he’s just so darn cute I’ll cut him some slack.”

“He’s six. He does a good enough job. I just wish I checked his hands to make sure they weren’t dirty before handing over a piece of clothing.”

“He finished some chocolate in the car,” Mila said, wincing. “You might want to check the skirt before you put it on the sales floor.”

Elsie made a mental note to double-check the skirt then stacked the rest of the tailored items from the chair over the crook of her arm. “That one goes to the shelter. I think I’ve gathered enough items for the event next week.”

She’d worked for months to promote her latest project to collect interview-worthy outfits for women in the community. Although Mrs. Collins, the owner of the shelter, agreed to let her use the little free store she’d established at the shelter for women staying there, this event was community wide. All women were welcome to stop by and browse the carefully cultivated selection to help them look, and feel, their best for upcoming interviews.

“Oh, that reminds me,” Mila said. “I have a bunch of clothes I found in the back of my closet. I put them in a garment bag and laid them across my bed for you.”

“Thanks. I’ll grab them when I get home tonight.”

“Try and wait up for me, will you?” Mila asked. “I’m craving a glass of wine and some good girl time. It’s been too long since we’ve shared both.”

“Everything all right?” Elsie studied her friend. It was true, even though they lived together, they seldom spent much time catching up on each other’s lives or talking about anything beyond Jimmy. Life was busy, and Mila often picked up extra shifts as a home health aide. Elsie never minded contributing toward extra expenses related to the boy she loved so much, but Mila hated asking for money.

“Just miss my best friend. Plus, I need to know how Dean’s doing these days.” Mila widened her eyes, attempting unsuccessfully to appear innocent in her not-so-subtle digging.

Elsie rolled her eyes. “Dean is a friend and nothing more. An acquaintance, really. That’s all.”

“That’s not what Jimmy says.” Mila wiggled her eyebrows and grinned as mischievously as her son. “He gushes about Dean anytime you take him to Jenna’s to play with Oliver and Dean is there, which seems to be more often than not.”

A quick thrill rushed through Elsie’s core, even if it was ridiculous to assume more than a casual friendship with Dean Kingston. “Well, Dean shares Cal’s home office, so yes, he’s there. Besides, Jimmy’s so enamored with Dean’s dog, there’s stars in his eyes that would make him imagine all sorts of things.”

“And I’m sure there’s no other reason for taking Jimmy to Jenna’s place tonight than an innocent play date, right?”

Elsie planted her fists on her hips. “Do you think I’m pimping out your son so I can maybe see a handsome man? You don’t know me at all.”

Mila let out a hoot of laughter. “Honey, we’ve been friends our entire lives. I know you all too well, which is why I want that wine and girl talk tonight. I’m hoping you’ll have something more interesting to share than how Jimmy and his friend rolled trucks around on an endless track.”

“Don’t set your expectations too high. It’s been a long time since I’ve had interesting news to share about anyone from the opposite sex.”

“You and me both,” Mila said with a wink. “Thanks again for watching Jimmy for me. I’ll see you tonight.”

Elsie was too bogged down with a mountain of clothing to wave before her friend disappeared into the hallway. She sighed, wishing for a moment she’d have better gossip to share with her friend when the time came. But life had taken her down a different path.

One with good friends, a job she loved, and a hopeless crush on a man who’d always be beyond her reach.

Dean sat in a leather bucket seat across from his best friend and business partner, Calvin Spradling. He bounced a tennis ball against the hardwood floor while Calvin finished telling him about his latest case. He’d joined Calvin’s private investigator business the year before when he’d moved back to his hometown of Water’s Edge, Tennessee, with a broken heart and no job.

Since there’d been no openings in local law enforcement, joining forces with Calvin had made sense. An opportunity he’d always be grateful for, especially with how much he’d grown to love working in the private sector. Not to mention how much he enjoyed spending his days with his high school buddy, with his dog Boo usually at his side.

Calvin sat behind the large mahogany desk in his home office. Books lined the built-in shelves at his back, and the fading evening sun sent muted streams of light through the lone window. “Will you throw that damn thing already? Your dog’s about to jump out of his skin.”

Boo, Dean’s giant German Shepherd, stared at him with big brown eyes. He sat on his haunches and his skin twitched with anticipation.

“You sure you want him running after this thing in here?” He bounced the ball again, and Boo’s head nodded along with the motion. “He’s a moose. Might knock off every book in that shelf if he runs into it.”

“Then don’t throw it far.” Calvin ran a hand through his short, dark hair.

“Not that far to throw it. Space is a little tight, don’t ya think?” Dean tossed the ball high in the air then leaned back in his chair, hooking his ankle over his jean-clad knee.

Boo leapt up and snapped open his jaw, catching the ball then trotting to Dean’s side and laying on the floor.

“Good boy,” Dean said, rubbing a palm over his head.

“Like I was saying, we can close the Peterman case.” Calvin ignored his quip about the cramped office. “How are you doing on the Gilbert file?”

Dean winced and scratched the shallow dent in his chin. “Found the husband. He was holed up a couple towns over with his mistress. Not the news Mrs. Gilbert wanted, but we both know she wasn’t surprised.”

Telling the young wife about her husband’s infidelity had soured his stomach, the sensation still lingering hours later. The way the hopeful gleam in her eye had transformed to anger and sadness would haunt him tonight.

Remind him of his own feelings of betrayal when his wife had left him for another man.

But he’d moved on and his life was beginning again at the ripe old age of thirty-one. If he could put all his baggage in the rearview mirror, so could the young woman he’d spoken with earlier.

“Bastard,” Calvin muttered.

“Agreed, but we can’t all be as lucky as you and Jenna.”

Calvin snorted. “I’m not sure you can call the path Jenna and I took to get back into each other’s lives lucky.”

“True,” Dean said. “More like you’re a lucky sonofabitch Jenna would marry you and give you a beautiful family.”

Calvin grinned. “Now that I can agree with.”

The sourness in Dean’s stomach intensified. He’d wanted a family with Gina. Hell, he’d thought they were actively trying to have a baby until she’d blindsided him. Maybe he hadn’t moved beyond his baggage as much as he’d thought.

The squeak of the front door opening perked Boo’s ears. He lifted his head, and the ball dropped from his now open mouth.

“Jenna and Oliver home?” Dean asked.

Calvin glanced at his smartwatch. “Should be. She and Elsie were taking the boys to the park then heading this way with pizza.”

Straightening, he dropped his foot to the floor. “Elsie’s here?”

“Should be,” Calvin echoed and grinned.

The sound of giggling and of footsteps pattering down the hallway announced the two little boys before they burst into the office. Jenna and Calvin’s son, Oliver, ran to Calvin and jumped into his lap while Jimmy dropped next to Boo and threw his arms around his furry neck.

Calvin snuggled Oliver close. “Hey, buddy. Did you have fun at the park?”

Oliver nodded and his dark hair bounced with the motion. He’d grown taller in the time Dean had known him, the roundness of his baby cheeks softening and making him look much older than three. “Yep. We played ball.”

Jimmy settled on the floor beside Boo with his feet tucked under him. “Basketball,” he clarified. “And Aunt Elsie pushed us on the swings. Then we played tag. Aunt Elsie and Jenna didn’t want to chase us though.”

Dean couldn’t help but smile at the excitement that poured from every word. “Hope you two munchkins tired yourselves out.”

“You and me both.”

Elsie’s silky voice turned Dean toward the doorway and his heart leapt into his throat. She’d tossed her auburn hair into a messy bun and her long-sleeved shirt was just fitted enough to show off every curve.

“But I have a feeling they both have enough energy left in the tank to scarf down pizza and get some more playtime in,” Elsie continued. “You guys hungry? We brought enough food to feed a baseball team.”

“We were just finishing up for the day,” Calvin said. “Unless Dean wants to talk about opening an office downtown. I understand it’s crowded in here. Not to mention all the chaos that comes along with it.” As if to emphasize his point, Calvin tickled Oliver’s sides until he erupted into laughter.

Watching his best friend become a father was the coolest thing, even if it gave him a tiny twinge of jealousy. He glanced at Elsie from the corner of his eye, his chest tightening as she crouched beside Jimmy and Boo. She was like a second mother to the little boy, her kind heart and gentle soul at center stage whenever he saw them together.

Catching snippets of time with Elsie when she stopped by the house to see Jenna had rekindled a desire of things he thought he’d lost. Had shown him the type of future he wanted, and the kind of woman he wanted to spend that future with.

He wanted a woman to love. One he could trust to keep her word and love him back forever—to give him the family he always wanted.

Memories jolted him back to reality. He’d thought he’d found that forever love and had trusted his ex-wife with his entire being only to be burned. He’d be a fool to think another relationship would end any differently.

Clearing his throat, he pressed his lips in a thin line and dipped his chin. “An office downtown would be less distracting and better for everyone. We should find out if there are any available spaces. For now, I need to get Boo home but thanks for the pizza offer.”

He tried not to overthink the flash of disappointment on Elsie’s face as he stood, called Boo to his side, and walked away from the cozy scene and the woman who could break his heart all over again.