Chapter 1

one

I t was time, beyond time, to leave Heritage, Michigan, and return to Costa Rica—if only David Williams could convince his directors at Christ in the World Mission that he was ready.

To be needed.

To help people.

To go.

Instead, David was stuck in a tiny town, practically trapped in his late grandparents' old farmhouse. His only use? Fulfilling his sisters' designs to turn this place into an Airbnb.

The cool August breeze whispered over his skin as David worked at a makeshift table, a couple of sawhorses for his miter saw, in the driveway of the old farmhouse.

Gravel crunched under tire wheels, but he didn't need a distraction now.

"Still working I see." Nate Williams, his cousin, walked across the gravel driveway.

David set the board aside. "These are the last shelves I need to cut to finish up the built-in."

Picking up one of the freshly cut boards, Nate nodded to the front door. David grabbed the remaining two pieces on the saw, checked to make sure the power was off, and followed Nate toward the front door.

"Heard anything from Lance?" Nate pushed through the door of the old, two-story farmhouse and tossed his keys on the table.

David set the boards against the new built-in he'd constructed in his grandparents' living room. "Do you know what they decided?"

"I sent off my recommendation yesterday via email, but I'm not part of the meeting today."

David tried to hold back a wince. He had hoped Nate was part of it. After all, it could only help to have his cousin and pastor of the local church on his side. But maybe the letter from Nate would be enough to convince the board he was well enough to return to his job as a teacher for the children of missionaries in Costa Rica.

Nate ran his hand along the last set of shelves David had installed. "This looks good."

David grunted a thanks. The shelves did look good. Especially as a backdrop to the two couches and coffee table that his sisters had ordered. They called it "farmhouse chic"—whatever that was. All he knew was that it was the last project his sisters wanted before they listed the place as an Airbnb. Of course, they couldn't do that until after he returned to Costa Rica. Who knew how many people would want to come vacation in Heritage?

The clock chimed the bottom of the hour. The day was ticking past him at a snail's pace. With the offices closed for Labor Day, surely the director wouldn't make him wait until Tuesday for an answer, or would he?

David picked up his cordless drill on the coffee table then pulled a couple of wood screws out of his carpenter's belt— he was almost out of them. Hopefully he had enough to finish installing the shelves.

David measured and marked where the shelf would go, and Nate stepped closer, taking the shelf and pressing it against the wall. Then he picked up the level and set it on top. "Are you sure you're ready to leave all this behind and return to Costa Rica? Your sisters have enjoyed having you here these past six months."

David adjusted the shelf and checked the level. "School is starting next week. I really wanted to be back before this new year began. Besides, I haven't seen them much. They're busy with their own lives." Leah with her new baby, and Caroline had her hands full with two girls and another baby on the way.

David lined up the screw in the predrilled hole then lifted the drill. When his hand started to shake, he lowered it as his gaze shot to Nate. The guy's stare fixed on the wall—at least he hadn't seen. He drew a slow breath and stretched his fingers then tried again. This time he connected with the screw. David slipped his hand into his belt for more screws and pulled out the last three. Just his luck. Short three screws for the final shelf. "I'm gonna need to run and pick up more screws to finish these last few shelves."

"You should have messaged. I could have stopped at Hoover's on my way over."

Hoover's. The local hardware store—the one he'd turned his back on all those years ago. No way could he shop there now. It would be easier to drive to Ludington.

"I'll run to Lowe's." David looked at the time. Three forty-five. "But I'd like to be here when that call from Lance comes in. I hate talking and driving."

"You don't have to continue to hide out here." Nate walked into the kitchen and filled a glass of water at the sink.

Hiding hadn't crossed his mind. But he liked to keep the past in the past.

David followed, pulling out a root beer from the fridge. He opened the top, and the pop fizzed before he took a long drink, taking his time to respond to Nate. They'd had this conversation a few times now. "I get out. Talk to people when I do."

"You've been home six months, and you've hardly left the house."

"I've counted every day I've been here. That's why I need to get back." David picked up his wallet and keys to his grandpa's Subaru Brat and walked to the front door.

Nate, close behind, grabbed his own keys off the table by the door as he followed David outside. "If you're eager to get back to work, you could do that here. You could be out in the community. There are people here that need encouragement. For example, would it be hard to run to Hoover's Hardware? It would certainly take less time. How hard could it be to say hi to Gary?"

Gary wasn't the problem. It was Sadie. But if she was in town, Caroline or Leah would have mentioned it. They'd certainly told him when Sadie had moved away. He hadn't believed them, because for as long as they'd dated, her dream had been to take over the family business. It had become their dream. Proof that dreams changed.

Still, David had managed to go all summer without going to Hoover's. Why change that today? Heading there might dig up memories best forgotten. Memories he worked hard to keep buried.

Once they were on the porch, Nate's phone pinged.

His cousin pulled it out then shook his head as he typed out a quick message. "I've gotta go. Church duty calls."

Nate hurried to his motorcycle and buckled his helmet in place before heading back toward town.

The sun beat down on David, the temperatures hinting of the changing leaves and the cooler weather sure to come. He checked his watch. Three fifty-one. Gary Hoover had always closed the hardware store at five back in the day. If that was still the case, David could be there and back in under thirty minutes. Maybe Nate had a point. He could easily pop in and say hi, get what he needed, and be home. Bonus, it wouldn't take as much time as traveling to Ludington.

Almost ten years had passed since David had spoken to Gary in person.When David and Sadie had broken up, he assumed Gary would disappear from his life. But Gary hadn't. Just like a true father, he'd stayed in contact, even sending monthly support.

David drove into the city center of Heritage. Otis, the bronze hippo that moved around the town square, sat in front of the new ballet studio, almost like he enjoyed the fresh entertainment. Never able to figure out how Otis moved, David accepted the lovable town oddity.

David stopped at the intersection of Second and Teft. No matter how many times he pulled into town, the updated square surprised him. Long gone was the Manor and the row of condemned houses. An old schoolhouse had been renovated and turned into the library. It sat on one corner with a gazebo in the middle. A playground filled the southern part of the square. Maybe his sisters weren't too far off base with the Airbnb idea. The town did hold a certain small-town charm.

Up on his right, the diner's front window sparkled in the afternoon sun, and directly in front of him a huge banner hung over the street advertising their 150 th town anniversary in October.

David continued through the intersection down Second Street until he found a parking spot along the square and cut the engine. The shop sat on the corner of Richard and Second just across the street from the southeast corner of the square. It was right next to the bank, but the entrance had been moved around the corner to Richard Street on the southern side of the building. That would have been Sadie's and his first change to the store. He shook away the memory as he got out of the truck and hurried across the street.

As soon as he turned the corner, the rusted Hoover's Hardware sign greeted him. The letters had faded even more, so that one of the o 's was completely gone.

The friendly jingle of an overhead bell announced his entrance into the shop. Gary had always kept the store in immaculate condition, but today, dust laced the air and the endcaps of the aisles held anything from paint brushes to hammers—seemingly with no rhyme or reason. Charlotte's web had nothing on the huge cobweb spun along the wood paneled wall behind the register. Gary had never allowed spiders free rein of his store.

"Be right with ya!" The distant voice came from somewhere among the shelves, but there was no mistaking Gary's deep timbre.

The man's gait faltered for a second as he stepped out of the aisle, his eyes widening. He set down a five-gallon paint bucket. And there was just enough of a pause that David's heart sank. Maybe this hadn't been a great idea. But before he could think of what to do next, Gary rushed forward and grabbed David's shoulder and looked him over. "Ten years looks good on you, son. The final bits of boy have disappeared."

Son. David's throat tightened. Gary probably used the term with every male under the age of forty, but it still triggered a sense of what had been. What could have been. The guy almost looked proud of him.

Before David could consider what to say, his gaze landed on Gary's arm that was wrapped in a blue sling and seemed to be strapped down to his chest. "What happened to your arm?"

The older man offered a slight shrug, lifting his uninjured shoulder. "I fell working on the upstairs guest bath a month ago. Landed on my shoulder wrong. Emergency surgery on my rotator cuff, and my arm is useless until it heals. Just a few more weeks in the sling."

One month ago? How had he missed this tidbit of gossip? David had been working away in his grandparents' home a month ago. Maybe this was what Nate meant when he said that David should get out more and see the needs of people around him. Guilt clung to him like day-old sawdust.

Gary walked back to the bucket and bent to pick it up.

"Let me." David didn't know much about rotator cuff surgery, but lifting heavy objects probably wasn't part of the recovery.

Gary slapped David's back. "I appreciate that. I'm getting too old for this. Definitely time for the next generation to take over. But kids are busy these days. One of my daughters only pops in and out maybe once a month now."

Gary had three daughters, but he must mean Sadie, otherwise he'd just name his daughter. With their complicated past, he couldn't blame Gary for being vague. He couldn't ask. Wouldn't ask about Sadie. So, he nodded, and Gary kept talking.

"The high schoolers looking for volunteer hours just don't work for us, with all the heavy machinery and specialized merchandise."

David followed Gary to the register at the front of the store, and set the bucket where Gary directed.

Gary patted him on the back, squeezing his shoulder. "Now tell me, what brings you in today?"

Business. Good. David could handle that. "Need a box of two-and-a-half-inch wood screws."

"Ah. Screws. Those are on the back wall, just like always. It's a bit disorganized—things have just gotten away from me—but I'm pretty sure they're back there somewhere."

David's phone chimed in his pocket, and he pulled it out. Finally. He held up his phone. "I need to respond to this. I'll be right back."

"Take your time, son. I'll be here." Gary continued toward the back of the store, and David turned and stepped outside, looking for shade so he could read his phone screen. The afternoon sun slipped behind a cloud as he walked to the back of the building, away from the square.

Lance: Let's chat next week. Tuesday morning. 10 EST.

No. No. No. No. No. This couldn't be right. If they'd approved him to go back, they'd simply say the words. The only reason Lance would want to talk was because they weren't going to send him back yet.

David: School starts next week. I'd love to work through things ASAP. Chat now?

Lance: Marco can't right now. Tuesday morning. 10.

Marco wanted to talk, too? David clenched his fist and then stretched his hand. If they wanted to bring in the executive director, it meant he'd officially miss the first day of school in Costa Rica. This couldn't be God's will. But then again, what did he know? No matter how much he prayed lately, God still seemed to be silent.

Anytime, God. I'm ready.

Still no response.

Nothing more could be done today. Tucking his phone away, David walked back to his grandfather's gold truck and opened the door and plopped down in the driver's seat. Ugh. He still needed those screws. Not that he had a pressing deadline to finish the built-ins anymore. No.He wasn't giving up that easy. He'd fight for what he wanted.

He left the truck and hurried back up the few steps toward the hardware store. The bell welcomed him a second time.

"Coming." A feminine voice rang out, and David could hardly process the familiarity before Sadie stepped out of the back aisle.

She froze. Her long, light brown hair was braided, hanging over her shoulder. Her hazel eyes took him in, a touch of vulnerability in her gaze. "You." The word came out breathy and tense.

"Sadie." His voice wasn't any better. But it had been ten years. Ten years since she'd talked to him. Ten years since he'd held her. Ten years since she'd broken his heart right before their college graduation. He opened his mouth again, but nothing came out. His brain had stopped working.

The softness in her gaze vanished, and the welcoming smile disappeared as she held out a box. "I take it you're the wood screw guy."

She was mad at him? She was the one who'd stomped on his heart, not the other way around. She'd been the one to walk away and never look back. He opened his mouth but snapped it shut. He'd moved on and so had she. They didn't need to have this discussion again. His throat tightened, and he worked to swallow the moisture before it evaporated from his mouth. "Two-and-a-half-inch wood screws—that's me."

Her left ring finger was bare. He'd heard she'd gotten married, but maybe he'd heard wrong. He tried not to dwell on news of Sadie, so on the rare occasion one of his sisters brought her up, he quickly ended the call. But hearing she'd gotten married would have been hard to forget. Even so, there had been no one since Sadie, because no one had measured up.

She briefly nodded and walked to the register without a backward glance.

"It's been a while." Almost ten years. And not a day went by that he didn't think about her.

"We don't have to do this, David." She rang him up, not looking at him.

Do what? Catch up? Find out how she'd been? How long she'd be in town? David gulped and looked at his shoes as he pulled out his wallet.

Sadie said the total, and he handed over the cash, his hands oddly still. He wanted her to look up again. To see her eyes, catch a glimpse of her smile. But it was better if he didn't. He couldn't consider those things anymore. Not since her wedding.

She handed him his change and the screws. Her fingers barely touched his skin, yet little sparks shot all the way up his arm. She looked up, holding eye contact now.

"You been here long?" He should go. He had his change and his screws. But seeing Sadie again…well, he wasn't ready to walk away just yet. Not if it was going to be another ten years.

"Just got into town." She tucked her hands in her back pockets and rocked back on her heels. "Have a good one, David." She nodded to the door.

He could take a hint. He stepped closer to the door without looking away from Sadie. "You too."

David pushed the door open, and the jingling of the overhead bell broke the moment. He hurried out of the store. And that was why he should have gone to Ludington. Because seeing Sadie Hoover? It only reminded him of everything he'd lost. Everything he'd never have.

One thing was certain, he wouldn't be back. Ten years hadn't been long enough to swallow the disappointment of today. He'd lay low and continue to do the one thing he'd done the last ten years.

Avoid Sadie Hoover at all costs.

She'd waited ten years to move back to Heritage, ten years to chase her dream of owning the family hardware store, and ten years of visits to her parents, praying she wouldn't run into the man who'd torpedoed her life.

Too bad it couldn't have been eleven or twenty. Or never.

Instead, she'd had to reset the count—four days had passed since she'd seen David Williams. Hopefully, that number would continue to go up. Sadie Hoover pulled the ham and provolone from the fridge and set them on the counter of her kitchen in her new-to-her apartment.

The alarm on her phone sounded, halting her movements. Great. Where had she left her phone? The vintage kitchen was barely big enough for two people, so how could she lose her phone?

She paused and followed the muffled notes of the alarm to one of the half dozen cupboards. She opened it. Of course, next to the bread. She grabbed both. This was David's fault. It was the wrong season for a visit from the spirit of Boyfriend Past. "Lottie! That's the fifteen-minute alarm."

"I heard it, Mom." Lottie's voice carried a thick layer of nine-year-old sass.

The front door burst open, and Romee, Sadie's youngest sister by four years, burst into the apartment. Romee's long brown hair tumbled around her face in wild curls, her glasses slipping to the end of her nose. She closed the door with a flourish and pushed her glasses up with one fluid movement.

"Look at this place. It's really coming together." Romee toed off her black flats by the door.

"Really?" Sadie scanned the area. It was definitely cleaner than a few days ago when everyone had helped her move in the furniture, but all she could see were boxes. On the vintage oak coffee table she'd found thrifting last month. On the dining room table that had once been Jeremy's grandmother's. She even piled them at the end of her queen-sized bed. At least she'd gotten Lottie's room ready. First day jitters at a new school were enough without being lost in a sea of boxes.

"So, Dad said David is back." Romee squeezed by Sadie in the kitchen and selected a mug.

Leave it to a sister to make herself at home, even before Sadie had. Turning back to the sandwiches, Sadie layered ham and cheese on two slices of bread. "He was in the store, not back. I think he still lives in Costa Rica, which means it was a one-time thing. By the look on his face when he saw me, he'll make sure of that. I just wish he'd gotten fat. Or gone bald."

"What you're saying is that he's still hot."Romee eyed her over the rim of Sadie's favorite Cedar Point mug.

Hot didn't really cover it. David always had been good looking with his coffee-colored eyes and auburn hair. Clean shaven, incredible bone structure, and full, kissable lips. And boy, had he known how to use them. So okay—yes, he was still hot. "He's older. Broader. And not in my life."

Romee wiggled her eyebrows. "But he could be."Her sister gave a questioning look at the sandwich. "When did Lottie start eating like a linebacker?"

Sadie blinked at the sandwich then started pulling off the layers. If David had her this discombobulated after one encounter, she prayed he'd be leaving the country soon, very soon. Maybe she'd offer to buy his ticket.

Sadie packed up the now normal-sized sandwich and put it in Lottie's new tie-dyed lunch box. Romee picked it up, zipped it closed, and put it in Lottie's matching backpack by the front door.

"No more talk of David." Sadie shook her head. Her chest ached, and her heart squeezed. Hadn't she gotten over the pain of his departure years ago? "He chose to leave me behind. He didn't want me then, and he definitely doesn't want me now. Besides, I have Lottie."

Swallowing another big gulp, Romee looked over the top of the cup. "Jeremy would want you to move on. And he liked David. Well, except for the whole dumping you and taking off thing, but it's been ten years. Maybe?—"

"No. I have a new life." Sadie turned from Romee and walked out of the kitchen into the main room, past the dining room table. She squeezed between the sectional sofa and a row of boxes to the small hallway that led to two bedrooms. "Almost ready, Lottie?"

Lottie's heavy footsteps came running out of her room, her purple hairbrush in her hand. She now had a huge bump on top of her head that hadn't been there when Sadie braided her hair after breakfast. Her freckled nose wrinkled as she waved the brush around. "Mom, I hate my hair. Fix it."

Sadie took the offered brush. "Fix it, please ."

Lottie acquiesced to the proper request, and Sadie quickly brushed out the braid and re-did her daughter's thick red hair. She might hate her hair now, but give it a few more years, and the girl would love it. Thick, wavy. The color would cost women hundreds in a salon. She had her father's hair and her mother's beauty. "Five minutes, kiddo. Have you made your bed and brushed your teeth?"

"Going now. Hi, Aunt Romee!" Lottie gave a quick wave and rushed back to her room, straightening her lilac T-shirt as she left.

" Mom . It's still surreal to hear her call you that." Romee leaned against the wall outside the kitchen and sipped her coffee.

"We still talk about Bonnie and Jeremy often. But when she asked if she could call me Mom …" Sadie's throat tightened.

Romee pushed her glasses up. "When is the adoption finalized?"

"October twenty-second. And it should be pretty easy. I do wish Jeremy could be here to see it, even if his sister, Doris, is unhappy with me for moving away from Grand Rapids."

"Let Doris be unhappy. Jeremy was clear in his will that he wanted you to take custody of Lottie, not his sister. Lottie is going to love it here. We both know Heritage was an amazing place to grow up. Even if it moved you farther from me."

"We're going to miss your daily drop-ins, but you could always move home."

"Because Heritage is full of promising violinists looking for an instructor. Grand Rapids is my home now. My music school is there. Besides, you are going to keep plenty busy with the store." Romee picked up the store key on the counter and placed the ring around her finger, spinning it.

"It's a little crazy to think I'm taking over." Sadie had always pictured taking over the store as a child. When David had started talking marriage, she pictured taking it over with him. Then he'd left, and she'd let the dream die because she couldn't fathom taking over the store without him. "Do you think it's a mistake? I mean, I thought I had two years to get ready for this."

"Dad needs you now, and you need a job. It makes sense for everyone."

"I just feel like I should know more about the state of the store before I take over. Did you know Dad's accounting isn't even on the computer?"

"So, you'll learn on the job. And you'll get to set it up the way you like. Which is perfect for your control-freak personality."

"I'm not a control freak." She crossed her arms across her chest. "You're just a slob."

One eyebrow shot up, and Romee stepped to the closest box. Without breaking eye contact, she opened the flaps and pulled out what must have been the first thing she touched. Then without even looking at the purple cut glass vase, walked over and set it on one of the empty shelves in the corner. That was Sadie's favorite vase, and she always kept it on a wood trivet in the center of the dining table.

For one heartbeat Sadie stared at it then turned away. She'd fix it later. After she unpacked the trivet. It would be in the box with the vase.

Maybe she did like to have a certain order to life. But with David leaving her, then Bonnie, and eventually Jeremy, she'd learned that everything went smoother when she only depended on herself. She even stopped asking God for His input. Let someone else take the wheel? No thanks.

Just to prove to Romee that this hadn't bothered her, Sadie walked back into the kitchen and opened the cupboard above the coffeepot and pulled out a mint green tumbler. The final alarm sounded as she poured the coffee. "Lottie! Time to go."

Lottie dashed back into the living room and slung her new backpack on her shoulder. "I'm ready. Bye, Mom."

"Not so fast there. Don't I get to take you today? It's the first day of school." Sadie picked up her computer bag off the small dining table, pulled the strap onto her shoulder, and held out her hand for the store keys Romee still held.

"Please, Mom. I'm almost ten. I can walk to the bus stop. Alone. Oma said Lucy will be there. We're going to be best friends." Of course they would. Because Lottie made friends wherever she went, just like Bonnie had.

Sadie bit back the chuckle wanting to escape. Lottie—little Miss Independent. "Very well. Find out if Lucy is in ballet. Maybe you could take lessons too?"

Lottie bounced her backpack on her shoulder. "Sure thing."

"Let me snap your picture real quick." Sadie pulled out her phone, and Lottie posed in front of the door. "Can I at least walk downstairs with you since I'm heading to the store?"

Lottie threw open the door. "Okay. But no farther. And don't stand at the door and cry when I walk away."

Together, the trio walked out of the apartment and down the wooden stairs to the alley that ran behind the hardware store. The cool morning air hinted at the start of fall.

"The leaves will change soon." Lottie pointed at the fall tree full of green leaves behind the shop. "Dad would've loved that tree."

Sadie slid her arm over the little girl's shoulder and hugged her to her side. Grief, the unwanted companion that it was, showed up at unusual times. "He sure would've."

Lottie shrugged off Sadie's arm and twirled when they made it to the bottom of the stairs—the moment of grief passed. "Okay, Mom. I'll see you after school. Bye, Aunt Romee."

Lottie skipped ahead of Sadie, stopping at the corner and running back. "Mom, Otis is sitting in front of the hardware store. Almost like he's trying to peek in onyou."

The cool morning breeze rushed down the side of the building as Sadie walked up to the corner. Romee kept pace with her. The sun peeked over a grove of pine trees behind them, casting their long shadows down the sidewalk toward the square. Sure enough, Otis sat on the sidewalk at the corner of Richard and Second, right under the window that faced the square, as if trying to draw attention to the big, dirty window of Hoover's Hardware.

"Otis always knows what's happening around town. He's in on all the big events." Sadie pulled in a breath. Maybe Otis's watchful eye meant her new endeavor would be a success. Otherwise, Otis would have a front seat to her making a mess of things.

Lottie jumped up to kiss Sadie on the cheek and then dashed off again.

Sadie waited while Lottie made her way all the way to the bus stop at the corner of Richard and Henderson and gave her a final wave then fell into step with another little girl. Maybe it was Lucy.

Romee stood beside her, sipping her coffee. "I'd hoped I could walk a little farther with her."

"Nope. Lottie's determined to meet Lucy. And don't go stealing my mug. I love that one."

Romee inspected the old mug. The words Cedar Point could barely be seen on the side. "You're attached to this mug? Looks ancient."

If thirteen years was old for a coffee mug. She got it just after her freshman year of college. Maybe it was ancient. She and David had met at college, both involved in the same outreach program on campus. One weekend, the group had gone to Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, where she'd found the mug in the amusement park's gift shop, and David bought it for her. Maybe it was time to let the memories rest, a final release to prove seeing David again after ten years hadn't wrecked her mental state. "No attachment. Maybe you should keep it. Or better yet, trash it."

Romee waited for more, but she'd be waiting a long time, because Sadie had talked about David about as much as she was willing.

Her sister finally shrugged and turned toward their parents' place. "Well, I'll run home before anyone notices I'm missing. And I'll be back to bug you at the store in a bit. Maybe I can bring you lunch before I head for home?"

Sadie waved as Romee walked off before climbing up the few steps to the front door of Hoover's. She pushed her store key into the lock, but there was no resistance when she turned it.

The store was unlocked? She ran through her memories from yesterday. Maybe she had been a little distracted after seeing David, but there was no doubt that she had closed andlockedthe door last night.

Wrapping her fingers around her keys like they were brass knuckles, Sadie wondered if the crime rate in her small hometown had skyrocketed. Unlikely, but still, maybe she should invest in something other than her keys for protection.

Five aisles stretched inside the store with the front counter running along the side wall, but nothing looked different from last night. The register was still closed. And everything smelled the same—a mix of sawdust, paint, and sweat.

"Hello?" Sadie's voice wobbled through the empty store only to hear a familiar and gruff response from the office.

Shoulders relaxed, Sadie shoved her keys into her jeans pockets. Dad.

Sadie walked down the third aisle. A paintbrush had fallen on the floor, and she picked it up to hang it back up, except the paint brush sat between a hammer and a flathead screwdriver. Why wasn't it with the paint supplies? Below the hammer sat a different brand of paintbrush, a garden shovel, and a Phillips head screwdriver. Looked like she'd be reorganizing soon.

She hung the brush up and headed to the back of the store. "Dad, I thought you were taking some time off. Not coming in to open the store on my first official morning." Sadie bent over and brushed a kiss on her dad's cheek as he flipped through the ledger on his desk. Goal one: get the books online. "That's an awful deep V between your brows."

"It's all good, kiddo. Just making sure the books are in order for you. It might be a little harder to let go of the reins than I imagined."

"You thought you had more time. Me too. But it's okay. We'll figure this out."

"You're so good at organizing. But I remembered a few invoices I hadn't recorded yet. I wish I was handing it to you in better shape." Her dad stood up, stretching to his full height. His shoulders were a little rounder, his back not as straight as it had been before the fall. His dark hair held some gray, and the wrinkles in his forehead were deeper. These last few months had been hard on him. It might have changed her plans, but it was time to take over. Her dad needed the break.

"I'm sure it will be fine, Dad. I'll get everything online and fix whatever chaos is in those books."

"I don't think entering numbers into QuickBooks or whatever you're using will change the numbers."Her dad stepped behind the chair, his good hand running slowly over the back. "I guess this is yours now."

So, it was. After all these years, even without David. This was hers. Her dad pulled the chair back and gestured for Sadie to have a seat. She placed her bag on the desk and sat down.

Her dad walked to the door. "About those books…"

"It's fine, Dad. I've got this. And I'd like to hire a few people to help around the store."Sadie pulled out her computer and opened it up in front of her.

Her dad's feet shuffled on the ground. "I can help out at the store some."

"I know, Dad. But you still need to heal from your surgery and make it through rehab, too. That's part of the reason I'm here. Plus, I need time to settle in as the new proprietor. Make the store mine, you know? Oh, did you bring the keys to the back room?"

Her dad's face turned into what she could only describe as a grimace. "About the back room—it's sorta a mess."

His phone rang out and he pulled it from his back pocket, a sheepish grin on his face. "Your mother is calling. I'd better get home. I'll be back later."

"Please bring the key next time. And tell Mom I said good morning." Sadie settled behind the desk as her father exited the office and answered his phone.

When the bell jingled to signal he'd exited the store, Sadie opened her purse and pulled out a framed picture of her and Lottie for the desk. They'd been at Jeremy's favorite cabin on Lake Michigan, north of Chicago, and they were both windblown, sun-kissed, and all smiles.The reminder of her why—why she was back in town, why she wanted the store to be successful, and why she had pulled it all together after another heartbreaking turn in life. To make sure Lottie had a comfortable home, surrounded by people who loved her.

Four hours later, Sadie wished for those smiles. Her eye twitched, and she rubbed at new wrinkles on her forehead. When her dad mentioned the books weren't in great order, Sadie had wrongly assumed he meant they were disorganized. Not that the store operated in the red.

In. The. Red.

For months.

Sadie pulled open the top drawer of her dad's desk—hers now—and dug around inside. And since it was her desk now, she could raid his secret chocolate stash without guilt.

Instead of pulling out candy, her hand found a stack of envelopes. From the bank. She opened the top one and scanned the letter inside. Her stomach tightened and turned over.

There's no way this letter was right. But there was no mistake—payment due September 30th. When had her parents taken out a mortgage on the business?

Why had they taken a mortgage out on the business?

Hoover's had been in the family for years. And they'd missed a few payments, so the bank was recalling the loan. The full amount due.

Sadie closed the computer and placed the note on top. If they couldn't make the payment by September 30th, Sadie wouldn't have a store to run. She had twenty-seven days to fix this.

This was why she'd wanted two years to get ready to take over. Diving into any decision without all the details never ended well. She'd jumped blindly, making this move, changing her life, to chase a dream she'd given up on.

All for what? To discover the store was underwater. How could this happen?

Her hand trembled. But the red letters stamped across the page couldn't be ignored.

She looked down at the statement again. When she trusted people to handle the details, bad things happened. Two words stared up at her, cementing that thought.

Past Due.