Prologue

Prologue

NATHAN HARLAND

Author note: This story is a prequel novella that does end on a cliffhanger with a happy for now, leading up to the book Midnight and Mischief.

A few years prior

W elcome back to Kissing Springs , the sign above the bar read. After two tours of duty in Afghanistan, there was no better feeling than to be surprised with a party to celebrate my homecoming. My family and old friends had all gathered at the Boot Scoot tonight. As the guest of honor, I found myself suddenly alone at our table.

Everyone paired off to the dance floor as soon as Prima, the rock star who now made her home in this small town, crooned her latest love ballad number one hit from the country bar stage. Who would have thought a bona fide celebrity would make their home in Kissing Springs?

That wasn’t the only change around here, though. After Dillon Montgomery was caught on camera singing and performing as a stripping Santa for a bachelorette party, it went viral, instantly becoming a sensation. Dillon parlayed that success into a business and partnership with Wild Horses Music label, quickly turning things around in this small town—along with his girlfriend, the new mayor, Meadow Boyd, who had her own visions for ushering in a new era of prosperity.

I nursed my beer and peered out at the dance floor. There were Mom and Dad, my very-pregnant-and-due-any-minute older sister Tracy with her husband Kipp, and Jayne with Andrew. Jeez, I still can’t believe my old best friend fell for my younger sister. I almost beat the shit out of him earlier today when I found out. But they seem happy together, everyone does.

Except me. A thought tugged at me, the same one I always had the entire time I was growing up here: I didn’t belong.

Nearby, some familiar female faces from high school caught my eye, and before they got any ideas, I moved out to the patio with my beer bottle in hand, seeking fresh air.

The bar had suddenly become stifling.

The thing was, as I looked around tonight, I saw people who settled in a small town where nothing much had changed. Maybe Dillon and Meadow could put a shiny coat of paint on things and give the town a fancy motto—the Romance Capital of the South—but at the end of the day, it was still the same.

Why settle, when there was a whole big world out there for exploring? Suddenly, my feet itched, and it wasn’t from wearing my old brown boots I had found in my closet at Mom’s house.

Not even twenty-four hours back in town and I longed to run, but where to?

I leaned over the railing, lost in thought, and finished my beer, tearing at the label, shreds of it blowing away in the crisp fall breeze. Someone came up behind me and slapped my back.

“Hey, dude. Saw you step out here. Everything okay?” It was Andrew. If there was one guy who could understand me, it’d be him. We shared some good times back in school.

“Not really. I thought I could come back here and give settling down a try, but nah. It’s not for me. I don’t think I’ll be here past Thanksgiving,” I laid it out bluntly.

“You serious? Your mom, your sisters, none of them will be happy hearing that.” He scoffed. Maybe I was wrong. He’d been here a few years now, and the small town beat the adventuresome kid out of him. Like he was indoctrinated. He grew up, became a man, took care of the people around him—like my father, a steady, stout oak tree, not bending to the whims of the wind.

Me? I never wanted to be like him. I preferred to think of myself like a blade of tall grass, blowing wherever the wind would take me.

“I heard from my old captain about a job for a new security company in Las Vegas he’s started. Pay is primo. It’s hard to pass that up.” I covered my real failings with a job prospect.

“Nah, man. Come to work for the Knights. Our new security team needs good men like you. I know Dillon would try to match the offer if he could, if it’s money you’re worried about.”

Truthfully, it had nothing to do with fattening my bank account. “I’m not needed here. My parents have Tracy and Kipp. Jayne has you. I know you’ll look after them. My family’s in good hands. Nothing really here to tie me down.”

“Then find someone to tie you down. Nothing like a good woman?—”

“Could you not? I’m still trying to come to terms with you banging my sister.”

He chuckled, then turned sober. “Everyone will miss you if you go. But I know you, dude, and I can tell you’re not ready to settle down. You still have that same wild look in your eyes you had when we joined up for the Army together. So go run it off, get it out of your system.”

“You could come with me. Cap could use a few good men on his security team. We’d kick ass.”

“No.” He chuckled. “I’m perfectly happy keeping your sister’s ass warm at night.”

I reared my arm back, taking him by the collar, making like I’d punch him, but I switched and gave him a quick bro hug instead. We parted and didn’t say much, drinking our beers. If Jayne was to be with anyone, she couldn’t have picked a better guy than Andrew.

“Someday, when you’re ready, you’ll make your way back. We’ll all be here with open arms,” he assured me.

I wasn’t so sure I’d ever be back. There was no denying it anymore. Whatever I needed in life, I would not find it here in Kissing Springs.