Brendan, who’d been a sophomore when they arrived in Castle Falls, regarded everyone with barely veiled hostility. He’d stalked the narrow hallway between the middle and high schools with a grungy backpack hooked over one shoulder and a pretty good-sized chip on the other.
Aiden, at ten, didn’t sport an attitude, but Anna had overheard Mrs. Harris, the fourth-grade Sunday-school teacher, refer to him as “an active body.” A tactful way of saying that Aiden was everywhere at once. Anna had witnessed him crawling under tables and climbing over chairs in the church fellowship room like he was competing in an obstacle course.
And always in the center, like a blue-eyed fulcrum meant to balance the chaos, was Liam. Coaxing a smile out of his older brother. Making sure Aiden’s energy was channeled in a positive direction so he wouldn’t bump, break or burn something down.
It suddenly occurred to Anna that she’d noticed a lot of things about Liam Kane...
Her heart stuttered like the engine in her cantankerous minivan when her gaze unexpectedly locked with the very grown-up version of the boy she’d been remembering.
“You kids have fun now.” Aiden’s rumble of laughter broke the silence and he thumped Liam on the arm. “And make sure you do everything I taught you, bro.”
Liam rolled his eyes and gave his brother an affectionate shove toward the driver’s-side door. “Be safe.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” Aiden winked at Anna before he vaulted into the cab of the pickup.
Cassie and Chloe obviously saw Aiden’s departure as the beginning of their own adventure, because they linked hands and began to hop up and down.
“Can we get our stuff out of the car now, Mr. Kane?”
“Sure, that would be—” Liam stopped.
Because the girls were already gone.
“They can teleport,” Liam said.
He sounded so amazed that Anna couldn’t help but smile as her daughters began unloading their backpacks from the back of the van.
“Among other things.” Life with twins wasn’t for the faint of heart. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?”
* * *
Was he ready for this?
Ha. Not even close. Not when Anna’s smile sent his pulse skipping like a rock over the surface of the water.
Liam reminded himself it had been meant for her daughters, not for him, as he forced himself to meet her gaze.
“Did you have any questions about our itinerary for the day?”
“No.” The smile faded. “I think the information Sunni emailed on Monday covered everything.”
“Good.” So far, so good. “I’ll be right back. There’s a waiver you’ll need to sign—”
“It’s in the kitchen.” His mom jogged up to them, her pink hiking boots leaving heart-shaped stencils in grass still misted with morning dew. Lily and Brendan’s overweight basset hound, Missy, chugged along at her heels. “Right next to the fresh pot of coffee I put on for you and Anna.”
Liam reached down to pat the dog, pretending not to see the questioning frown Sunni tossed in his direction.
Given the fact that Brendan ran Castle Falls Outfitters from an office in their mom’s house, it wasn’t unusual to do business at the kitchen table, but Liam was anxious to start the four-hour countdown.
He wasn’t worried that lingering over a cup of java with Anna in the tiny kitchen would feel awkward. Just the opposite.
He was worried it would feel too good.
One more reason to keep his distance.
“Happy birthday, Anna!” Sunni reeled Anna in for a quick hug. “Are you looking forward to spending the day on the river?”
Since Liam already knew what the answer to that question would be, there was no point in hanging around.
“If you have Anna sign the liability waiver, Mom, I’ll make sure everything else is ready.” He pivoted toward the riverbank, familiar territory where everything made sense.
Where he could breathe air that wasn’t laced with the scent of Anna’s perfume, a delicate but tantalizing fragrance that reminded Liam of the wild roses that bloomed outside the window of his workshop every summer.
He rounded the corner of the garage, where he and Aiden shared an upstairs apartment, and almost collided with his older brother and Lily.
“Whoa!” Brendan reared back and pretended to scan the yard. “Where’s the fire?”
“I’m on the clock this morning, remember?” Liam reminded him.
Three hours, fifty-two minutes and counting.
“Oh. Right.” Brendan linked his arm through Lily’s. “Anna Leighton’s birthday present. How did you end up playing guide today instead of Aiden? I thought he was the one who came up with the package for the silent auction.”
“Aiden had already booked a private lesson.”
It was a testimony to Lily’s influence that Brendan didn’t know the details. BL—before Lily—his brother had micromanaged every aspect of Castle Falls Outfitters, including the things he’d asked Aiden and Liam to oversee. But over the past year, Brendan had loosened his grip and started to focus his attention on marketing and sales, the area of the business he truly enjoyed. Liam was still getting used to this new-and-improved version of his big brother.
“I’m sure Anna will have a wonderful time.” Lily smiled.
“She gets to soak up the sunshine and eat food she doesn’t have to prepare. What more could a girl want?”
Liam could think of a lot of things.
In high school, it was no secret that Anna couldn’t wait to leave Castle Falls. Everyone had expected great things from Emerson’s beautiful valedictorian and Ross, the team’s talented quarterback. Ross’s football scholarship would take the couple through college and then on to places a girl from a small town in the UP could only dream about.
College hadn’t been in Liam’s future, not when all hands were needed on deck to keep Castle Falls Outfitters out of the red when Rich Mason passed away six months after he and Sunni had opened their home to Liam and his brothers.
As always, memories of his foster dad stirred up a blend of grief and gratitude. Liam still didn’t know why God had called Rich home so soon, but the impact he’d had on Liam in those few short months had changed his life.
Where you look is where you go.
One of Rich’s favorite sayings chased through Liam’s mind. At the time, he’d assumed his foster dad had been talking about paddling a canoe. Any guide worth his salt knew you’d run aground if you kept looking back, but now Liam understood Rich’s words of wisdom could apply to a lot of situations.
Like this one.
Which was why he would treat Anna the way he would treat anyone who’d booked a canoe trip with Castle Falls Outfitters. He would be polite. Professional.
Because the here and now was a much safer place to be than camping on the ledge of the past. Or, even worse, allowing himself to dream about the future.
“Come on, Mom!”
Anna had barely finished signing the waiver on Sunni’s kitchen table when the girls burst through the door.
Sunni chuckled at their enthusiasm. “Have a wonderful time. And don’t worry