LITMIR.BIZ

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all the unsuppressed enthusiasm of a child unwrapping a long-anticipated gift on Christmas morning.

      She looked at Kevin, holding her breath.

      Kevin was far more taken with Lily’s joy than he was with the future site of Hades’s first official restaurant. She was fairly dancing from foot to foot.

      “What I think is that I’ve never seen you this excited before.”

      “I don’t think I ever have been.” She grinned broadly as Max, standing behind her, threaded his arms around her waist.

      They looked like a set, Kevin thought. As if they’d always been meant to be together.

      “Maybe it’s the land, or the people.” Tilting her head, she cast a glance at the broad-shouldered sheriff at her back.

      “Or maybe the fact that you don’t sleep properly,” Kevin said glibly. This giddiness was really unlike Lily. He glanced around. Daylight was permeating everything. Kevin looked at his watch. It was past seven. “When does it get dark around here?”

      “It doesn’t.” It had taken her some getting used to. Now she didn’t think she could revert to conventional days and nights easily. “At least, not this time of year. Not so you’d really notice. Sun goes down at around ten, comes up at three.”

      Kevin frowned. “And you find this appealing?”

      “Hey, lots of daylight makes you happy,” Lily told him.

      Max leaned his head down. “Lots of darkness makes you something else,” he whispered against her hair.

      But Kevin heard him. “Depressed comes to mind.” The words had popped out almost of their own volition.

      “Not if you have the right company.” And then she frowned as she turned and looked at her older brother. “Kev, is anything wrong? I’m sensing some very unhappy vibes coming from you.”

      That settled it. She had definitely changed since she’d come up here. The old Lily never even had the word vibes in her vocabulary. He almost laughed out loud, catching himself at the last moment.

      “Since when do you sound like a hippie?”

      Lily waved her hand at the question. Something was definitely up with her older brother and she was concerned. “That has nothing to do with it. Kev, have you been feeling all right?”

      He wasn’t policing himself, Kevin thought, annoyed. There was no excuse for saying things that might bring his sister down. It wasn’t fair. Lily looked as if she was finally happy for what might be the first time in her life and he had no right to rain on her parade.

      Or cast a shadow as it were, he thought whimsically, glancing up at the sky.

      The sun gave no indication that it was going to set, or ever had set. It could have been ten in the morning instead of well into the evening.

      He forced himself to brighten visibly. “I’m feeling great.” His eyes shifted to Max. “Someone is finally going to tame that tongue of yours.”

      A playful look entered Lily’s eyes. “Someone is going to try,” she corrected.

      Kevin grinned at his brother-in-law. “Max, I don’t think you know what you’re getting into.”

      Max brushed a kiss against the top of Lily’s head. “I once faced down a bear in a trap. I know exactly what I’m up against.”

      “Flattery like that is liable to turn a girl’s head,” Lily said wryly.

      There was no use in pretending that she took offense; she felt far too happy to try to keep up a charade. Her whole family was here with her and it looked as if her whole future was finally in front of her. What was there not to be happy about?

      She looked at her brother pointedly. “You didn’t tell me, what do you think of it?”

      The future restaurant was to stand overlooking the winding river below and the mountains in the distance. Right now, there was a velvety green carpet as far as the eye could see.

      “I think it needs walls.”

      She gave him a little shove. “I mean the location.” He knew exactly what she meant, she thought. “Look at that view, Kev.” Her voice took on almost a reverent tone. “Isn’t it gorgeous?”

      “Breathtaking,” he agreed. There was no denying that. But what would that same view look like, buried in snow? He bit back the urge to ask. Instead, he smiled at his sister. “Just like the look in your eyes.” Impulsively he hugged her. “I’m happy for you, Lily.” He looked at Max and Jimmy, who’d just joined them. “For all of you.”

      His comment sounded so exclusionary. As if they were on two sides of a fence and they were happy, while he wasn’t, Lily thought. It had a very familiar ring to it. This was just the way she’d felt when she first came up here, running away from heartache without realizing that she’d wound up running to something.

      An idea came to her. Lily looked up at her main reason for smiling these days. “Max, don’t you think we should be getting ready?”

      Max had no idea what she was talking about, but he played along gamely. “Ready? Are you sure it’s supposed to be now?”

      Max really was her soul mate, she thought and she dearly loved him for that and a million other things. “I’m sure.” She looked at her older brother. “We’re taking you to the Salty.” She could see that Kevin was going to beg off. But being around people was just what he needed right now. Especially if she could orchestrate a few things. “It’s tradition, you know. Whenever anyone comes to visit for more than a week, he has to have a party in his honor at the Salty.”

      “I came up for Jimmy’s wedding,” Kevin reminded her. “There wasn’t any party at the Salty then.”

      Undaunted, Lily pressed on. “You came up for the ceremony and flew back right after it was over. There wasn’t time for a party. But there is now.” She gave him her most beguiling smile. “This way, we can really show you off.”

      He didn’t want to be shown off. He wanted to take a quick shower and kick back for the evening. Maybe just bask in being in the same area as the rest of his family.

      “I’m kind of tired, Lily.”

      Lily wasn’t about to let him back away. She threaded her arms through his.

      “No excuses, big brother. You wouldn’t want to buck tradition, would you? It’s bad luck. The miners are a very superstitious bunch. They wouldn’t take it kindly if you turned your back on tradition.”

      Kevin sighed. “Wouldn’t want to annoy the miners,” he murmured. Maybe it wouldn’t be too bad. “Who’ll be there?”

      “Everyone,” Max told him. “There isn’t enough room inside for everyone at the same time. But it’s still warm enough for them to mill around outside.”

      They all knew that temperature here was a temperamental thing. It was August, but even if the sun didn’t go down as it should, the temperature did at times, dropping down into the mid-forties without warning.

      Despite the town’s sudden growth spurt and new enterprises, the Salty Saloon still held the title as the favorite gathering place for the residents of Hades and its outlying regions. Owned by Ike Le Blanc and his cousin, Jean Luc, Alison’s husband, it had been the beginning of the two cousins’ business venture. Its success was indirectly responsible for their eventually buying the general store, restoring the town’s defunct movie theater, beginning renovations on the town’s one hotel and, now, investing in Lily’s proposed restaurant.

      Her mind racing with details she needed to take care of, primarily cornering Ike to let him know what she was up to and having Luc spread the word around town about the party, Lily quickly brushed a kiss against Kevin’s cheek. “Jimmy’ll drop you off at the house and then I’ll come for you in half an hour or so.”

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