LITMIR.BIZ

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sure Bea was out of earshot.

      “Carter planned to go to the parade with Bea, but his supervisor said they needed him tonight. And then fifteen minutes ago, a woman called and reserved two rooms. She guessed their party would arrive between six and eight, so I can’t take his place. I realize plans change, of course, but I hate to disappoint her.”

      Ellery knew she might be overstepping, but it had bothered her to see Bea looking so dejected, too.

      “She can go with me.”

      “Ellery... I can’t ask you to do that,” Karen protested.

      “You didn’t. I offered.” Ellery smiled. “I enjoy Bea’s company.”

      Karen’s expression clouded suddenly, and Ellery realized the innkeeper’s hesitation didn’t stem from concern for her granddaughter. It was for her son.

      “I don’t want to put you in a difficult spot, though,” Ellery said quickly. “Carter—”

      “Trusts me to decide what’s best for Bea when he’s at work,” Karen interjected firmly. “And I think that going to the parade with you this evening falls into that category.”

      Ellery wasn’t sure he would agree, but it was too late to retract the offer. Nor did she want to.

      Karen thought that Ellery was helping her, but it was the other way around.

      The night she’d arrived at the inn, Ellery had been looking for a “base camp.” A place to stay while she gathered information about her brothers. But God, as always, had given her so much more.

      Karen’s warm hospitality reminded Ellery of her mother and Bea’s giggles healed the tender places in a heart still rubbed raw from grief.

      “Do you want to finish getting ready while I round up Bea’s snowsuit and boots and tell her the good news?” Karen asked.

      Finish?

      “I’m ready.” Ellery paused. Glanced down at the outfit she’d chosen. “Aren’t I?”

      “Well...” Karen cleared her throat. “You’ll be outside a few hours and the air always feels colder when you’re standing in one place.”

      A tactful way of saying that no, she wasn’t.

      “I didn’t think I would be spending a lot of time outdoors while I was here,” Ellery admitted.

      In fact, she hadn’t thought much about her wardrobe at all. After Ellery made the decision to go to Castle Falls, she’d tossed a few things into her suitcase and was on the road before she could change her mind.

      “No worries.” The familiar twinkle stole back into Karen’s eyes. “I’m sure we can find something to keep the cold at bay.”

      A few additional layers might insulate Ellery from the falling temperatures, but Ellery doubted they would protect her from the chill in the air whenever her path crossed with Carter’s.

      His attitude was confusing.

      But what Ellery found even more confusing was why it bothered her so much. Her life was complicated enough without adding Carter Bristow to the mix.

      Ten minutes later, Ellery was buckling Bea into the booster seat she’d borrowed from Karen.

      “Are you excited, too, Miss El’ry?” Bea piped up from the back seat.

      “Yes, I am.” Excited. Nervous.

      Really nervous.

      The butterflies that had taken up residence in Ellery’s stomach after her decision to go to the parade weren’t fluttering. They were performing acrobatics.

       And the Lord, He is the one who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not forsake you.

      The verse Ellery had leaned on, rested in, clung to, after her parents died rose in her mind. Calmed her heart and the butterflies.

      Nothing happened that took God by surprise. No path His children walked where He wasn’t at their side.

      And sometimes—Ellery smiled as Bea chattered on about story time at the library—He provided another companion for the journey.

      The wrinkles in the winding ribbon of road smoothed out as Ellery passed a large wooden sign that welcomed visitors to Castle Falls. A barricade across the road prevented people from continuing down the main street, but Ellery caught a glimpse of brick storefronts that gave the town an appealing turn-of-the-century feel.

      Like the inn, the town was dressed in its holiday best. Strings of colorful lights graced the lampposts and fresh greenery filled the oversize planters stationed at the crosswalks, but Ellery imagined that Castle Falls would look beautiful no matter what time of the year.

      She turned down a side street near the park and spotted an empty parking space. Bea bounced out of the back seat, eyes shining, and slipped her hand into Ellery’s when they crossed the street.

      Heads began to turn in their direction as they wove their way through the people gathered together on the sidewalk.

      When Ellery assured Jameson that a lone visitor in Castle Falls wouldn’t draw more than a passing glance, she hadn’t considered that people would recognize Bea. And judging from the open curiosity on their faces, they were trying to figure out the connection between Ellery and a local county deputy’s adorable daughter.

      “I hear music, Miss El’ry!” Bea would have plunged off the curb if Ellery hadn’t taken hold of her hand. “The parade is going to start!”

      Ellery’s heart began to thump, matching the staccato rhythm of the drums in a marching band.

      Everyone’s attention turned toward the music but Ellery found herself scanning the faces of the people on the opposite side of the street, looking for...strangers.

      Ellery tamped down a sigh.

      Everyone was a stranger.

      But what did she expect? That three men she’d never laid eyes on before would be easy to spot in a crowd?

      “There’s Daddy!” Bea pointed a chubby finger at the squad car cruising down the street.

      “I don’t think...” Ellery started to say, but the words died in her throat.

      Because Carter was leading the parade.

      Carter would rather chase bad guys than be the opening act for a high school marching band decked out in fake antlers and red plastic noses.

      Not that he’d been given a choice.

      Carter had had no idea when he’d been called into work for a “special assignment,” it would involve the annual parade. A parade Carter should have been watching from the sidelines, with Bea.

      It’s your hometown, Bristow, Carter’s supervisor had said. Consider it an honor.

      An honor? No. More like a punishment.

      Riverside, the town’s main street, was only three blocks long and yet it was crowded with moments he’d rather forget.

      He’d been home on leave for the first time when he’d met travel blogger Jennifer St. John. She’d checked into the Evergreen Inn on her way to the Great Lakes Circle Tour, seeking out “backwoods beauty” on her latest adventure. To say that Carter was flattered when Jennifer had asked him to show her some of the sights around the area was an understatement.

      Jennifer was stunning and vivacious—and Carter had fallen hard. In his pursuit of her attention, it didn’t matter they’d been raised in different environments. Had very different goals.

      Carter’s mom had expressed some concerns about the relationship, but he’d brushed those

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