LITMIR.BIZ

       Chapter One

      “Hold still, Liam! Remember, this is for a good cause.”

      Liam Kane smothered a sigh while his mom fussed with the silk square sprouting from the pocket of his vest.

      “I’m holding.”

      Even though it was the third time she’d fussed with it.

      Even though the needle on the outdoor thermometer was inching toward seventy-five degrees. A comfortable temperature for the middle of June in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula—unless, of course, you happened to be wearing a tuxedo. Then, not so much.

      A bead of sweat trickled down the side of Liam’s face, only to be absorbed by the lime-green noose—okay, technically it was a bow tie—clipped to the front of his shirt. “Tell me again why Aiden isn’t the one wearing this getup?”

      Everyone knew Liam’s fun-loving, extroverted kid brother never minded being the center of attention. Tourist or local, whenever someone booked a day trip with Castle Falls Outfitters, they invariably requested Aiden to be their guide. Not that Liam cared. He preferred to spend his days in the shop, designing and building canoes for the family business instead of paddling them down the river.

      “He was supposed to.” Liam’s adoptive mom—“Sunni” to her friends and family because the nickname fit her warm, cheerful personality—plucked a loose thread dangling from one of the buttons on his shirt. “But the director of the Timber Shores Retreat Center called this morning in a bit of a panic, wondering if someone could give her new counselors some guiding tips. Aiden volunteered.”

      “How—” convenient...clever? “—nice of him.”

      “I thought so, too.” Sunni took a step back and studied the finished product, smiling her approval before she turned to the newest member of the Kane family. “What do you think, Lily?”

      Liam’s sister-in-law, who’d been watching the transformation take place from her perch on the window seat, tried to hide her amusement. And the camera Liam had seen her aim in his direction. “I think Liam looks very, um...dashing.”

      Both women giggled, and Liam shook his head. There was no use confiscating the camera, though. In less than an hour he would be on display for the whole town to see, doing his part to raise funds for the animal shelter’s new addition. Population-wise, Castle Falls didn’t so much as warrant a dot on the map. But winters were long and the rest of the seasons notoriously short, so people would probably turn out in droves for the first community-wide event of the summer.

      Liam suspected the timing was part of Sunni’s plan.

      “What’s so funny—” Brendan, Liam’s older brother, sauntered into the room, took one look at him and laughed. “Never mind.”

      Relief shot through Liam. “I thought you had a meeting this morning.”

      “Postponed until next week.” Brendan hooked one arm around Lily’s trim waist and tucked her against his side. “I’m free for the rest of the day.”

      “Great.” Liam sent up a silent but heartfelt prayer of thanks. “You can take my place at the fund-raiser.”

      “I’m sure Lily could use Brendan’s help overseeing the children’s area.” Sunni smiled at the newlyweds. “Besides that, I don’t think there’s time for you to change, sweetheart. And speaking of time...” She glanced at the clock above Brendan’s desk. “The Sunflowers volunteered to handle the bake sale, and I promised Anna I would unlock the shelter a few minutes early so she and Rene Shapiro can help the girls set up.”

      Liam knew only one Anna who had children in the Wednesday night kids’ club at church.

      The bow tie around his neck suddenly felt even tighter.

      “Oh, don’t look so hangdog, bro.” Brendan clapped a hand on Liam’s shoulder.

      “I’ve got two words for you,” Liam growled. “Dunk tank.”

      Sunni cast a worried look in his direction even as Brendan struggled to keep a straight face.

      “It’s okay, Mom. I’m sure Liam’s bark is worse than his bite.”

      Liam rolled his eyes. “Are you finished?”

      Brendan pondered the question for a moment. Grinned. “Probably not.”

      Fine. Liam could take it. He would do just about anything for Sunni Mason, the woman who, had opened her home to three aspiring juvenile delinquents and raised them as her own.

      He’d shake people’s hands. Pass out brochures. And stay out of Anna Leighton’s way—something he’d gotten pretty good at since she’d returned to Castle Falls six years ago, a grieving young widow with two-year-old twins in tow.

      Fortunately for him, the last one would be a little easier since he’d be dressed up as the animal shelter’s official goodwill ambassador, Dash the Dalmatian.

      * * *

      “I hope we have a turnout this good for our class reunion, Anna.”

      “So do I.” Anna Leighton tucked a loaf of apple-rhubarb bread into a paper sack and smiled at Heather Cohen, a former classmate who’d finally worked her way to the front of the line at the bake-sale table. “Maybe we should have asked Sunni Mason to head up the planning committee for the reunion.”

      The promise of a beautiful summer day had drawn a large crowd, but Anna suspected that Sunni, the animal shelter’s newly appointed president, was at least partially responsible for the excellent turnout.

      Sunni had approached all the local business owners a few months prior to the fund-raiser and asked if they would be willing to donate an item or service for a silent auction. The winners wouldn’t be announced until the end of the event, a brilliant plan that encouraged families to take advantage of a wide variety of activities and purchase something to eat from one of the many food booths.

      So far, Anna had been too busy to see if anyone had bid on the necklace and bracelet she’d spent hours creating in her studio above The Happy Cow. The ice-cream shop paid the bills, but Anna dreamed of the day she could focus exclusively on Anna’s Inspiration, the hand-crafted jewelry business that fed her soul.

      Most of her sales were through word of mouth, but Anna had taken her friend Lily Kane’s suggestion and left a stack of business cards next to the bid sheet in case someone wanted to place an order after the auction closed. Lily, who’d worked for the prestigious marketing firm Pinnacle before moving to Castle Falls, had shared a lot of great ideas to increase Anna’s customer base.

      Now if only she could find a few more hours in the day to implement them.

      “Everyone knows you’re going to do a fabulous job with our ten-year reunion.” Heather finished counting out the change for her purchase and handed the money to Anna. “You never let us down when you were class president!

      Heather

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