LITMIR.BIZ

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captive by two impatient little girls who still believed a birthday was a cause for celebration. Not a day to look back on your life and wonder why it hadn’t turned out the way you’d expected it would.

      The day promised to be exactly the way Aiden had described it on the bid sheet. A whisper of a breeze stirred the tops of the trees, and the sun beamed down at them from a cloudless sapphire sky, turning the surface of the river to glass.

      Cassie and Chloe towed her toward the riverbank. Two canoes, fashioned from intricate strips of polished natural wood instead of fiberglass, looked as though they’d come straight from an era when fur traders and lumberjacks roamed the forest.

      Anna knew nothing about canoes other than the fact they were supposed to float, of course, but even she could see the craftsmanship that elevated the ones Liam made from the cookie-cutter styles sold in most sporting-goods stores.

      Cassie and Chloe could barely contain their excitement while Liam went through the safety procures and demonstrated basic paddling techniques.

      “If you don’t have any questions,” he said after helping the twins put their life jackets on, “I think we’re good to go.”

      “Which canoe is mine?” Cassie wanted to know.

      “You and I will share that one.” Liam nodded at the canoe on the left.

      “It doesn’t have flames.” Cassie couldn’t quite hide her disappointment.

      “You saw Aiden’s canoe.” A hint of a smile came out to play. “A long time ago, my brother found out his name means “fiery,” so he painted flames on the sides.”

      Before the girls could suggest they find a can of paint and decorate their canoes, Anna helped Chloe get settled and took her place at the stern.

      Liam took the lead and the girls fell silent, their frowns of concentration gradually giving way to awestruck wonder.

      The river flowed behind Riverside Avenue, Castle Falls’s main street, just steps from the back door of The Happy Cow, but Anna stayed so busy during the day she barely had time to give the picturesque scene more than a passing glance.

      Here it cut a sparkling corridor through a hedge of towering white pine, birch and fragrant cedar. The leaves of the hardwoods had slowly unfurled over the past few weeks, opening to a soothing, soul-feeding shade of green. Anna breathed in the scent of sunshine and water and felt something unfurl inside her, too.

      The two canoes ended up side by side as they rounded a natural bend in the river.

      “Look! Someone is building a playhouse!” Chloe pointed at the skeletal frame of a cabin tucked in a stand of birch trees. Simple lines and the river-rock fireplace rising through the center of the gabled roof gave the structure a rustic charm.

      “It’s a house.” Liam chuckled. “I’m hoping to move in by the end of the summer. I work on it in my spare time and Aiden chips in to help whenever he can. He has a vested interest in this place because it means he’ll have the garage apartment all to himself.”

      Cassie’s brow furrowed as they drew even with Liam’s cabin.

      “It’s kind of little.”

      “Cassie!” Anna had taught her daughters to always tell the truth, but while they seemed to understand the importance of honesty, they didn’t always grasp the meaning of the word tact.

      “Well, it is.” Cassie stuck to her opinion. “Don’t you think it’s little, Chloe?”

      Ordinarily Anna found it humorous when Cassie attempted to draft her twin sister as an ally, but this time she was too embarrassed by her daughter’s candor. Anna discovered it was difficult for a mother to make eye contact and telegraph a silent message while drifting down the river in a canoe.

      “It’s a little little,” Chloe agreed.

      Liam didn’t appear offended or uncomfortable by Anna’s daughters’ innocent observations. “Just right for one person.”

      “But aren’t you going to get married someday?” Cassie asked, not bothering to hide her shock.

      Eight-year-olds—Anna knew this from past experience—didn’t hide anything.

      “And have kids?” Chloe looked shocked, too.

      Okay. Family meeting. Tonight. Topic: Personal Questions.

      “Girls,” Anna finally managed to choke out. “I’m sure Liam knows how big his house should be.”

      * * *

      Not according to Sunni.

      Liam’s mom had questioned the size of the cabin the first time he’d shown her the blueprint, too.

      But really, how much space did a guy need anyway? A kitchen. A bedroom. A living room where he could kick back and put up his feet after work.

      At least a dozen times a day, Liam pictured how the cabin would look when it was finished. But, suddenly, Anna was there. And not as a visitor. Liam saw her reading in the oversize chair next to the fireplace, her chestnut hair falling loose around her shoulders. Laughing with Cassie and Chloe in the kitchen. Snuggled up with him on the couch while snow swirled outside the window...

      Maybe he should have asked Aiden to switch places with him today.

      Because there was no way Liam would let himself go there.

      He thanked God on a daily basis for the blessing of a close family, but that didn’t mean he planned to have one of his own.

      Maybe if Rich had lived longer, Liam would have had a chance to figure out how to do it right.

      He’d heard the rumors about him and his brothers when they’d moved to Castle Falls. Even one of Sunni’s closest friends had expressed concern about her ability to handle the household alone after Rich passed away.

      Those boys aren’t just from a broken home, they’re probably broken on the inside, too, Sunni. And you aren’t going to be able to fix them with a hug and a smile. Who knows what kind of problems are going to crop up as they get older? They could turn out just like their father.

      Darren Kane—a man whose temper had erupted without warning or provocation and inflicted lasting damage on their family—was the last person Liam wanted to be like.

      Still, he might have dismissed the comment if he hadn’t seen the same concern reflected in other people’s eyes.

      It made Liam wonder if there wasn’t a fault line, embedded deep inside of him, a crack formed by the constant upheaval he had experienced as a child. All it would take was a shift of some kind, some unexpected, external pressure, and he’d turn into his dad.

      Liam had decided a long time ago it wasn’t worth the risk.

      For the next half hour, he took a page from Aiden’s playbook and pointed out things he hoped Anna’s daughters would find interesting. Liam figured he made a poor substitute for his brother, but he kept the twins entertained.

      And it kept his eyes focused on his surroundings instead of the beautiful woman sitting in the canoe next to his.

      “There’s something in the water!” Cassie almost dropped her paddle as she pointed to a sleek brown head moving parallel with the shoreline.

      Liam smiled. He no longer needed T-shirts to tell Anna’s twins apart. If not for a slight variation in the spray of freckles across their noses, the difference in their personalities gave it away.

      Both girls were curious and talkative, but Cassie practically vibrated with restless energy. It was a good thing Liam didn’t get motion sickness, because their canoe didn’t simply glide down the river—it practically created its own white-water rapids.

      “That’s Ben.” Liam had been hoping the otters would make a guest appearance this morning. He scanned the shoreline. “Keep an eye out for Jerry. They’re usually together.”

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