“And you’re not now?”
“Terrified. Hold me.”
He laughed and pulled her right into his lap. He was warm and his arms felt just right holding her close, like she was everything to him. Cupping his face, she stared into his eyes, feeling all the feels, but unsure how to let them out after a lifetime of holding them in. The man had jumped into the lake to save her and her journal. That had to be some kind of a record.
“It’s okay, Piper,” he said quietly, pushing the wet hair from her face. “Whatever you need to make this work. Whatever you want. Just say the word.”
He was putting her dreams first and no one had ever done that. He wasn’t going to vanish on her. He would come with her. Or even stay here and hold everything together while she was gone, if that’s what she wanted. “Word,” she whispered, smiling when he looked at her in surprise.
“Yeah?” he asked.
“Yeah. All I need to make this work is my family, which includes you and your dad. But mostly what I need is you. And I need to be here with all of you, in Wildstone.”
He was already shaking his head. “No. No way. You’re not giving up your dream for—”
“I’m not. I won’t. While you were gone, I also applied here at Cal Poly, which I didn’t do in the first place because I thought I wanted to leave. I wanted adventure, but this is my adventure. You’re my adventure, Cam.”
His gaze searched hers. “You sure?”
She tried to shift even closer, but she was already on top of him. Understanding, he tugged off her blanket and opened his for her, where she made herself at home up against his chest, closing her eyes when his arms came back around her. Winding a hand through her still drenched and tangled hair, he brought her face close to his so he could kiss her, his mouth a hot contrast to hers. They were still kissing, and she was no longer cold, when she heard footsteps on the dock behind them. She looked up and found Emmitt, Gavin, and Winnie staring at them.
“Told you,” Winnie said. “They’re making up for lost time.”
Piper yanked her hands off Cam.
Cam did not yank his hands off Piper. He kept them on her. His gaze too. “What’s up?” he asked their audience.
“We could ask you the same thing,” Emmitt said. “Or question your sanity, going for a swim in February.”
“Love makes you do stupid things,” Gavin said sagely.
Winnie gasped, her head swiveling between Cam and Piper. “Love?”
“Love,” Cam said firmly.
Emmitt grinned.
Gavin grinned.
The old Piper would have rolled her eyes and denied it, and then said something snarky to chase everyone off. The new Piper could only nod with a dopey smile on her face, one that made Cam laugh.
Winnie smiled, but it wavered. “Piper, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’d like to blame the Bean, but I’m going to be a mom, so I figure I should probably at least try to grow up. I just want you to know, you’re important to me. So important. I love you so much, and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you everything sooner. That’s not on you, not even a little bit. It’s all on me.”
Gavin nodded. “What she said. We are assholes, and we’re going to do better. You deserve that, and so much more.”
Winnie nodded. “And the Bean loves you too. She can’t wait to meet her aunt.”
“She?” Piper asked softly, throat tight. “It’s going to be a she?”
Winnie’s eyes filled. “I found out today. She’s a she.”
“Oh my God,” Piper said, and hopped up to hug her.
Winnie squealed with shock when Piper’s wet clothes clung to her, but like only a sister would do, Piper tightened her grip. Smiling at the second squeal, she said, “I’ve got to say some stuff now.”
“Uh-oh,” both siblings said at the same time.
Piper pulled back to look at them. “What you two did for me, working to get the money to buy me out, that was”—she searched for the right words—“incredible. I’d asked the two of you to grow up, and when I wasn’t looking, you both did exactly that.”
“So you’re not mad that we want to stay and run the B and B?” Winnie asked.
“No, because you’re only doing what I wanted for you all along. To have lives that fulfill you. And I want you to know that I’m proud of both of you. Really proud. Winnie, you’ve made the best of a rough situation, and with those new handywoman skills, you’re a serious asset to the property. And, Gavin . . . your charisma and charm make people adore you—you’ll be amazing as the face of the B and B. I’m happy we’re not selling.” She drew a deep breath. “And while I’m confessing, there’s more. I thought I had to leave to find that fulfillment for me. But I was wrong. Having you guys back here, being together as a family as grown-ups, it’s”—she shook her head, at a loss for words—“everything. I . . . want to stay.”
Gavin frowned, looking concerned. “But school—”
“I applied to SLO,” she said. “It’s only thirty minutes from here. I’ll commute.”
“Okay, but what does this mean for us?” Winnie asked, hands on her belly, looking uncertain.
Gavin took Winnie’s hand in his. “I think it means we’re going to stay together.”
Piper nodded. “I love both of you soul-sucking idiots. More than anything.”
“Me too,” Winnie said, and flung herself back into Piper’s arms. “So . . . we’re okay? Like, we’re all finally okay at the same time?”
Piper’s heart squeezed hard as she looked first into Winnie’s hopeful face, and then at Gavin, who looked relaxed and okay for the first time since . . . well, ever. And then at the smiling Emmitt. And finally into Cam’s eyes. “Yes,” she said, holding Cam’s gaze over Winnie’s head. “We’re all okay.”
NOT AN HOUR later, Cam got a notice he was being deployed. Unusual, he told her, so close to having just gotten back, but not unheard of. And this time he’d be gone a month, unless his unit was released early.
During the weeks he was gone, Piper kept herself busy, working on keeping Winnie sane and the baby she was growing safe, and watching Gavin come into his own right in front of her eyes. And when they opened the Manning B&B three weeks after Cam had left, their guests raved about their stay.
Another week went by, and though it was now nearly April and officially spring, they got a hell of a winter storm. Again, there was flooding and the town was a mess. So was the lake.
She and Gavin and some hired help were up to their knees in mud working with Emmitt at the marina. She was wearing one of Cam’s T-shirts, pathetically hugging the neckline up over her nose every few minutes to catch his lingering scent.
“I swear, nothing smells better than the person you love,” she said.
“Have you ever walked by a Cinnabon?” Winnie asked.
Piper sighed, but suddenly she felt a change in her force field. Whirling from where she was, facing the lake, she stared up at the hill as a single figure worked his way down, in jeans and a sweatshirt, a duffel bag on his shoulder, moving easily and efficiently through the mud like nothing could stop him.