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Chapters (62)
  1. Cover
  2. Half Title Page
  3. Books by Katie Powner
  4. Title Page
  5. Copyright Page
  6. Dedication
  7. ONE
  8. TWO
  9. THREE
  10. FOUR
  11. FIVE
  12. SIX
  13. SEVEN
  14. EIGHT
  15. NINE
  16. TEN
  17. ELEVEN
  18. TWELVE
  19. THIRTEEN
  20. FOURTEEN
  21. FIFTEEN
  22. SIXTEEN
  23. SEVENTEEN
  24. EIGHTEEN
  25. NINETEEN
  26. TWENTY
  27. TWENTY-ONE
  28. TWENTY-TWO
  29. TWENTY-THREE
  30. TWENTY-FOUR
  31. TWENTY-FIVE
  32. TWENTY-SIX
  33. TWENTY-SEVEN
  34. TWENTY-EIGHT
  35. TWENTY-NINE
  36. THIRTY
  37. THIRTY-ONE
  38. THIRTY-TWO
  39. THIRTY-THREE
  40. THIRTY-FOUR
  41. THIRTY-FIVE
  42. THIRTY-SIX
  43. THIRTY-SEVEN
  44. THIRTY-EIGHT
  45. THIRTY-NINE
  46. FORTY
  47. FORTY-ONE
  48. FORTY-TWO
  49. FORTY-THREE
  50. FORTY-FOUR
  51. FORTY-FIVE
  52. FORTY-SIX
  53. FORTY-SEVEN
  54. FORTY-EIGHT
  55. FORTY-NINE
  56. FIFTY
  57. FIFTY-ONE
  58. FIFTY-TWO
  59. Acknowledgments
  60. About the Author
  61. Back Ads
  62. Back Cover

“Okay.” She wiped her nose with a napkin. “I guess now we wait for the tests.”

Jeremy gave her a reassuring nod and pushed back from the table. “Since there’s nothing we can do about it until then, I think it’s time for your surprise.”

Bea sat up a little straighter. “What is it?”

He made a goofy face and opened the fridge. As he reached inside and grabbed ahold of something Bea couldn’t see, the freezer-side door spit a handful of ice cubes onto the floor.

Bea gave her dad a look. “I thought you fixed that.”

“I tried.”

“May I present to you, my lady”—Jeremy spun around, one hand holding a white box and the other hidden behind him—“chicken and veggie lo mein from Hong Kong City.”

“Ooh!” She grinned. “My favorite.”

“And . . .” He pulled another box from behind his back. “A pumpkin, chocolate-chip cheesecake from Bighorn Bakery.”

It was the most beautiful cake she’d ever seen. If she’d been the swooning type, she would’ve fainted from joy right then and there. Oh, Jeremy.

She snuck a kiss on his cheek as he set the food in front of her on the table. “You’re the best.”

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“You’re the best.” Pfft. The words rankled in Mitch’s brain as he lay awake in bed. He’d raised her, given her everything she ever needed or wanted, paid for her to move to Georgia and go to school, and all Jeremy had to do was give her a cheesecake, and he was the best? The kid couldn’t even drive a truck with manual transmission.

He growled. He wasn’t being fair. Daughters were meant to grow up and move on. Meant to give their hearts to another man and live a life apart from their fathers. He knew that. But he didn’t have to like it. The tune to Heartland’s “I Loved Her First” played in his mind. Boy, oh boy, did he feel that. And how had Jeremy paid for that food, anyway? With the money Bea had earned at the Food Farm?

Okay, okay, maybe Jeremy had made a little cash down at the Duncan place. But harvest was over.

Mitch turned to one side, then the other. This twin bed was not nearly as comfortable as his old queen. And he still hadn’t gotten used to sleeping alone. Two years might as well have been two days. He could still hear Caroline breathing in the night if he was quiet enough.

The words to “Sweet Caroline” replaced Heartland’s song, and Mitch grumbled to himself. He was never going to get any sleep at this rate. Then Marge’s face popped into his mind.

“Aargh.” He startled as if a boogeyman had jumped at him from the darkness.