He’d always been close to his only aunt. His parents had both been workaholics, climbing corporate ladders for big corporations in town, and therefore his aunt had stepped in to help raise him over the years.

She peered at him over the rim of her glasses as she held up an unpaid invoice that had been sitting on her desk for weeks. “Did you tell Mrs. Sampson that you wouldn’t charge her for painting her deck?”

Wes opened the fridge for a bottle of water, avoiding his aunt’s disapproving stare. “Mrs. Sampson is eighty-six years old.”

“And she’s using her age to take advantage of everyone in town,” Carmen said, waving the invoice at him.

That might be true, but no one could call the sweet old woman out on it. A former elementary school teacher, Mrs. Sampson had taught Wes in the fourth grade. She volunteered on all the committees and was just as much of a landmark as the statue of the town’s first mayor in the center of Main Street. “The deck was small. It only took a few hours.”

“Every few hours of work adds up, and no one should expect you to work for free.” Carmen sighed. “Look, honey, I know you have a good heart, but no more freebies, okay?”

He nodded. “You’re right.” It wouldn’t be easy to start charging all the familiar faces in town, but if he didn’t, he wouldn’t have the business much longer. He couldn’t keep making plans to build his company if he wasn’t proactively taking the right steps toward success. “I should take a shower and head out…” He wanted to get an early start on the inn. Overhearing Sarah’s conversation the day before with her boss, he needed to ensure the renovations were done as soon as possible.

Getting her out of town quickly had nothing to do with the fact that his body’s reaction to her the day before had him slightly freaked out.

“Hey, honey, any chance you could bring Marissa with you today? I forgot about a doctor’s appointment I have this afternoon,” Carmen said.

Wes frowned. Doctor’s appointment? Those words stopped his heart these days. Since so much of Kelly’s last year had been spent at hospitals and medical clinics, Wes tried to avoid them at all costs. Whenever Marissa so much as got a sniffle, he was on high alert. “You okay?” It was probably none of his business, but he couldn’t not ask.

She nodded as she reached for the oven mitts. “Just fine, honey. Yearly check-up, that’s all. Nothing to worry about.”

He swallowed hard. Kelly had said the same thing after the first couple of appointments. She hadn’t admitted she was sick—really sick—until she’d had no other choice but to tell him. “Okay. Well, yeah, of course I’ll take Marissa. I’ll get her.”