“I don’t mind,” Marissa said, winking at her grandfather. She hurried out of the room, and Wes stood again for a hug from Carolyn. Her four-foot-eleven frame came to his chest, and the scent of her lavender shampoo was the same as always. She was an older version of Kelly—same red hair, green eyes, thin nose, and heart-shaped face, and his breath always caught at the sight of her.

“Hi, darlin’. Hope you’re hungry.”

The familiar smell of her baked tuna casserole had his stomach twisting, but not from hunger. It had been the Friday night meal at the McKennas’ before every high school football game. It was tradition. The family was superstitious and believed in not breaking the school’s winning streak by making something else. Carolyn still made it every time they came for dinner.

Wes could appreciate their need to hold on to the past as a way of remembering their daughter, of holding on to a part of her and a better time, but these visits were only getting harder and harder as time passed and he tried to move on.

And he worried about the impact they had on Marissa. Discussions never seemed to stay in the present for long. Always returning to memories of the “good old days.” Reminiscing was okay, but Wes wanted to focus on the future and how that looked for all of them.

“Starving,” he said with a forced smile.

“Hey, here comes the play,” John said, nodding his balding head toward the television.

Wes turned and watched as his younger self caught the ball and ran like lightning down the field in the Rams’ stadium, making the game-winning play, then fought the what-if thoughts that were never too far away whenever he was in this house.

Five minutes later, they bowed their heads in prayer around the dining room table and started to eat.

“Drove past the inn the other day,” his brother-in-law, Dustin, said as he passed the casserole to Wes. He was still dressed in a suit, having come straight from the bank where he worked as a mortgage broker. “Almost didn’t recognize the place.”

“Sarah’s making it so much cooler,” Marissa said before he could answer. Her expression lit up at the mention of her mentor.

“Sarah?” Carolyn asked with a frown. “As in, Sarah Lewis?”

Wes nodded. “She inherited the place. Plans to sell it.” He scooped the casserole onto his plate.

“Wasn’t she that young girl who tutored you all throughout high school?”

Carolyn’s memory was incredible.

“Yeah,” he said, forking the food into his mouth and ignoring her look that said she wasn’t completely thrilled about some aspects of this situation. Years ago, Carolyn had suspected that Sarah had a crush on him…