Rowan had been going through it all and leaving notes, but paperwork hadn’t been his strong suit. Hiring Gavin had been one of Cam’s smartest ideas ever. Piper’s brother had gone painstakingly through each bill and receipt, slowly making progress and some sense of the bookkeeping.

Or lack of it.

It gave Cam relief knowing that when he got called to head back to work, he could go with the confidence that Gavin would be able to keep things up to date. What didn’t give Cam a sense of relief? Everything he’d be leaving behind.

Or whom.

Scrubbing a hand over his face, he leaned back in the chair, closing his eyes for a second as he remembered the feel of Piper’s body against him, how she’d responded to his touch like he was the very breath in her lungs.

Being with her had been magic. And addictive. And yet he would still have to leave, no matter what he wanted. It was inevitable.

But his return would be as well. He was no longer surprised by that realization. What he had been surprised by was all he’d found here in Wildstone. Last night, something in particular had driven him to swim the lake, needing both mental and physical exhaustion.

Turned out that being with Piper was all he’d needed.

But in the light of day, what he’d found yesterday in Rowan’s things was still shocking him. It’d been hidden in the old metal filing cabinet.

The chair Cam sat in was also metal and far too small, which meant his knees were jammed up too close to his chest. He felt like a giant playing in a dollhouse. Not the best place for an epiphany.

When a knock sounded on the door, it was a welcome diversion. It opened before he could even get up, and there stood Winnie, hair in two ponytails, the ends dipped in blue, wearing jean shorts and an oversized T-shirt, looking fourteen years old, tops.

“I told her,” she said, leaning dramatically against the doorjamb. “Piper.” She came into the office, filling it with the level of angst only a twenty-year-old woman-child could. She plopped into the metal chair across the desk from him.

He stood. “Is she okay?”

“Well, I’m fine, thanks for asking.”

Cam shook his head at her. “You know what I mean.”

“She’s . . . shocked.” Winnie rubbed her stomach. “She can join my damn club.”

Suddenly suspicious, Cam sat. “When you say you told her, you mean you told her all of it, right?”

“You make it sound like there’s so much to tell.”

He leveled a look at her. “For nearly two decades, she raised you and Gavin with hopes and dreams for you both. I’m pretty sure those hopes and dreams didn’t include you quitting college, returning to Wildstone, or getting pregnant so young.”