Three months later

A little out of breath—more from nerves than exertion, Lily staggered to the top of Dead Man’s Cliff and went still.

“I did it,” she whispered. “I got here.”

Two warm, strong hands settled on her hips as Aidan pressed in behind her. “And you beat me while you were at it.”

She leaned back into him, staring out at the vista before her. Rugged mountain peaks in all their fall glory, a volatile blanket of green laced with blue ribbons of rivers and tributaries.

Closer, in fact directly beneath her, lay the jagged rocky cliffs where all too many had found their end.

Her heart squeezed. Ashley had been one of them. She pulled the scarf from around her neck, hugged it to her heart, and then tossed it into the chasm. The wind caught it, held it aloft for a few heartbeats, and then it vanished from view.

Lily closed her eyes a moment, letting the emotion wash over her. Good-bye, Ashley, I’ll never forget you …

She let the sun warm her face, let the mountain air fill her lungs. Let the ever-steady, amazing man at her back make her feel strong. “Thanks for helping me get here.”

“I didn’t help you,” he said, his voice a low, warm rumble in her ear. “But I enjoyed the hike, and the company.”

She smiled. She always did with him.

“Can you feel it?” he asked.

“What?”

“Winter on the air. You did this just in time, babe. Snow’s coming.”

“Haven’t seen snow here in a long time,” she said, feeling a nostalgic yearning to do just that, to watch it come down in snowflakes the size of dinner plates, watch as it accumulated into twenty-foot drifts, covering everything, making the trees appear as two-hundred-foot-tall ghosts.

And since Cassandra had decided not to come back to work after having her baby, Lily had a job at the salon for as long as she wanted it. Jonathan had given her carte blanche to continue to fix the place up, especially since it wasn’t coming out of his bank account.

Aidan’s arms came around her, warm and sure. “You’re okay?” he asked.

She took one last look at the view that had dogged her memories and dreams for a decade and then turned in the circle of Aidan’s arms to face him. “More than okay. I’m … at peace. Excited for whatever comes next.” Going up on tiptoes, she kissed him softly before pulling back to look at him.