She wiped her hands on her apron and then took it off and hung it on the peg where her mother had always hung hers. She never wore an apron when Momma was alive, but it made her feel closer to her when she put it on to prepare food. Just another little thing to remind her of how much she missed her.

She saw a big red truck pull up in front of the B&B and realized the contractor was actually early. That was a first. "Kate! He's here!" she yelled up the stairs. But she didn't hear anything, so she assumed she might be in the restroom. "I'll get it!" she called back up, sure that Kate probably couldn't hear her anyway.

She walked over to the door and opened it, a big smile on her face. And then she froze.

"Cooper? What the heck are you doing here?"

Mia had never been so stunned in her life. It has been years since she’d seen him, and she had hoped it would be many more.

"I asked you a question. Why are you here?"

He looked down at his feet and then back up at her. “I’m… Is Kate here?"

"Kate? How do you know Kate… Oh my gosh. Are you the contractor?"

"Yes. I'm sorry, Mia. I had no idea you were still here. She didn't mention you…"

"She's my sister."

His mouth dropped open. "Your sister? But you don't have a sister."

"Well, I do now. My mother gave up a baby as a teenager that we never knew anything about until we found each other on one of those DNA websites. Not that any of this is your business."

"I didn't put two and two together. I know your mom passed away. I'm sorry about that. She was a wonderful lady."

"Cooper, you need to go."

"When Kate said she was working with her sister, I just assumed you had sold the place and someone else had bought it. If I had known you were still here…"

She put her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side. “You would've what? We both know that you would've still come out here because that's just who you are. Always have to have your nose in everybody's business. Always have to be Mr. Funny Man. Well this isn't funny!"

"I don’t think this is funny. I already told you that I didn't even know you were still here."

"Well, leave it to you to not know! Everybody else in town knows that I am over here!"

"Is everything okay here?" Kate asked from behind Mia.

"No. Everything is certainly not all right. I cannot believe Cooper is the contractor you were talking about. And he's the one that you think is hot? Seriously?"

"Mia," she whispered. "Way to keep a secret!"

"I don't care about keeping secrets. Did he even tell you who he is?"