I’m wondering if it hasn’t crossed your mind that possibly, at some point during the Ferris wheel ride, that Brandon and I may have become more than just friends.

Maybe you’re wondering if Brandon and I held hands.

And in all these letters, I’ve always written nothing but the truth, and never kept anything from you.

But this is where I have to stop.

Because here’s the thing.

If Brandon and I did hold hands, I’m pretty sure you’d remember it.

And if we didn’t, maybe you’d rather remember it like we did.

But either way, it doesn’t matter, because when I hit the road this summer, what turned out to be important was the ride itself.

The ride Brandon and I took on the Ferris wheel.

And the ride the four of us took together in Gram’s Mustang, down so many rural back roads of Florida, doing all the things we’d set out to do and a whole lot more than we could’ve ever expected or imagined.

That’s how each of us ended up with memories that will last a lifetime.

And for me, those memories pretty much changed everything.

Love,

Me

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup granulated sugar

½ cup light brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

2¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Optional ingredients to put a Samantha twist on your chocolate chip cookies (use one or all!):

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon ginger

½ teaspoon nutmeg

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together sugars, eggs, butter, and vanilla (and the optional ingredients if you choose to include them).

2. Stir in flour, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips.

3. When ingredients are thoroughly combined, cover bowl and place in a refrigerator for 2 hours to chill.

4. After 2 hours, preheat oven to 375ºF.

5. Use tablespoon to drop rounded balls of dough on ungreased cookie sheets. The balls of dough should be 2 to 2½ inches apart.

6. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until cookies are golden brown.

7. Take cookies out of oven, and place on a wire rack to cool.

A special thanks to my neighbor, Martha, who not only shared more than a few batches of her chocolate chip cookies with my family but also told me the above ingredients were the reason her cookies were so uniquely good. —Nancy J. Cavanaugh

Acknowledgments

After finishing a book, it’s always difficult to know who to thank first. This time, I’m going to start with my agent, Holly Root. Authors are always supposed to have just the right words to say what they want to say, but I’m not sure how to express the gratefulness I have for the way Holly is always there, ready to help and encourage and keep my projects on track. Thank you!