Grant pulled back a bit but kept the little boy close. “Ben, remember when we talked about our dads being in heaven?”
Ben nodded. “Yes. Dad’s not here with me.”
“But his love is. I want you to keep a small piece of your heart tucked away for your dad. He loved you very much, and the older you get, the more you’re going to understand that.” Grant smiled. “And after your mom and I get married, if you want, you can call me Pop. That’s what I called my father.”
Tears streamed down Sara’s face as her heart swelled. She couldn’t have asked for a more perfect moment.
Ben grinned. “Pop. I like it.”
Grant laughed, then stood and wrapped his arm around Sara. She kissed his cheek and whispered in his ear, “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me, Sara. Jared won’t be forgotten. Not as long as you and I help keep his memory alive for Ben.” He smiled down at her. “We’re a family. All of us.”
The band kicked off, cutting off any more conversation, but that was fine by Sara. She ran her finger over the engagement ring and snuggled closer to Grant. Ben was tucked up next to them.
It was the start of a new life, one filled with love.
Epilogue
Loving Her Nemesis
A Sneak Peek of book 6 in the Hidden Hollows series
By Zoe Ann Wood
Jade Marshall stood in front of the town library, trying to release the tension in her shoulders before entering her happy place. The difficult day she’d had at the school was over, and she was going to borrow a stack of books, drive home, and read in peace with Felix curled up in her lap.
She pushed open the heavy door and was instantly greeted by that special scent of the library. Paper, floor polish, and dust—the combination reminded her of her childhood, when she’d spent her afternoons at this very library. She’d either hung out here or stayed at home practicing her violin. Maybe it was a little sad that not much had changed in the past decade.
Jade shook off the melancholy feeling and strode between the shelves with purpose. She knew exactly where the historical romances were situated. She needed a roguish duke or a viscount to swoon over this afternoon.
Other patrons browsed the shelves quietly, but Jade kept her head down and didn’t make eye contact. She didn’t really know any of them, since she’d lived in Nashville for the better part of the last ten years, but in a town as small as Hidden Hollows, everyone knew their neighbors. There was a good chance she’d meet one of her students or their parents, and she really didn’t have it in her to engage in small talk—or worse, gossip.
“Yes, I heard he bought it because his father had a heart attack.”
Jade looked up as a whispered voice filtered through from behind the bookshelves to her left. She could just see the top of someone’s gray-haired coiffure with tightly coiled curls through the gap above the books.
“Do you think he’ll stay in town?” another voice asked.
“I’m not sure, but at the quilting circle last night, Marie Jenkins mentioned that he was single!” The first woman cackled happily. “If he’s as handsome as his papa was twenty years ago, we can find him a nice…”
Jade hurried on and rolled her eyes, hard. The quilting circle was a notorious source of town gossip, and she’d done her best to avoid them since she’d moved back to town. It wasn’t easy. The nosy meddlers popped up at various school events, at the hair salon, at the bakery, and even at the dentist’s.
She was certain some of them were still feeding her mother information on Jade’s whereabouts, even though her parents had moved to Florida.
Jade picked out four novels from the new arrivals shelf—enough to last her a couple of weeks—and hurried to the counter. The faster she got out of here, the better.
Sara Wilson, the head librarian, greeted her from behind the counter. Jade liked the woman: she’d taken over the management of the library after her grandmother and wasn’t prone to gossiping. She had a little boy who knew not to shout at the library, and had recently gotten engaged.
Jade tried not to stare at the shiny ring gracing the librarian’s finger. She wasn’t envious of Sara’s love life, exactly, but in truth, dukes and viscounts made poor substitutes for real-life men.
Ugh. Jade gave herself a mental kick in the rear. She wasn’t usually so mopey, but the endless parent-teacher conferences and the weeklong rains they’d had really brought her spirits down.
“Just four this month?” Sara asked with a friendly grin.
Jade shrugged, but returned the librarian’s smile. “September is busy at school. I don’t have a lot of time to read.”
“I can imagine.” Sara scanned the books and set them in a neat pile. “Do you have anything to return?”
Jade brought the previous month’s haul from her tote bag. She was about to say goodbye to Sara when she had the strangest sensation of being watched. Turning slightly, she noticed two elderly women watching her from behind a shelf filled with cookbooks. They ducked back out of sight the moment they realized Jade had seen them.
“Don’t mind them,” Sara said under her breath. “They’re mostly harmless.”
Jade grimaced. “Mostly?”
“Eh.” Sara waved her hand—her engagement ring glittered in the process. “It’s nothing you need to worry about. Unless you’re in the market for a boyfriend, that is.”
Jade shook her head. “Nope.”
The other woman winked at her. “Neither was I.”
Jade thanked her and collected her books, suddenly eager to escape. “Thank you.”
“See you next month,” Sara called after her.
Jade breathed easier once she was out in the open, even though the heavy clouds above had started spitting rain again. This was exactly why she’d moved into her grandparents’ remote old house instead of selling it and buying something smaller in the town’s busier center. She wanted to be as far away from people as
