They used to hang out at the ice cream store on the corner. Jared would get boring vanilla. Grant would never get the same flavor twice. Pop’s car repair shop was at the end of the street. Grant had worked there during the summer and after school. He and Jared had taken apart their first engine under Pop’s supervision.
Even the library was a reminder. Jared used to drag Grant there. His best friend was head over heels for Sara and could never wait until her shift was over at the library to see her. They used to pretend to study so that Jared could chat with Sara if she had free time between helping patrons.
The memories ripped into him, opening old wounds that had scarred but never truly healed. Grant didn’t know how Sara did it. How could she live in Hidden Hollows alongside the ghosts of the past?
She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “What about you? Anyone special in your life?”
He let out a half-laugh. “No. Constant deployments make it impossible to build any kind of meaningful relationship.” He shrugged. “I’ve dated here and there, but nothing stuck.”
Was that by fate or by choice? Yesterday, Grant would’ve said fate. The timing had always been off, or he hadn’t found the right woman yet. But today, walking next to Sara, he was tempted to believe it’d been by choice. That maybe he’d purposefully kept his relationships casual because his heart was still stuck on someone else.
On Sara.
They reached their vehicles. Grant handed over the box of cupcakes. Their fingers brushed, and an arc of electricity raced up his arm.
He was in trouble. It was time to say goodbye and stay away from Sara for the remainder of his visit. Dredging these old feelings up wasn’t good for him. It wasn’t good for anyone.
Grant shoved his hands in his pockets. “Thank you for sending the care packages during my deployments. They meant a lot.”
More than she would ever know. His aunt was too busy taking care of his mom to send things. But Sara had. Every few months for the last ten years, she’d shipped something. Homemade cookies. Magazines. There were dark days, times when he’d lost a brother-in-arms or the mission had gone sideways, and Grant would pull out one of the notes she’d enclosed in those packages and re-read it. He would run his fingers over the indentations made by her pen on the paper and feel a connection to someone back home.
Sara’s lips curved into a smile. “You don’t need to thank me. That’s what friends do.”
No, that’s what she did. None of his other friends had sent him care packages. But Sara thought it was normal, because that’s who she was.
No matter how much Grant wished otherwise, Sara had this ability to slip under his armor, grab ahold of his heart and squeeze. It wasn’t her good looks—although she was stunning—it was her natural kindness that did him in.
Sara glanced at her car. “I’d better go. Ben has baseball practice tonight, and knowing my son, he’s already announced I’m bringing cupcakes. The kids will be expecting these.”
“Of course.”
She tilted her head. “Do you want to come with me?”
Alarm bells clanged in his head, an internal warning system sent from his head to his heart.
She was Jared’s wife. He wasn’t staying in Hidden Hollows.
There were a thousand other logical reasons why spending time with Sara was a terrible idea, but for some asinine reason, when Grant opened his mouth to say no, yes came out instead.
4 Sara
What was she thinking?
Sara hadn’t been thinking. Obviously. Extending the invitation to attend baseball practice had come out spontaneously. Grant was her friend, and he’d been Jared’s best friend. It seemed natural he’d want to see Ben.
But it also meant she might have to drive. She internally winced at the idea of Grant getting into her Honda. It’d started making a knocking noise the other day, and she hadn’t had the time to take it for repair. Or the money.
When she’d taken over running Hidden Hollows Library six months ago, Sara had discovered it was in dire financial shape. She’d stopped taking a salary immediately to stem the bleeding and buy time, but the decision put a strain on her personal finances. The meager savings she’d squirrelled away over the years was dwindling.
Which was exactly what she didn’t want Grant to discover. It would be utterly humiliating if he learned how badly Sara had been handling life lately. Jared had valued Grant’s opinion a great deal. Seeing disappointment in Grant’s eyes…well, that might break her.
Sara shifted the bakery box in her hands. “Would you mind driving? I’d like to keep the cupcakes in one piece.”
He chuckled. It was deep and vibrated through Sara in a way that she didn’t quite understand. Almost like attraction. But that was silly. Romance had never been part of their friendship.
Grant wiggled his brows. “Are you afraid I’ll smash them all over your car if you brake too fast?” He reached for the passenger side door handle on the SUV. “Come on, Sara. It’s time for you to admit I’m the better driver.”
The old joke brought a smile to her lips. “Dream on, Edwards.”
Sara slid into the seat, careful to keep from crushing the sweets. Grant shut the door behind her and jogged around to the other side of the vehicle. She watched as he climbed in. Catching her gaze, he winked.
Her cheeks heated. There it was. The famous Edwards charm. That, coupled with his good looks and sense of humor, had left all of Sara’s friends in high school breathless. Well, goodness, the women of Hidden Hollows were going to lose it when they caught sight of him now. As impossible as it seemed, in the last ten years, Grant had grown more attractive.
His dark hair was short on the sides and top in typical military style. The rigid haircut suited the chiseled planes of his
