Steve hated the thought of leaving town for even one day, let alone five. Normally he looked forward to these short business trips even if he was troubleshooting a job. Not this time.

The simple truth was he hated to leave Cassie. While she might choose to deny it, something strong and powerful was happening between them. He hadn’t stopped to analyze it, mainly because it felt too good. It was as if his heart had come alive again. After Alicia died, for all intents and purposes it seemed as if he had as well—at least emotionally. For the first year he’d had to will himself to get out of bed each day. It felt as if there were heavy weights attached to his feet and his heart.

It didn’t seem right that the world kept on going as if nothing of significance had happened. He fought it, struggled with depression, let business matters lapse when he should have been paying more attention. Thankfully, Stan had his back and did for Steve what Steve seemed incapable of doing for himself.

It was partially because of Stan that he’d gotten involved with Habitat for Humanity. His general manager had left Brody Electrical for a full-time position with Habitat, working as a project manager. Stan had half dragged Steve to the first job site. Steve hadn’t been a willing volunteer until he saw how hard these families worked to have a home to call their own.

Alicia had strongly believed in the work of Habitat and had volunteered countless hours herself. For the last two and a half years, working with Habitat had been his salvation. He’d been able to pull himself out of the black hole of grief and loss by investing in others. Stan trusted him to run the housing projects from start to finish, stopping by every now and again to make sure the building was coming along as it should.

Then Steve had met Cassie. They’d clashed in the beginning, and looking back, he realized why. Right away he knew she was a threat to his shriveled-up, dried-out heart. It’d been only in the last year that he’d been comfortable in this new role life had given him. He wasn’t big on change, and then there she was with her purple hair and a chip on her shoulder, challenging him at every turn. She didn’t back down and she made sure he understood that she wasn’t going to let anyone, in particular a man, railroad her.

He’d been attracted to her, almost from the first, and then he’d decided to drive her to Spokane. Even now he wasn’t sure what had happened on Saturday. It’d never been his intention to kiss her. But to witness this strong, independent woman dissolve into heart-wrenching sobs had shaken him. When he’d pulled into the rest stop he’d meant to only hug and hold her, to comfort her. Before he could stop himself, they were kissing. Rarely had anything felt as good or right as to have Cassie in his arms.

Now it was Wednesday and the feeling of holding her lingered with him still. She’d tasted of sweetness and goodness and everything he held dear. This was a woman who had walked through fire and instead of coming out scorched and bitter was as refined as gold.

Seeing her Sunday had been an unexpected bonus, although he had to admit she’d shaken him with her talk of just being friends. He got it. He really did. She was scared. Frankly, so was he. This was as new to him as it seemed to be to her.

The truth was he’d planned to give them both a bit of breathing room. Sunday morning he’d picked up Jeremy and intended to take the boy to a park where he could ride his bike, which they’d done. Later he’d gone to the plot of land that would one day be Cassie’s home because—this was a bit embarrassing—it was a way to feel a connection with her. Jeremy had enjoyed building a fort with dead branches from the property, and so they’d lingered there.

And then Cassie arrived with Amiee. Right away happiness had stolen over him, and while the early afternoon had been overcast and cloudy, it felt as if the entire day had suddenly brightened and grown unexpectedly sunny and warm.

While Steve wasn’t sure where the relationship between him and Cassie was headed, he was content to let it take him where it would. In time she’d come around. He was willing to be patient. Maybe going out of town was good—it would give her some time.

“Steve,” his foreman said, breaking into his thoughts.

Steve shook his head, shocked that he’d been lost in his own world. “Yes, sorry.”

“Do you have another appointment?” Charlie Lane asked. The job was with Grand Coulee Dam in eastern Washington, wheat country. They were a small company compared to the other bidders, and Steve had considered himself fortunate to get the contract. He had a good estimator who’d brought in a highly competitive bid. Now, however, Steve’s company was losing money and it was the fault of the supplier. Steve had gone in to troubleshoot the project and stay long enough to make sure the job was back on schedule before he headed back to Tacoma for the Hoedown on Saturday night.

“Another appointment?” Steve asked, repeating the question. “What makes you ask?”

“You keep looking at your watch.”

He was looking at the time, wondering how long it would be before he could talk to Cassie. He had forced himself not to call her for the last three days—she seemed to need some space, and he didn’t want to scare her off. All he could do was hope that she missed seeing him as much as he missed being with her.

Originally he’d intended to wait out the entire week. Then that morning he’d woken with a strong desire to hear the sound of Cassie’s voice. If he called, he would need to wait until early evening, when he was sure she’d finished work at Goldie Locks, and then give her a couple extra hours in case she was putting in her time with Habitat.

“I have a phone call to make,” Steve explained.

“Do you want to wait to go over these schematics?” Charlie asked.

“No, now is good.”

By the time Steve was back in his run-down hotel room, he felt like a compulsive smoker who’d put off having a cigarette until the end of the day. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he reached for his cell and noticed that his fingers actually shook in their eagerness to connect with Cassie.

Her cell rang three times with no answer, and Steve was convinced it was about to go to voice mail. Should he leave a message? Or should he wait and try again later? Before he could decide, the line connected.

“Hello.”

This wasn’t Cassie. It didn’t seem possible that he had the wrong number. “Amiee?”

“Oh, hi, Steve.” The twelve-year-old sounded bright and cheerful, happy to hear from him.

“Where’s your mom?”

“She’s in the shower. I can get her if you want. She never takes long because the hot water turns cold real fast.”

“I can call back later.”

“No, don’t, because she’s been in a real funk ever since you left. You’re her BAE, you know.”

“Her what?”

“BAE. Before Anyone Else.”

Steve couldn’t help it—he broke into a huge smile. “Really?”

“Yeah, she’s eaten oatmeal for breakfast three days straight and she hates oatmeal. Hold on a minute and I’ll tell her you’re on the phone.”

Steve heard the sound of Amiee setting down the phone and then, a minute later, her calling her mother. “Mom, your phone rang and I answered it.”

A short silence followed in which Cassie asked who was calling.

Amiee answered, “Steve.” Another silence followed before Amiee picked up the phone. “Mom said she’d be here right away. She told me to talk to you until she gets dried off.”

“So how’s school?” he asked.

“Okay, I guess. My friend Claudia asked me to go to a concert with her and Mom wants to listen to the group’s lyrics before she’ll agree to let me go. All bands use swear words, you know. If she insists there be no swearing I’ll never go to a concert for my entire life.”

“I agree with your mom on that one,” Steve told her.

“You adults stick together, don’t you?” She didn’t sound angry as much as resigned. “Here’s Mom.”

He smiled when he heard Cassie say his name breathlessly. “Steve?”

“Hi, there.” He could almost hear Cassie’s heart pounding. What she didn’t know was that his own was just as loud in his ears.