I'm fine, but I have a bit of a situation.Tension cranked Denver's shoulders tight as he ordered Oscar into the backseat of the truck. He'd come home for a fast game of fetch when the storm died down, but it would have to wait. The dog leapt in, rubber ball clamped between his teeth, as if he sensed now was not the time to dally. It wasn't. Denver hadn't asked if Misty was injured or what kind of shape the van was in. She'd said she was fine. But his brain readily filled in a multitude of horrors as he drove because he knew better than many that "fine" often wasn't.I'm fine, but there's something weird on some of my tests. That had been what his dad said. He hadn't been fine. Not even close. Denver knew this wasn't the same thing, but he couldn't seem to stop the churn of anxiety in his gut. The leather on the steering wheel creaked beneath the clench of his fingers. What the hell was wrong with him?The van sat half on, half off the road, tipped a bit from the flat, but upright

Denver opted to do the final assembly of the arbor on-site at the barn of the inn. That way, he could do everything himself and not have to actually talk to anyone. Talking was the last thing he felt like doing. After six years in this town, keeping his head down and out of the local gossip, he'd managed to put himself right, square in the middle. He'd resorted to glaring his employees into silence and otherwise avoided everyone else by sticking to his tiny office in the back, catching up on the books. He thanked God for the fact that he owned a tavern, otherwise he'd have been forced to actually go to the local market and face the masses or starve. In his current mood, starving was the more appealing option.He backed his truck up to the barn doors and quietly dropped the tailgate. There were multiple cars in the gravel lot, among them Kennedy's. But he knew her sisters had made it into town, so he was hoping she stayed tied up with them long enough for him to get in and out. His pla

As Denver leaned into the turn, Misty pressed close, her arms tightening around his waist. He loved feeling her snugged up against his back when they took Roxanne out for a ride. She'd taken to the motorcycle like a duck to water. He'd offered to teach her to ride on her own, but she preferred riding with him, and who was he to complain about any up-close-and-personal time of any kind with his girl? And on a day like today, when the sky stretched out in a ribbon of endless blue and the temperatures held the first hint of autumn, it was perfect. Almost. It would be up to her whether they made it all the way.Denver found himself unaccountably nervous. Under the guise of reassuring her, he reached back to stroke a hand along the outside of her thigh. She squeezed him back. Releasing a breath, he forced himself to relax.Things were great between them - had been great for four months - and he wanted to lock things in. He wanted this woman in his life for the everyday and always, and

AFTER DINNER, ATHENA DECLARED dishes as someone else's responsibility and disappeared for a poker game with a couple of their foster siblings, who'd come to town for the wedding. Ari had gone up to watch, and Maggie holed up to do a little telecommuting for her firm in L.A. Wanting some quiet and a chance to find a little balance again, Pru shooed Kennedy and Flynn off to the family room for a visit. It seemed she hadn't been able to quite catch her breath since she fell off the ladder and into his arms. What was it about accents that were so damned sexy?She could hear Flynn's clearly from the family room as she washed and stacked. "Tell me true, deifiúr beag, how are you?" There was a wealth of affection in the term, and Pru wondered what it meant."I'm home," Kennedy said simply.Flynn made a noise of disbelief. "You're as much a gypsy as me. You expect me to believe you're really okay with putting down roots again?""I enjoyed my travels, but you had me pegged that last night

"DO YOU HAVE ALL your stuff?" Maggie asked Athena."I'm the one who's been standing down here with a fully-packed suitcase for half an hour." Athena eyed the stack of Maggie's luggage. "You never could travel light.""Some of us had non-wedding related work to do while we were here."And some of us have work to do after you go. But Pru didn't share that particular thought. The house couldn't empty fast enough.After she'd cooked what felt like the world's largest breakfast - enough pancakes and sausage to feed the literal army under her roof - the first wave of her former foster siblings headed out. Right on their heels, Kacy and her parents had picked Ari up. Those who remained had helped with clean-up in the barn. The tables and chairs were folded and stacked, waiting for pick up by the rental company on Monday, and the other detritus from the reception had been swept up or cleared away. Mostly. The lights would take longer to pull down, but later. It could all wait for later.